New York State: COVID-19 levels stay low in Memorial Day test results
Ana Quintanilla, a nursing student at Molloy College, gives a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination event in April at the Rockville Centre campus. Credit: Danielle Silverman
COVID-19 numbers continued a steady decline to lows not seen since last summer, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Tuesday, though he said more people need to get vaccinated to wipe out the virus.
The statewide seven-day positivity rate was 0.65%, a new low since the pandemic's start, Cuomo said. The daily statewide positivity rate was 0.77% in test results from Monday.
Long Island's seven-day positivity rate was 0.59%, while New York City's was 0.5%, according to the latest state data.
"New Yorkers are continuing to beat back COVID every day, and as the numbers keep going down, we are able to get our economy back up and running and move our state into the future," Cuomo said in a statement.
The number of new confirmed cases was 17 in Nassau County, 28 in Suffolk County and 176 in New York City.
There were a total of 50,528 test results from across New York on Monday, a lower number than usual on the Memorial Day holiday. The state has regularly reported test results exceeding 100,000 and even 200,000 per day through the spring season.
Statewide, eight people died on Monday of virus-related causes, though none were on Long Island.
People wearing masks walked past a sign in October promoting face coverings with the message "BE SMART PLEASE Wear Your Mask" in Mattituck. The level of virus positivity has declined and fully vaccinated people are not required to wear masks in the outdoors and many other settings. Credit: Newsday / Steve Pfost
Continuing trend of decreasing cases
The Monday numbers continued a trend of lows for new infections not seen in months, matching a total of only 45 cases on Long Island in results from Sunday.
Nassau had a 0.5% positivity rate on Sunday, with 26 new positives out of 5,292 test results, state data shows. Suffolk had a 0.3% rate, with 19 new positives of 6,019 tests. Monday's figures had Nassau again at 0.5% and Suffolk at 0.7% positivity rates.
The seven-day average of new cases on Long Island has decreased by nearly 79% in the last 30 days, according to a Newsday analysis of state data, going from 437 cases to 93 by Monday. The seven-day positivity rate had peaked on Jan. 11, with 3,465 new cases for both counties combined.
Long Island’s case numbers Sunday were in line with last summer’s lows, the state data shows. One of the last days Nassau tracked such a low number of new positives was July 5, when the county registered 22 positives. Suffolk's new positives Sunday fell below summer lows, such as the 21 positives reported on Aug. 23.
Just as Long Island residents took advantage of the Memorial Day weekend to start their summer, state figures showed a daily drop in new virus cases for the region. Here beachgoers wait for the Bethpage Air Show to begin at Jones Beach. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa Loarca
New York City’s coronavirus positivity rate is 0.83% — the lowest on record ever, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday, crediting vaccinations for the drop.
"Since we started testing and measuring, this is the lowest level that we’ve had. And it’s absolutely amazing," he said, speaking at his daily news conference from City Hall in Manhattan.
The 0.83% rate is a seven-day average as of May 30, according to a slideshow at de Blasio’s briefing. The city calculates the rate differently than the state does.
Due to the declining level of new cases, de Blasio said, the city’s senior centers are reopening outdoor activities immediately, and indoors on June 14, with social distancing and other precautions.
With Matt Clark
Sign up for COVID-19 text alerts at newsday.com/text.
