More than 400 people who may have been exposed to the U.K. strain from contact with the Saratoga Springs man and jewelry store were tested, Cuomo said through a press release. The Department of Health s Wadsworth lab has so far tested more than 2,200 samples statewide in the state s search for additional cases.
Two daily testing sites at the University at Albany and Jones Beach will prioritize coronavirus tests for people who have potentially come into contact with the variant. Frightening data indicates the UK strain could overtake the current strain in a matter of weeks, Cuomo warned earlier this week. It s no more lethal than the current strain and no evidence shows it causes worse infections, but the heightened transmissibility alone could lead to a case surge he fears could overwhelm hospitals.
4:00 AM MYT NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) New York City s COVID-19 test positivity rate on a seven-day average went down to 9.21 percent, compared with 9.25 percent one day earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Thursday. The rate was announced on Jan. 1 to top 9 percent, on Dec. 31 to top 8 percent and on Dec. 27 to top 7 percent. It topped 3 percent late November, which was believed by the city government to signify the arrival of a second wave of the coronavirus, and has remained above the level ever since. Meanwhile, the mayor said on Thursday that there were 273 new hospital admissions and 3,870 new cases of the coronavirus, adding that Again, all these numbers are too high. With the vaccine and with our own actions, we can bring down these numbers together.
1:27 p.m.: The first New York State case of the virus variant from the United Kingdom was traced back to travel there, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.
A jewelry store employee in Saratoga Springs who had not traveled to the UK became sick with COVID-19, and upon testing for the variant, state health officials found he had contracted the new, highly transmissible version of the virus. It was suspected at first to be community spread.
But following contact tracing efforts, officials determined that someone in the contact tracing circle had traveled to the United Kingdom, according to State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.
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