ALBANY – Erie County on Sunday led the state in the most dire of Covid-19 statistics: highest number of deaths of New York’s 62 counties.
The nine Covid-infected people who died in the county on Sunday was more than double the four who died from the virus in all of New York City.
The “yellow zone” area of most of Erie County over the last seven days had a rolling average Covid positivity rate of 7.32%, the worst of 12 specially designated zones with high numbers of the virus. When just considering Covid positive tests for Sunday, the rate was 6.36%.
Moreover, as it has many times over the past couple of months, the positive rate in all Western New York counties combined was the highest in the state on Sunday at 5.2%. The next highest positivity rate of the nine regions of the state was found in the Finger Lakes, at 4.3%. New York City, where the pandemic hit the worst last spring, was at 2.3% on Sunday.
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The ongoing troublesome numbers for the region, as well as the state, were released Monday afternoon by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. “This is not an upstate or downstate issue. All New Yorkers, regardless of where they live, have cause for concern," Cuomo said in a written statement.
Statewide, the positive rate for Covid tests processed on Sunday was 2.80%.
Hospitalizations of Covid-infected people increased by another 123 on Sunday statewide to 1,968. That is up from 483 people precisely two months ago.
Across New York on Sunday, 25 Covid-infected people died – a total of 26,159 since the pandemic began last spring. The New York Times has put the total death number at more than 33,000 in the state, which includes people who died from home and were presumed to have had Covid.
In all statewide, 3,490 new cases of Covid were confirmed on Sunday. Erie County had 272 newly confirmed cases.
The 6.36% positivity rate in the “yellow zone” area of Erie County on Sunday was 50% higher than the rate when all of the specially designated Covid hot spots are calculated.
Cuomo on Monday did not announce new hot spots on the yellow, orange and red designations the state has for special areas of Covid concerns. It remains uncertain if Erie County will go the next highest level – from yellow to orange – that would lead to closing of different parts of society and the economy.