Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic - OCTOBER 5, 2020

 

Directs Schools in Hot Spot Zip Codes Identified by New York City to Temporarily Close In-Person Learning Beginning Tomorrow 

Governor to Meet with Communities in Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland, Orange and Nassau Counties to Discuss Religious Gatherings 

New York State to Oversee Enforcement in Statewide Hot Spot Clusters 

20 ZIP Codes in Areas with Hot Spots - Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland and Orange Counties - Have 5.5 Percent Positivity Rate  

Statewide Positivity Excluding Hot Spot ZIP Codes is 1.01 Percent; 1.22 Percent with Hotspot ZIP Codes Included 

8 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday 

SLA and State Police Task Force Visits 587 Establishments; Observes 0 Establishments Not in Compliance 

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the COVID-19 pandemic and directed schools in hot spot ZIP codes identified by New York City to temporarily close in-person learning beginning tomorrow. The governor noted that New York State needs more data on the threat COVID-19 poses in those schools. Governor Cuomo also announced he will meet with the communities in Brooklyn, Queens, and Rockland, Orange and Nassau Counties to address religious gatherings. New York State will oversee enforcement in statewide hot spot clusters. Yesterday, Governor Cuomo announced that New York State is deploying personnel to directly enforce state guidance within the hot spot ZIP codes. New York State will review the data in affected ZIP codes, gather more school data and determine criteria for reopening the schools.

In the top 20 ZIP codes in areas that have seen recent outbreaks - Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland and Orange Counties - 3,473 tests were conducted, yielding 193 positives or a 5.5 percent positivity rate. In the remainder of the state, 72,931 tests were conducted yielding 740 positives or a 1.01 percent positivity rate.

"My number one concern has always been schools. I said to the parents of this state, I will not allow your child to be sent to any school that I would not send my child, period. And you have my personal word on that," Governor Cuomo said. "If you have to prioritize testing, you want to go to these schools first because you know they are in hot spot clusters, so we have not yet tested some schools in hot spot clusters. Better safe than sorry. I would not send my child to a school in a hot spot cluster that has not been tested and where I did not have proof that the infection rate was low in that school. I would not send my child. I am not going to recommend or allow any New York City family to send their child to a school that I wouldn't send my child to. We're going to close the schools in those areas tomorrow."

New York State continues to track clusters with a particular focus on areas where there are hot spot, cluster situations. Within the top 20 ZIP codes in counties with recent outbreaks - Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland and Orange Counties - the average rate of positive tests is 5.5 percent. The rate of positive tests for the remainder of New York State, not counting these 20 ZIP codes, is 1.01 percent. These 20 ZIP codes contained 21 percent of all positive cases in New York State yesterday, but represent only 6.7 percent of the state's population.