WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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 I want to give you an update on our progress in the pandemic and the blueprint for moving forward. Our overall cases, positivity rate, and hospitalizations are down, while our hospital capacity, vaccination rates and booster rates are up. Back on January 9, the peak of the winter surge, there were nearly 382 cases per 100,000 people. Today, there were under 31 cases per 100,000 people — among the lowest in the nation. The numbers are clear — we are seeing major improvement on the key metrics we’ve been tracking throughout this pandemic.

We are not where we were in early December, and I want to thank New Yorkers for doing the right thing to help us get through this winter surge. But make no mistake about it: This pandemic is not over. Our fight against COVID-19 continues, and I’ve put together a five-point toolkit that ensures we keep New Yorkers safe and plan for the future, including a first-in-the-nation effort to help those experiencing long-term effects from COVID. We’re moving in the right direction and our winter toolkit lays out our path forward.

Given the rapid decline of cases and hospitalizations, we are now lifting the statewide mask-or-vaccine requirement for indoor businesses starting today, February 10. Counties, cities and businesses can still choose to require masks. The mask requirement remains in effect statewide for specific settings like health care facilities, nursing homes, and schools.

We’re continuing to track many key metrics and to take steps to keep kids safe, including sending every K-12 student home with two COVID tests ahead of the Midwinter break. I’ll continue looking closely at the numbers and working with education partners, and I will make an assessment on school masking in early March.

THE LATEST ON THE NUMBERS

THIS WEEK’S COVID TRENDS. As of February 9, 2022, 4,398 New Yorkers are hospitalized with COVID-19. Our 7-day percentage positivity average is 3.88%, which is down from 5.51% last week. There were 30.88 cases per 100K statewide.   

Per the CDC as of February 10, 2022, 85.0% of adult New Yorkers have completed their vaccine series. So far, 36,341,991 total vaccine doses have been administered, with 47,976 doses administered over the past 24 hours.  

Photo of the Day: Yesterday, I laid out my plan for a new phase of COVID response (Photo by Don Pollard) 

ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS

Every week, we’re answering some commonly asked questions about COVID-19 and vaccinations. You can submit a question for a chance to get your question answered in next week’s newsletter. Submit your question here.   

QUESTION: What can you do to ensure students are kept safe in schools from COVID-19? (Heather, Ontario County)  

ANSWER:   

I know how important it is to make sure our kids are safe and in the classroom. As part of our winter surge plan, we’ve distributed over 14 million tests to students in public, charter, and private schools. Masks are still required at schools throughout the state and I am working with teachers, administrators, school boards, & parents on any future guidance. The vaccines are among our best tools to keep our kids safe in schools, and New Yorkers age 5 and up are eligible to get the vaccine. You can learn more about how we’re keeping kids and staff safe in schools here. 

New Yorkers, thank you for being smart, doing the right thing, and helping us to get through this winter surge. Let’s keep working together to fight the pandemic and keep each other safe.   

Ever Upward,

Governor Kathy Hochul

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David Katz

Senior Director, Renewable Energy

G&S Solar

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WPCNR CORONA VIRUS MONITOR. From the Governor’s Press Office. February 9, 2021:

The New York Times reported this morning that Governor Kathy Hochul was suspending masking in businesses or proof vaccination mandates for New York businesses, but at this time is keeping the Masking in Schools mandate until February 21. The maintaining of the school masking effectively protects the school population through masking from spread of socialization of the SuperBowl Sunday parties coming up and the highly social Valentines Day Weekend.

The Governor’s relaxing of business masking and vaccination requirements for businesses follows announcements by New Jersey and Connecticut governors, reacting to public sentiment in eliminating masking and vaccine mandates in their stated.

The Governor met with school representatives Tuesday and issued this statement:

Governor Kathy Hochul today held meetings with New York State teachers, superintendents and parents to thank them for their work to keep our schools safe and open, and hear their input on how to continue smartly protecting against COVID-19.

“As we continue to see cases and hospitalizations decline, I believe it is important to work closely with groups and leaders on the ground so that we move forward in the pandemic in a way where we can stay in front of COVID-19 and keep New Yorkers safe,” Governor Hochul said. “Keeping schools open has always been my top priority, and I want to thank the teachers, administrators, and parents who joined me today to hear directly from them. I want to also remind parents and guardians to please get their children vaccinated, and boosted if eligible. The vaccine is safe, free, doctor-approved and the key to keeping our communities and vulnerable loved ones safe.”

This comes after Governor Hochul sent out this update yesterday afternoon:

Lowest Statewide Cases per 100k 7-Day Average Since November 30

Fewest Hospitalizations Since December 26

Fewest Patients in ICU Since December 20

71 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

“We are improving in terms of lower positive cases, hospitalizations, and infection rates statewide,” Governor Hochul said. “We cannot let our guard down now. Those who have yet to get their vaccine, their second dose, or their booster shot should do so as soon as possible. It’s safe, effective, free, and widely available throughout the state. Keep your loved ones safe and healthy by utilizing the best tools at our disposal.”

Tueday’s data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported – 99,004
• Total Positive – 4,281
• Percent Positive – 4.32%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive – 4.36%
• Patient Hospitalization – 5,019 (-50)
• Patients Newly Admitted – 425
• Patients in ICU – 790 (-24)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation – 426 (-26)
• Total Discharges – 277,916 (+345)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 71
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 53,789

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC – 67,553

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered – 36,246,761
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours – 33,556
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days – 311,783
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose – 91.2%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series – 82.3%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 95.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 84.9%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 80.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 70.2%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 80.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 72.3%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 88.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 74.6% 

Each region’s 7-day average of cases per 100K population is as follows

REGION	Saturday, February 5, 2022	Sunday, February 6, 2022	Monday, February 7, 2022
Capital Region	54.72	52.58	50.08
Central New York	65.08	61.16	61.05
Finger Lakes	39.45	37.98	36.08
Long Island	32.81	33.45	30.00
Mid-Hudson	32.68	30.88	29.48
Mohawk Valley	58.14	54.22	53.10
New York City	30.29	30.22	28.52
North Country	73.48	70.68	68.26
Southern Tier	57.93	54.77	52.78
Western New York	44.80	42.11	38.24
Statewide	37.78	36.81	34.74

Each region’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

REGION	Saturday, February 5, 2022	Sunday, February 6, 2022	Monday, February 7, 2022
Capital Region	8.46%	8.43%	8.21%
Central New York	9.65%	9.58%	9.81%
Finger Lakes	7.55%	7.37%	7.29%
Long Island	5.31%	5.25%	4.93%
Mid-Hudson	4.56%	4.48%	4.23%
Mohawk Valley	7.95%	7.61%	7.50%
New York City	2.93%	2.88%	2.77%
North Country	11.09%	10.81%	10.60%
Southern Tier	6.26%	6.06%	6.03%
Western New York	8.76%	8.57%	8.10%
Statewide	4.65%	4.53%	4.36%

Each New York City borough’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

BOROUGH	Saturday, February 5, 2022	Sunday, February 6, 2022	Monday, February 7, 2022
Bronx	3.03%	3.06%	2.97%
Kings	2.74%	2.70%	2.52%
New York	2.63%	2.57%	2.51%
Queens	3.35%	3.28%	3.19%
Richmond	3.63%	3.59%	3.40%

Yesterday, 4,281 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 4,838,586. A geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	56,818	58
Allegany	8,517	13
Broome	43,143	60
Cattaraugus	14,780	24
Cayuga	15,266	25
Chautauqua	22,857	27
Chemung	20,500	26
Chenango	8,837	17
Clinton	15,451	27
Columbia	9,605	11
Cortland	10,006	2
Delaware	7,381	14
Dutchess	62,353	66
Erie	202,785	175
Essex	5,241	11
Franklin	8,666	16
Fulton	11,944	23
Genesee	13,335	12
Greene	8,255	3
Hamilton	806	2
Herkimer	13,247	28
Jefferson	19,009	61
Lewis	5,972	5
Livingston	11,219	13
Madison	12,344	28
Monroe	147,213	102
Montgomery	11,356	22
Nassau	394,485	224
Niagara	46,504	64
NYC	2,248,971	1,642
Oneida	50,976	72
Onondaga	104,412	305
Ontario	18,963	26
Orange	104,139	95
Orleans	8,401	13
Oswego	23,979	57
Otsego	9,323	18
Putnam	23,019	26
Rensselaer	30,099	41
Rockland	90,332	93
Saratoga	44,007	61
Schenectady	31,617	20
Schoharie	4,782	14
Schuyler	3,278	3
Seneca	5,566	8
St. Lawrence	19,628	49
Steuben	18,936	25
Suffolk	419,040	244
Sullivan	17,848	18
Tioga	10,227	15
Tompkins	16,743	22
Ulster	30,164	27
Warren	12,886	13
Washington	11,530	18
Wayne	16,498	33
Westchester	244,033	155
Wyoming	8,098	6
Yates	3,196	3

Below is data that shows how many hospitalized individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 were admitted for COVID-19/COVID-19 complications and how many were admitted for non-COVID-19 conditions:

Region	COVID-19 Patients currently hospitalized	Admitted due to COVID or complications of COVID	% Admitted due to COVID or complications of COVID	Admitted where COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission	% Admitted where COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission
Capital Region	253	171	67.6%	82	32.4%
Central New York	156	112	71.8%	44	28.2%
Finger Lakes	487	234	48.0%	253	52.0%
Long Island	757	371	49.0%	386	51.0%
Mid-Hudson	486	256	52.7%	230	47.3%
Mohawk Valley	119	71	59.7%	48	40.3%
New York City	2,077	986	47.5%	1,091	52.5%
North Country	107	46	43.0%	61	57.0%
Southern Tier	166	75	45.2%	91	54.8%
Western New York	411	216	52.6%	195	47.4%
Statewide	5,019	2,538	50.6%	2,481	49.4%

The Omicron variant now represents more than 95% of the viruses in circulation. For more information on variant tracking, please visit here: (COVID-19 Variant Data | Department of Health (ny.gov).

Yesterday, 71 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 53,789. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

County	New Deaths
Allegany	1
Bronx	7
Cayuga	1
Chemung	1
Clinton	2
Dutchess	2
Erie	6
Essex	1
Genesee	1
Herkimer	1
Kings	11
Madison	1
Monroe	2
Montgomery	1
Nassau	3
New York	2
Niagara	1
Oneida	1
Onondaga	3
Ontario	1
Orange	1
Orleans	1
Oswego	1
Queens	3
Richmond	2
Suffolk	9
Wayne	1
Westchester	4

All New York State mass vaccination sites are open to eligible New Yorkers aged 5 and older, with walk-in vaccination available at all sites on a first-come, first-serve basis for people aged 12 and older. Information on which sites require appointments for children in the 5-11 age group is available on our website. People who prefer to make an appointment at a state-run mass vaccination site can do so on the Am I Eligible App or by calling 1-833-NYS-4-VAX. People may also contact their local health department, pharmacy, doctor or hospital to schedule appointments where vaccines are available, or visit vaccines.gov to find information on vaccine appointments near them.

New Yorkers looking to schedule vaccine appointments for 5-11-year-old children are encouraged to contact their child’s pediatrician, family physician, county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), rural health centers, or pharmacies that may be administering the vaccine for this age group. Parents and guardians can visit vaccines.gov, text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations. Make sure that the provider offers the Pfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine, as the other COVID-19 vaccines are not yet authorized for this age group.

Visit our website for parents and guardians for new information, frequently asked questions and answers, and resources specifically designed for parents and guardians of this age group.

Yesterday, 7,608 New Yorkers received their first vaccine dose, and 7,969 completed their vaccine series. A geographic breakdown of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated by region is as follows:

Regional Vaccination Data by Provider Location
	People with at least one vaccine dose	People with complete vaccine series
Region	Cumulative Total	Increase over past 24 hours	Cumulative Total	Increase over past 24 hours
Capital Region	960,590	259	876,994	353
Central New York	642,587	283	592,975	171
Finger Lakes	858,810	266	793,380	361
Long Island	2,161,527	1,281	1,910,758	1,650
Mid-Hudson	1,689,609	1,018	1,475,348	1,176
Mohawk Valley	323,302	96	299,606	141
New York City	7,933,024	3,645	6,985,193	3,176
North Country	301,425	276	272,042	290
Southern Tier	437,090	99	399,069	157
Western New York	950,122	385	868,953	494
Statewide	16,258,086	7,608	14,474,318	7,969

Booster/Additional Shots
Region	Cumulative Total	Increase over past 24 hours	Increase over past 7  days
Capital Region	439,682	725	7,846
Central New York	291,091	871	7,019
Finger Lakes	456,121	1,308	10,098
Long Island	1,039,222	4,143	147,869
Mid-Hudson	795,753	2,505	86,917
Mohawk Valley	155,046	406	3,486
New York City	2,624,459	5,943	437,512
North Country	136,214	555	3,477
Southern Tier	208,216	449	4,191
Western New York	496,603	1,366	10,071
Statewide	6,642,407	18,271	718,486

The COVID-19 VaccineTracker Dashboard is available to update New Yorkers on the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The New York State Department of Health requires vaccinating facilities to report all COVID-19 vaccine administration data within 24 hours; the vaccine administration data on the dashboard is updated daily to reflect the most up-to-date metrics in the state’s vaccination effort. New York State Department of Health-reported data from NYSIIS and CIR differs slightly from federally-reported data, which is inclusive of federally-administered doses and other minor differences. Both numbers are included in the release above.

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