Nothing remotely like the MidWest or parts of the South….
But as aspected due to cooler weather forcing people inside….
The infection rate has spiked up….
As infections spiked around the United States and other countries, the infection rate for Long Island increased Friday to 2.5% from 1.9% on Thursday and 2.0% on Wednesday, according to state figures.
Eighteen people died of COVID-19-related causes in the state on Friday, including one person in Nassau County. The state’s number of deaths related to the virus now stands at 25,928.
The governor said the positivity rate in all focus areas under the state’s micro-cluster strategy was 4.22%, up from 3.33% the day before. Within the focus areas,13,488 tests were performed, yielding 569 positives.
The rate of infection in areas outside the micro-cluster focus was 2.01%, inching up from 1.84% the previous day. For the entire state, the level of new infection was 2.19%, increasing from 1.99% the day before, according to state figures.
“Cases are increasing across the country and the globe — and there are several warning flags in New York. The challenge for our state has been to manage the increase and try to ensure the spikes in other states don’t impact us too much,” Cuomo said.
He added, “We manage the increase by deploying the most aggressive testing in the country and our micro-cluster strategy — when we identify a small spread, we increase enforcement and restrictions in a targeted way.”
Statewide, the number of people hospitalized increased by 60 to 1,381, the figures said. A total of 308 people were in ICUs, an increase of 23, and the number of people in ICUs on intubation also increased by nine to 138…..