ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo provided an update on the state's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday.
Governor Cuomo shared that the statewide positive rate for Thursday was 1.53 percent. The Governor also shared that the state has the third lowest infection rate in the country, but we should still be aware of the virus and not risk going backwards.
"Our state had one of the highest infection rates in the nation, if not the globe, and we now have the third lowest in the country. We cannot become complacent and risk going backwards," Governor Cuomo said in a release. "We continue to closely monitor the data and handle micro-clusters as they happen, as well as watching what is happening around us as cases surge again across the country. As we head into winter months, it will be critical for all New Yorkers to keep up the good work of wearing our masks, washing our hands and remaining socially distant - and above all staying New York Tough."
For the Western New York region, the positive rate for Thursday, October 29 was 2.3 percent. The region had the second highest positive rate on Thursday, with the Finger Lakes region and Central New York both having a 2.4 percent positive rate.
There were 174 positive results in the region.
In Erie County alone, the state reports that there were 101 new COVID-19 cases in the county on Thursday. The three counties that border Pennsylvania had 53 total new cases, increasing their combined average of new cases per 100,000 residents to 14.
The state also says there was also 1 new COVID-related death in Erie County.
The Western New York region includes Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.