NYS COVID-19 hospitalizations down to 3,294, positivity rate 1.79 pct: governor

NEW YORK, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York State dropped to 3,294 on Friday, compared with 3,387 one day earlier, the lowest since Nov. 27, tweeted Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the single-day COVID-19 test positivity rate went down to 1.79 percent on Friday from 2.03 percent on Thursday, the lowest since Nov. 3, he said, adding that there were 40 COVID-19 fatalities on Friday, compared with 45 one day earlier.

In an official statement issued Saturday afternoon, the governor said that the statewide 7-day average COVID-19 positivity rate decreased to 2.27 percent, the lowest since Nov. 9.

"It's critical we continue practicing safe behaviors even as vaccinations climb, and while I know some may feel COVID fatigue setting in, we have to keep doing what we can to keep each other safe," he was quoted as saying.

"We're going to reach the light at the end of the tunnel and defeat the COVID beast, but we have a lot of work to do before we get there," he added.

In another tweet posted on Saturday, Cuomo said that "43.8% of New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose and 30.7% have completed their vaccine series. 189,254 total doses were administered over the past 24 hours. 14,295,610 total doses administered to date."

A statement issued by the governor's office earlier Saturday said that "world-renowned public health experts from the federal government and our own independent state task force have reviewed the data and reaffirmed that the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can resume."

"The state of New York will resume administration of this vaccine at all of our state-run sites effective immediately," it added.

As of Saturday afternoon, the total COVID-19 deaths in New York State reached 51,941, the second worst in the country following the state of California with a death toll of 61,432, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.