THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers Monday on the state’s progress combating COVID-19.     

“As we come home from holiday gatherings, it is as important as ever to take precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 this season,” Governor Hochul said. “Wear your mask, wash your hands, and if you haven’t yet, get vaccinated and boosted. The vaccine is the best tool we have to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe as we head into the new year. Take advantage of having it readily available and get yours today.”

Data this morning in the GISAID database, the largest repository of SARS-CoV-2 sequences in the world, show the Omicron variant comprised 64.1% of uploaded sequences from NYS between 12/12/21 and 12/25/21. This increase compared to the result announced on Friday, which covered 12/10/2021 to 12/23/2021, and slightly higher than all previous levels, is indicative of the ongoing spread of Omicron in NYS.   

Today’s data is summarized briefly below:   

* Numbers with an asterisk were last updated as of Dec. 24 as the HERDS system was down in observance of the holiday. 

** Vaccination numbers compiled by the CDC as of Dec. 24.

*** Due to the Holiday, today’s report has data from Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, where available.

• Test Results Reported – Dec. 24: 400,030/Dec. 25: 257,325***
• Total Positive – Dec. 24: 49,708/Dec. 25: 36,454***
• Percent Positive – 14.17%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive – 11.70% 
• Patient Hospitalization – 4,891*
• Patients Newly Admitted – 839*
• Patients in ICU – 880 (-4)*
• Patients in ICU with Intubation – 501 (+6)*
• Total Discharges – 226,474 (+676)*
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 60*
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 47,929*
  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 – 60,751
  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 – 33,105,549
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours – 29,046
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days – 732,953 

• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose – 88.6%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series – 80.3%
• 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) – 82.6%**
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 77.4% 
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 69.4% 
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 82.9%**
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 71.3**

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

REGION	Dec. 23	Dec. 24	Dec. 25
Capital Region	73.13	73.88	72.5
Central New York	76.38	75.36	73.28
Finger Lakes	59.28	57.42	54.51
Long Island	173.85	201.92	216.1
Mid-Hudson	116.99	134.3	140.16
Mohawk Valley	75.8	70.47	64.44
New York City	204.25	237.31	256.7
North Country	51.01	50.23	46.44
Southern Tier	91.26	86.18	70.34
Western New York	59.65	65.41	68.37
Statewide	147.83	168.15	178.37

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

Region	Thursday, December 23, 2021	Friday, December 24, 2021	Saturday, December 25, 2021
Capital Region	8.61%	9.03%	9.23%
Central New York	8.77%	8.69%	9.05%
Finger Lakes	8.38%	8.52%	8.85%
Long Island	13.05%	13.98%	14.79%
Mid-Hudson	9.43%	10.35%	11.04%
Mohawk Valley	8.79%	9.21%	9.40%
New York City	10.20%	11.00%	11.76%
North Country	6.96%	7.08%	7.07%
Southern Tier	7.34%	7.91%	7.89%
Western New York	8.88%	9.31%	9.69%
Statewide	10.18%	10.98%	11.70%

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	Thursday, December 23, 2021	Friday, December 24, 2021	Saturday, December 25, 2021
Bronx	10.73%	12.37%	13.78%
Kings	10.15%	10.86%	11.47%
New York	9.70%	9.99%	10.50%
Queens	10.69%	11.78%	12.70%
Richmond	10.24%	11.46%	12.34%

Yesterday, 36,454 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total compiled to 3,184,195. A geographic breakdown is as follows:  

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	39,158	206
Allegany	6,861	7
Broome	32,356	134
Cattaraugus	11,289	6
Cayuga	11,035	18
Chautauqua	17,235	32
Chemung	14,609	36
Chenango	6,533	18
Clinton	9,519	48
Columbia	6,677	22
Cortland	6,999	40
Delaware	5,322	8
Dutchess	42,998	246
Erie	141,578	750
Essex	3,527	9
Franklin	6,273	19
Fulton	8,853	16
Genesee	9,903	14
Greene	5,831	20
Hamilton	584	0
Herkimer	9,779	24
Jefferson	12,884	21
Lewis	4,685	0
Livingston	8,284	13
Madison	8,702	10
Monroe	109,437	320
Montgomery	8,141	5
Nassau	268,422	3,438
Niagara	33,017	128
NYC	1,372,105	23,804
Oneida	37,742	44
Onondaga	67,800	307
Ontario	13,619	18
Orange	70,609	347
Orleans	6,322	7
Oswego	16,565	19
Otsego	6,438	13
Putnam	15,093	17
Rensselaer	20,247	99
Rockland	61,500	386
Saratoga	29,297	152
Schenectady	21,589	22
Schoharie	3,302	4
Schuyler	2,347	13
Seneca	3,812	4
St. Lawrence	14,848	20
Steuben	14,343	17
Suffolk	298,430	3,353
Sullivan	11,352	82
Tioga	7,398	13
Tompkins	10,997	70
Ulster	21,494	93
Warren	8,726	40
Washington	8,019	16
Wayne	11,980	11
Westchester	169,325	1,869
Wyoming	6,088	4
Yates	2,317	2
Grand Total	3,184,195	36,454

Given the extent 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.

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 a higher percentage for the Omicron variant reported by the CDC.

As of Dec. 24, 60 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19, bringing the total compiled by HERDS to 47,929. Death numbers were not compiled on Dec. 25 in observance of the holiday. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:     

Deaths by County of Residence
County	New Deaths
Albany	1
Bronx	1
Broome	2
Cattaraugus	2
Chautauqua	2
Chemung	1
Erie	5
Genesee	1
Herkimer	1
Kings	3
Livingston	2
Manhattan	2
Monroe	2
Nassau	3
Niagara	1
Oneida	4
Onondaga	2
Orange	1
Putnam	1
Queens	8
Richmond	2
Rockland	2
Saratoga	1
Schenectady	1
Seneca	1
Suffolk	3
Ulster	1
Washington	1
Wayne	1
Westchester	2
Grand Total	60

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, 6,163 New Yorkers received their first vaccine dose, and 3,407 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	934,480	71	852,482	98
Central New York	626,785	-6	579,120	68
Finger Lakes	833,858	16	769,405	35
Long Island	2,072,264	-1,016	1,835,767	-4
Mid-Hudson	1,621,838	-387	1,418,544	92
Mohawk Valley	315,417	0	291,684	44
New York City	7,558,213	7,456	6,649,556	2,950
North Country	293,116	3	264,119	6
Southern Tier	424,519	-42	388,200	7
Western New York	919,188	68	839,426	111
Statewide	15,599,678	6,163	13,888,303	3,407

The COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker 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.   

THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR I’M PUTTING TOGETHER MY STORIES OF THE YEAR REPORT ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK AND THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM. WHITE PLAINS AND EVERY TOWN AND CITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD WAS CHANGED — IN ATTITUDES, WHAT WE DID. HOW WE LIVE TOGETHER IN THE TIME OF COVID

OUR LIFESTYLES CHANGED. WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO CHANGED. MANY OF US DID NOT WORK BECAUSE OF COVID. OUR PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE CHANGED.

IN WHITE PLAINS, MACY’S AND SEARS CLOSED THE RIDGEWAY COUNTRY CLUB WAS SOLD BY THE FRENCH AMERICAN SCHOOL TO A LUXURY HOUSING DEVELOPER  BRINGING THAT 11 YEAR BATTLE TO A CLOSE—BUT THERE IS A CONTINGENT OF GEDNEY ASSOCIATION THAT STILL WANTS THE APELLATE COURT TO DECIDE WHETHER A MANDATE SHOULD GO WITH A PROPERTY INTO PERPETUITY SO IT STILL GOES ON EVEN THOUGH THE PROJECT IS GONE. IT IS THE ISSUE THAT NEVER ENDS.

WHITE PLAINS HAS OPTED IN TO MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES AND CANNIBIS RECREATIONAL FACILITIES APPROVED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE  BY DEFAULT BY NOT TAKING UP THE ISSUE. WE AWAIT REGULATIONS ON HOW CANNIBIS FACILITIES WILL BE RUN. THERE ARE NONE YET.

LOUIS CAPPELLI TOOK OVER AND FINISHED 55 BANK STREET AND IS NOW FINISHING THE MITCHELL. THE CITY HAS YET TO ANNOUNCE WHAT IT IS GOING TO DO TO FINISH THE TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT ADJACENT THE RAILROAD STATION  RENOVATION.

THE CITY AWAITS START UP OF THE WP PAVILLION PROJECT AND CONTINUES TO  EXTEND SITE PLANS ON PROJECTS STALLED FOR LACK OF FINANCING.

THOSE WERE THE PHYSICAL CHANGES.

CITY GOVERNMENT REMAINS THE SAME. MAYOR TOM ROACH WAS ELECTED UNOPPOSED. RICHARD PAYNE WAS ELECTED TO HIS FIRST TERM ON THE COMMON COUNCIL. JOHN MARTIN WAS ELECTED TO HIS THIRD TERM ON THE COMMON COUNCIL AND JUSTIN BRASCH TO HIS SECOND.

PERSONAL CHANGES WERE MORE COMPLEX IT IS A CITY OF FEAR. OF REMOTE LEARNING AT HOME IN THE WHITE PLAINS SCHOOLS…WHICH REOPENED FULLY LAST MAY AND HAD A TERRIFIC COOPERATION BETWEEN PARENTS CHILDREN TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO REOPEN LAST MAY. THE WHITE PLAINS SCHOOLS CONTINUE WITH AN UNDER 1% NEW POSITIVE RATE

MORE PROFOUND WERE THE PERSONAL CHANGES… I HAVE WATCHED MORE MOVIES ON NETFLIX GOTTEN INTO MORE ARGUMENTS WITH BRENDA STARR ON DELAYING STARTS OF MOVIES AND BEEN INFURIATED BY HORRIBLE TUNING IN INCONSISTENCIES ON THE STREAMING CHANNELS. I HAVE REALIZED HOW I MISS SOCIALIZING AND DO NOT LIKE THE FEAR OF BEING WITH PEOPLE. THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR US MENTALLY HOW HAVE YOU HANDLED THE PERSONAL SIDE OF COVID DENNIS?

DENNIS NARDONE: I COME IN AND DO THE SHOW, TRY AND GIVE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE. I COME HERE 7 DAYS A WEEK.

JOHN: WE HAD TO STAY AT HOME. WE HAD TO WORK FROM HOME. CHILDREN HAD TO LEARN FROM HOME. WE HAD TO DEAL WITH WHETHER TO MASK OR NOT TO MASK. THERE WAS ANXIETY ABOUT WHETHER TO BE VACCINATED. INFORMATION CHANGED AND CHANGED AND CHANGED AGAIN. VACCINATIONS WERE ATTACKED BY IRRESPONSIBLE MEDIA. AFTER THE FIRST WAVE OF COVID THIS YEAR WAS STOPPED IN APRIL, RESTRICTIONS WERE LOOSENED. SOCIALIZING RETURNED AND BEGINNING IN JULY CASES GREW CREATING A SECOND WAVE WHICH AFTER LABOR DAY TURNED INTO A THIRD WAVE UNTIL NOW DECEMBER WE HAVE A SHARP SPIKE THAT HAS EXPLODED.

VACCINATION IS THE ANSWER. SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.