BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo provided an update on the state's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday.
Governor Cuomo shared that the statewide COVID-19 positivity rate for Monday was 1.78 percent.
According to data from the New York State Department of Health, the Western New York region's daily percent positive rate doubled from Sunday to Monday. On Sunday the percent positive rate was 1.3 percent and jumped to 2.6 percent on Monday.
That’s the highest percent positive rate for the region in five months.
Cuomo also shared that the percent positive rate for the Western New York region was the highest in the state on Monday. According to the state, more than 100 new positive tests were reported in Erie County.
This is the first time Erie County has had more than 100 positives in a single day since May. The seven day rolling average of percent positive in the region is now 1.6 percent.
The state also reported that the region is knocking on almost 13,000 total positive cases since the pandemic began back in March. There are 12,971 total positives, so far.
The Western New York region includes Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.
Below is the positive percentages for all regions in New York State:
- Capital Region: 1.3 percent
- Central New York: 2.2 percent
- Finger Lakes: 1.7 percent
- Long Island: 1.6 percent
- Mid-Hudson: 2.2 percent
- Mohawk Valley: 1.1 percent
- New York City: 1.7 percent
- North Country: 0.9 percent
- Southern Tier: 2.0 percent
- Western New York: 2.6 percent
In response to 2 our questions about the increase in COVID-19 cases, a spokesperson with the Erie County Department of Health said in an email:
"We are continuing our response with case investigations and contact tracing for these newly confirmed cases in order to place people in isolation and quarantine. Isolation and quarantine are public health strategies to break the chain of transmission. At this point we do not have any information to share about any clusters; case investigations for positive cases from Monday’s results were given to our contact tracing team today."
The spokesperson also pointed out, "We want to remind everyone of the importance of the preventive measures we can all take in our daily activities: wearing a mask, washing our hands, maintaining 6 feet of distance in public, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces."
We expect to learn more about these new cases soon.
The Erie County Department of Health plans to provide an update on Wednesday.