COVID-19 second wave slams New Rochelle, one of NY’s first hot spots
The Westchester town of New Rochelle was among the first places in the US the coronavirus hit hard. And now it’s back.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo added the New York City suburb to the list of communities across the state that have had some coronavirus restrictions reimposed on Thursday as the state tries to head off a deadly second wave of COVID-19 infections this winter.
The community was placed under a yellow zone, which limits restaurants and bars to seat just four people per table but allows both indoor and outdoor dining to continue.
During a telephone press briefing, Cuomo also beseeched New Yorkers to ditch travel plans and big family get-togethers over Thanksgiving as health experts fear they could fuel a massive increase in cases.
“I am telling you, I will wager to you that if people are not extraordinarily diligent, and act in a way they’ve never acted before, you’re going to see a very large spike,” Cuomo warned.
“It’s your family, it’s your home, it’s your table — these are all environments where you feel safe and that’s the beauty of Thanksgiving,” he added later. “Your safe zone is not a safe zone, your safe zone is dangerous this year.”
As Cuomo made the remarks, state health officials said 2.7 percent of the 195,000 test results received yesterday were positive, a sharp drop from the 3.4 percent reported Wednesday.
However, this figure is prone to significant fluctuations and officials did not have the seven-day average, which is a steadier figure, immediately available.
Even as the testing positivity rate showed a one-day decline, COVID-19 put another 2,276 New Yorkers in the hospital.
In New York City, the number of new hospitalizations ticked up by 115. However, the city’s seven-day average positivity rate ticked higher to 3.01 percent, as it inched above the threshold that shut down schools through at least Thanksgiving on Wednesday.