BUFFALO, N.Y. — Over the past three days, both Western New York and the Finger Lakes regions saw their daily percent positive rates decrease very slightly each day.
The daily percent of COVID-19 tests coming back positive is still high in both areas. In the Finger Lakes the rate went from 10.32 percent on Monday to 10.09 percent on Wednesday.
In Western New York, the rate went from 8.61 percent on Monday to 8.46 percent on Wednesday. The Western New York Region consists of Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.
The Finger Lakes region , which includes Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming, as well as Seneca, Wayne, Yates, Livingston, Monroe, and Ontario, also saw a decrease from 10.32% positive rate on Monday to a 10.09% positive rate on Wednesday.
"The holiday COVID hangover is here which is problematic enough, but with the introduction of the U.K. strain and the federal government's refusal to help contain it with common-sense testing requirements for international travelers, our work has become that much more complicated," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "Despite this new challenge, New York is staying tough, and working with the health care community to ensure hospitals do not become overwhelmed. With those efforts ongoing, it's as important as ever that we collectively stay smart and commit ourselves to taking the steps necessary for stopping the spread."
The total number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Western New York region on Wednesday was 538, that’s down two from the day before. The region is currently averaging 29% of hospital beds available and 37% of ICU beds available.
The current seven-day rolling average of percent positive for each of the eight counties in our viewing area is ranked below.
1. Wyoming 16%
2. Chautauqua 13.8%
3. Genesee 13.1%
4. Orleans 11.4%
5. Allegany 11.1%
6. Cattaraugus 10.4%
7. Niagara 10.1%
8. Erie 7.7%
Across New York State, there are 8,548 people hospitalized with a COVID-19 related illness. NYS's positivity rate for Wednesday is 7.39%. 197 people died of a COVID-19 related illness. The total number of deaths in NYS is now 31,164.
