Gov. Hochul: New York’s progress against COVID is ‘extraordinary’

BRONX, N.Y. (WROC) — Gov. Kathy Hochul hosted a coronavirus briefing Tuesday morning from the North Central Bronx Hospital to update New Yorkers on the state’s pandemic response efforts.

According to the governor Monday, new COVID-19 cases statewide dropped nearly 50% since the week prior with case rates declining in all regions of New York. The governor also said that new hospital admissions were down nearly 33% week over week. The governor said that trend continued into Tuesday:

“This is a beautiful sight,” Gov. Hochul said. “We have been waiting for this. It’s hard to believe that on January 7 we had 90,000 new cases in a single day and yesterday we had 7,000. Look at where we are at 50day. That’s a big drop. Look at the progress we are making across the state — it is extraordinary.”

The positive indicators aren’t limited to new case rates, but COVID-19 hospitalizations too, but the governor said although the situation is improving, there is still a concern for hospitals and families losing loved ones to the virus.

“Hospital numbers are starting to come down, but we’re still losing too many New Yorkers,” Gov. Hochul said. “In far too many cases, too many people are losing their lives to this. The numbers are going town, but we will continue to take this is seriously. This is not to say this is over.”

Although COVID-19 hospitalizations are currently on the decline, the governor said hospitals still need assistance, and federal resources have arrived in New York to help health care systems with staffing shortages, including:

Military medical teams; 71 personnel total
Four more military medical teams approved, two each for Strong Memorial Hospital and SUNY Upstate
110 federally-provided ambulance units
225 New York National Guard members deployed

“There are here because we need them,” Gov. Hochul said. “We need to support our health care workers who are overworked. We already have an overburdened health care system. This is an area that needs major investment. We need to anticipate the future of health care better.”

Meanwhile, the governor’s indoor mask mandate was granted a full stay by New York’s Appellate court, as the appeals process continues. After New York’s Appellate court ruling Monday, the mask mandate will be upheld for all public indoor spaces during the state’s appeal process.

Other COVID topics the governor touched on during the Tuesday briefing included advocating for New Yorkers to get booster shoots, calling on the federal government to make sure kid vaccines are covered by insurance once approved for Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA, and saying more needs to be known about long COVID.

“It feels like spring is just around the corner and it feels like COVID is finally turning the corner,” Gov. Hochul said.