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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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS MONITOR. Derived from the Coronavirus Workbook updated as of 4:15 P.M Saturday. Observations by John F. Bailey. January 1, 2022:

Covid new infections are sweeping Westchester County and the 6 other counties in Mid-Hudson Valley and doubling number of infections in Long Island and all of New York City. New York City went from 43,135 new positives last Tuesday to 82,996 on Wednesday. (The Covid Workbook is reports two days behind in results..)

Westchester County doubled the number of positive covid persons in one day, going from 3,602 positives Tuesday to 7,659 Wednesday, a 46.1% increase in our county. This is a disturbing development.

Infections are out of control in Orange and Rockland Counties through Wednesday, too. Orange doubled new cases to 3,394 compared to 1,624 on Tuesday. Rockland doubled in new covid cases jumping from 1,536 to 3,212. Dutchess lept from 722 Tuesday to 1,560 Wednesday, also doubling covid new cases. Putnam came close to double new positives, going from519 cases Tuesday to 1,039. A startling increase there Putnam, 45.2 %.. Ulster and Sulivan counties continued the trend up 31% and 43.4%.

NASSAU COUNTY had 44.6% more positives, 15,062, while SUFFOLK was recorded for a 53.9% in crease to 12,350.

The Washington Post yesterday reported that cases in South Africa showed persons not getting ill as seriously from the Omicron variant ( attributed to be more contagious and highly responsible for the remarkable surge in covid infections). The Post also reported the omicron positive patients in South African experienced lower rates of hospitalizatins. A New York Times article published today said that United Kingdom has found in studies on mice and hamsters the omicron variant infects more the throat and windpipe, rather than going deep into the lungs.

However mostly young people were infected who are better equipped to fight the disease. With the U.S. having an older population the infections may afflict the population more seriously. It was predicted the virus may go down in infections in about two weeks.

However it should be noted that the infections are seriously spreading at the rate of 8 persons being infected by every one person testing positive two weeks ago in Westchester County.

Two weeks ago on December 15, Westchester had 938 new cases. If you divide 7,650 new infections on December 29, by 938, you get considering this week infections so far, 7,650 Wednesday in Westchester. Those persons could bring us more infections approaching 62,000 persons by the end of the week January 9 to 15.

If hosptializations continue at the 125 person rate as it was a week ago, this means these 7,650 in cases in Westchester if they continue to be less seriously ill may only generate a 13% hospitalization rate but that still would mean 972 hospitalizations of those 7650. The 972 would not threaten Westchester available beds capacity if hospitalizations continued to go up slowly.

But if hospitalizations go up as they seem be doing, 50 a month ago compared to 125 as of a week ago and the omicron infects us more seriously, the positive spread rate may quickly fill up Westchester County bed capacity. Consider that the 7650 total is only one day of infections! If they all everyday hospitalized at the 124 rate we will have close to 6,000 a week in hospitalizations. by the end of January 15.

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“On this New Years Eve I wish everyone a safe and healthy celebration,” Governor Hochul said. “It was a difficult year for so many New Yorkers, lets do the right thing and get vaccinated, and let’s welcome the new year with lots of good health and happiness. If we work together and get vaccinated, we can make 2022 the year we beat the pandemic.”

Today’s data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported – 339,853
• Total Positive – 76,555
• Percent Positive – 22.53%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive – 17.91%
• Patient Hospitalization – 7,919 (+546)
• Patients Newly Admitted – 1,718
• Patients in ICU – 1,072 (+52)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation – 525 (+7)
• Total Discharges – 230,850 (+1,194)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 80
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 48,405
  
  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 – 61,242
  
  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 – 33,651,483
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours -137,298
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days -671,674
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose – 89.2%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series – 80.6%
• 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) – 82.8%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 78.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 69.7%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 84.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 71.8%

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

Region	Tuesday, December 28, 2021	Wednesday, December 29, 2021	Thursday, December 30, 2021
Capital Region	82.78	90.85	109.33
Central New York	82.01	91.69	107.14
Finger Lakes	62.24	72.95	86.33
Long Island	264.56	293.16	321.72
Mid-Hudson	184.06	209.51	233.52
Mohawk Valley	70.21	77.48	85.34
New York City	323.90	359.92	387.27
North Country	47.46	52.13	64.27
Southern Tier	73.14	78.67	91.08
Western New York	83.90	101.55	121.42
Statewide	222.26	248.11	271.60

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

Region	Tuesday, December 28, 2021	Wednesday, December 29, 2021	Thursday, December 30, 2021
Capital Region	10.43%	11.53%	13.41%
Central New York	9.63%	11.29%	13.04%
Finger Lakes	10.18%	11.87%	13.91%
Long Island	17.32%	18.78%	20.75%
Mid-Hudson	13.72%	15.39%	16.97%
Mohawk Valley	9.39%	10.44%	11.37%
New York City	15.25%	16.90%	18.58%
North Country	7.19%	8.21%	10.51%
Southern Tier	8.21%	9.51%	11.11%
Western New York	11.72%	13.29%	15.02%
Statewide	14.61%	16.21%	17.91%

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

Borough in NYC	Tuesday, December 28, 2021	Wednesday, December 29, 2021	Thursday, December 30, 2021
Bronx	18.54%	20.77%	22.99%
Kings	14.67%	16.21%	17.72%
New York	13.23%	14.51%	15.62%
Queens	16.22%	17.98%	19.78%
Richmond	15.84%	17.38%	19.49%

Yesterday, 76,555 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 3,469,564. A geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	41,133	701
Allegany	6,979	22
Broome	33,512	382
Cattaraugus	11,497	48
Cayuga	11,419	105
Chautauqua	17,677	132
Chemung	15,092	147
Chenango	6,717	80
Clinton	9,900	156
Columbia	6,954	56
Cortland	7,256	92
Delaware	5,499	45
Dutchess	45,626	722
Erie	148,889	2,182
Essex	3,694	70
Franklin	6,382	34
Fulton	8,990	52
Genesee	10,090	66
Greene	6,031	91
Hamilton	605	8
Herkimer	10,031	103
Jefferson	13,131	98
Lewis	4,740	22
Livingston	8,462	91
Madison	8,976	107
Monroe	112,311	1,290
Montgomery	8,306	76
Nassau	287,304	6,861
Niagara	33,937	376
NYC	1,501,823	43,985
Oneida	38,828	416
Onondaga	69,885	844
Ontario	13,970	136
Orange	74,497	1,598
Orleans	6,421	34
Oswego	17,021	177
Otsego	6,585	42
Putnam	16,221	467
Rensselaer	20,809	174
Rockland	65,029	1,207
Saratoga	30,360	387
Schenectady	22,221	252
Schoharie	3,388	35
Schuyler	2,391	26
Seneca	3,917	36
St. Lawrence	15,053	101
Steuben	14,558	99
Suffolk	313,688	5,772
Sullivan	12,011	268
Tioga	7,585	81
Tompkins	11,325	191
Ulster	22,112	200
Warren	8,986	93
Washington	8,248	103
Wayne	12,231	102
Westchester	179,080	3,409
Wyoming	6,198	32
Yates	2,368	21

Given the rate of spread of Omicron, it is more meaningful to report the percentage of Omicron variants as reported to the public COVID-19 sequence databases, than to report counts of individual cases. This percentage can then be related to the total positive COVID case count in the state. This process is consistent with how the New York State Department of Health has reported on all other variants online: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-variant-data

Data this morning in the GISAID database, the largest repository of SARS-CoV-2 sequences in the world, show the Omicron variant comprised 89% of uploaded sequences from NYS between 12/17/21 and 12/30/21. This is a significant increase from the 78% announced yesterday, which covered 12/16/2021 to 12/29/2021, and evidence of the ongoing rapid spread of this variant.

It should be noted that similar data reported from the CDC, updated this week, uses a statistical model to project the variant percentages for a more recent timeframe. This projection approach partly explains the different percentage for the Omicron variant reported by CDC this week.

Yesterday, 80 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19, bringing the total compiled by HERDS to 48,405. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

Deaths by County of Residence
County	New Deaths
Bronx	11
Broome	1
Cattaraugus	2
Chemung	1
Cortland	1
Dutchess	1
Erie	1
Fulton	1
Genesee	2
Kings	15
Madison	1
Manhattan	7
Monroe	3
Nassau	7
Niagara	2
Oneida	4
Onondaga	2
Ontario	2
Orange	2
Queens	4
Rockland	2
Seneca	1
Suffolk	3
Westchester	4

All New York State mass vaccination sites are open to eligible New Yorkers aged 12 years and older for walk-in vaccination on a first-come, first-serve basis, with 10 sites open to eligible New Yorkers aged 5 and older. People who would prefer to schedule an appointment at a state-run mass vaccination site can do so on the Am I Eligible Appor 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.govto 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 new 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, 31,900 New Yorkers received their first vaccine dose, and 16,560 completed their vaccine series. A geographic breakdown of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated by region is as follows:

	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	940,201	1,285	856,037	786
Central New York	629,245	578	580,937	387
Finger Lakes	837,938	935	772,692	810
Long Island	2,092,081	4,101	1,844,727	1,856
Mid-Hudson	1,635,792	2,900	1,425,226	1,398
Mohawk Valley	316,723	290	292,691	256
New York City	7,634,893	19,846	6,685,458	9,616
North Country	294,384	228	265,316	275
Southern Tier	426,703	575	389,628	382
Western New York	924,595	1,162	843,249	794
Statewide	15,732,555	31,900	13,955,961	16,560

Booster/Additional Shots
Region	Cumulative Total	Increase over past 24 hours	Increase over past 7  days
Capital Region	356,734	4,772	22,397
Central New York	224,725	3,025	15,328
Finger Lakes	360,598	4,601	23,056
Long Island	679,626	10,572	51,402
Mid-Hudson	552,095	7,953	40,058
Mohawk Valley	123,528	1,677	8,146
New York City	1,691,119	38,185	183,200
North Country	105,238	1,624	7,259
Southern Tier	164,835	2,630	11,348
Western New York	400,638	4,614	23,700
Statewide	4,659,136	79,653	385,894

The COVID-19VaccineTracker Dashboardis 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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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS MONITOR. From the New York State Covid Trackerhhich reports testing results on a 2-day delay with observations from John Bailey. December 30, 2021:

Long lines at testing facilies wrapped around the block into the City Center Garage on North Broadway this afternoon in White Plains are vivid scemes of the anxiety of the omnipresence of the Omicron Covid Varient racing through Westchester and the 6 other counties in the Mid-Hudson region. Covid cases are spreading at a faster daily rate ever the 22 months of the pandemic.

The City of White Plains was giving away K95 maskes at the Youth Burea on Amherst Place this afternoon, received from Westchester County in a effort to help protect citizens against the variant.

There is not way to downplay how fast the omicronvariant is working Westchester over.

Westchester reported 3,108 Tests on Sunday and Monday reported 3,408 sustaining an infectionrate of 24% positives on 14,122 tested. The smaller counties in the Mid-Hudson Valley continued to surge beyond their low levels previously at the same rates. Orange County is second with 1,598 new cases . Rockland reported 1,207, slightly down from 1,426 Sunday. Observers should understand that the state tracker reports on a 2-day delay.

Nassau and Suffolk posted a 25% infection rate. Nassau had 6,861 test positive of 6,861 tested a 24% infection rate. Suffolk reported 5,772 positives on 23,372 tested, a 24.7% infection rate . For one week, Nassau and Suffolk have averaged infection rates over 15%. This will produce thousands of new infections and hundreds of hospitalizations if the omicron turns out to be affect the unvaccinated more seriously.

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS MONITOR. Based on the New York State Covid-19 Tracker. December 29, 2021:

The daily State-supplied covid new infections in Westchester County Sunday, the 26, out this evening were 3,108, setting a new daily high for the county.

With 2,049 infections Saturday Christmas Day and 3,108 the next day with more Westchester residents being tested, the 5,157 new infections were confirmation of the Covid Omicron Variant contagious power.

Westchester tested 14,415 Sunday and 3,108 tested positive, matching the 21% infection rate the county posted Saturday when 9,536 were tested and 2,049 tested positive.

Every other county in the Mid-Hudson Region experience sharp spikes in new infections.

Orange County showed 1,512 new infections four times the Saturday total of 461.

Rockland more than doubled its positives from 679 Saturday to 1,426.

Dutchess doubled positives from 278 Saturday to 799.

ULSTER doubled from 111 to 236.

Putnam with a most recent high total of 205 in the last two weeks showed 630 positive Sunday a tripling of positives from a previous high infection mark.

Sullivan quadrupled new positive infections Sunday from 61 Saturday to 284.

Long Island continued to spread red. reaching 10,545 infections total for the two counties, Nassau and Suffolk. Saturday the counties showed 6,334 infections.

The combined new infections in the 9 counties surrounding New York City Sunday was 17,940.

The one satisfaction is that Omicron does not appear to deliver as serious an illness as the Delta or original covid. However, there is no breakdown available of the impact on the unvaccinated persons getting the Omicron variant, yet.