BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Western New York region's COVID-19 positivity rate dropped to 4.4 percent on Tuesday, when it set a record for most people tested.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office says 11,747 people tested, which is the most for a single day since the pandemic began. A total of 513 people tested positive, and the region's seven-day rolling average is 4.3 percent.
Below are the percent positives for the region over the past four days:
- Saturday: 4.8 percent
- Sunday: 5.3 percent
- Monday: 5.7 percent
- Tuesday: 4.4 percent
Of those most recent positives, 422 were in Erie County, which amounts to 46 new cases per 100,000 residents. The seven-day rolling average of new cases per 100,000 in the county is now 33.
The total number of COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized climbed to 126 on Tuesday, which marks an increase of 17 people from Monday.
The news comes on a day when Cuomo announced new measures to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 cases around the state, including Western New York.
Effective Friday at 10 p.m., any establishment with a liquor license in New York State will now have to close at 10 p.m. each night. The governor also announced that gyms must also close at 10 each night.
After 10 p.m., restaurants can offer curbside pickup of food only. Also, parties in private homes can have no more than 10 people attend unless the household consists of more than 10 people.
Cuomo says contact tracing has identified house parties, gyms and restaurants/bars as the main virus spreaders and says these steps must be taken if New York is to stay ahead of COVID-19.
