BUFFALO, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo provided the latest information Sunday afternoon about New York State's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the latest data released by the state, the Western New York region that includes Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany counties, continues to see a decline in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19.
New York State reports that 509 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Western New York region, which equated to .04 percent of the region's population. This number is a slight decrease from the day prior at 518.
At this time, 31 percent of hospital beds are available in the region.
On Saturday, 142,345 COVID-19 test results were reported to New York State. Of those reported, 11,368 came back positive for a percent positive rate of 7.98 percent, an increase of .23 percent from Friday.
Meanwhile, the Western New York region's percent positive rate also increased from Friday (7.95 percent) to Saturday (8.43 percent). Despite this increase, the Western New York region still has one of the lowest percent positive rates in the state, just above Mid-Hudson (8.19 percent), New York City (6.24 percent) and the Southern Tier (6.42 percent).
Mohawk Valley had the highest percent positive rate in the state (10.40 percent) with the Finger Lakes region close behind (10.35).
Statewide, 138 New Yorkers died on Saturday from COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths to 30,476. Of those who passed away on Saturday, 15 deaths were reported here in Western New York.
"As we move into this New Year, one of our most pressing challenges, along with maintaining our diligence in stopping the spread of the virus, will be to ensure that the vaccine is made available fairly," Governor Cuomo said.
"COVID has exposed many of the existing injustices in our society, most notably that racism is, without a doubt, a public health crisis. Case and point, data has continued to show that despite higher infection and death rates in the Black and Latino communities, testing has remained more widely available in white communities. I refuse to let race or income determine who lives and who dies in New York and I mean it. That's why as we work to break down barriers and ensure vaccine access for all, I will not take the vaccine until it is available for my age group in Black, Hispanic, and poor communities around the state."