New York Governor Andrew Cuomo held a conference call late Thursday morning where he provided an update into the state's progress on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Cuomo revealed that the COVID-19 positive rate in the WNY region for Wednesday was 1.6%
Out of 6,833 test results, 111 were positive. The 7 day rolling average for the region is now nearly 1.4%, the line where the state begins to get worried.
"Dealing with COVID is not checkers. It's chess. So, let's start to think ahead. We're dealing with the fall. The next step is going to be dealing with a vaccine. We all hope and pray that the vaccine comes sooner rather than later. It gets very complicated very quickly and we need to know what is the plan, what does the federal government do, what do you expect the states to do. When does it start? Who funds it, et cetera? Let's figure it out now because this virus has been ahead of us every step of the way. It's about time this country catches up," Cuomo said during the call.
The Governor also announced that the state will provide 200,000 rapid test kits to New York City schools in the "Yellow Zones." The "zones" are part of the Governor's Cluster Action Initiative.
The three-day percent positive for the Western New York region is below:
- Monday: 1.5%
- Tuesday: 1.0%
- Wednesday: 1.6%
The Western New York Region includes Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.