BUFFALO, N.Y. — On the day where New York State and the Western New York region saw record high testing being administered, the region saw more than 600 new positive COVID-19 cases.
New York State says that testing done on Thursday, November 12, reports that the Western New York region reported 621 new positive COVID-19 cases in the region out of 15,754 tests. That number of tests taken in the region was nearly 4,000 more than the previous high.
In Erie County, there 481 positive tests out of 10,222 tests for a 4.7% positive rate. The number of new cases in the county is down slightly from the previous day, but the rolling average of new cases per 100,000 residents is now up to 42.
The percent of tests that were positive for COVID-19 in the Western New York region on Thursday was 3.9%. The seven-day rolling average for the region is 4.7%.
The total number of people hospitalized with the virus in the region increased to 137, which is up three from the day before.
There were four additional COVID-19 related deaths in Erie County reported to the state for Thursday.
Statewide and local leaders are speaking out as COVID-19 cases across the state and Western New York region continue to climb. On Friday, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said Western New York is at a turning point in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, calling the region the 'epicenter' of the state.
Also on Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said if numbers don't improve this weekend, following the new restrictions/guidelines, then there might be further restrictions coming next week.
The Western New York Region includes Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.