ANOTHER COVID RECORD BROKEN: NY records 74K positive tests, new all-time daily high
Free Covid Test site during Holiday Omicron surge, Queens, New York. (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - Once again, New York has broken its single-day COVID-19 case record, reporting an astonishing 74,207 positive tests on Thursday, an 11 percent increase over Wednesday's numbers, which were also record-breaking.
The state's COVID positivity rate stands at a jaw-dropping 22.05 percent of New Yorkers, with the hospitalization rate increasing once again to 7,373, the highest total since early February.
A total of 1,020 people are currently in ICUs across the state, a jump of 58 since Wednesday's report and the first time since March that the number was over 1,000.
"As the New Year approaches, it's more important than ever that we take the necessary precautions to keep each other safe in the face of the COVID winter surge," Governor Hochul said. "It's up to all of us to make 2022 a safer, healthier year than 2021 was - get vaccinated, get boosted, mask up, and avoid large indoor public gatherings when possible."
Despite the record-breaking numbers, Mayor Bill de Blasio reiterated Thursday that the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square will go on as planned.
The current COVID surge has hit every part of life in New York City, from sports to Broadway and even the subway system, with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority canceling service on three subway lines and rerouting others because of staffing shortages.
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