Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 -FEBRUARY 3, 2023

 

Governor Encourages New Yorkers to Keep Using the Tools to Protect Against and Treat COVID-19: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing and Treatment

25 Statewide Deaths Reported on February 2

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19 and outlined basic steps they can take to protect against the spread of viral respiratory infections that become more common in the winter season.

"I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "Be sure to stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Governor Hochul is urging New Yorkers to take common prevention measures — like staying up to date on vaccines and practicing proper hygiene — to protect from the flu and COVID-19 and reduce the patient burden on local hospitals. The Governor reiterated these basic steps when she updated New Yorkers on the state's winter health preparedness efforts last month.

The New York State Department of Health's weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending January 28, shows influenza remaining widespread throughout the state for a seventeenth consecutive week, with a total of 308,279 positive cases across 57 counties reported to date. The report found that confirmed cases statewide dropped 34 percent to 2,937 for the week, while overall hospitalizations were down 35 percent from the previous week, at 304 hospitalizations across the state.

Additionally, there were 6 outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities, the report determined. There was one influenza-associated pediatric death reported this week, bringing the total to nine statewide.

With flu season continuing and infections remaining widespread, Governor Hochul encourages all New Yorkers to get their annual flu vaccine. The flu virus and the virus that causes COVID-19 are both circulating, so getting vaccinated against both is the best way to stay healthy and to avoid added stress to the health care system.

The Health Department is continuing its annual public education campaign, reminding adults and parents to get both flu and COVID-19 shots for themselves and children 6 months and older. For information about flu vaccine clinics, contact the local health department or visit vaccines.gov/find-vaccines/.

Governor Hochul also continues to urge New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Last month, the New York State Department of Health announced new guidance for bivalent COVID-19 booster doses, which are now available for eligible children down to 6 months of age.

The updated boosters are the first to be targeted to the original virus strain and recently circulating variants and are recommended for young New Yorkers and all those eligible. To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers should contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 16.41
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 14.57
• Test Results Reported - 48,960
• Total Positive - 3,206
• Percent Positive - 6.33%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 5.55%**
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,470 (-93)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 362
• Patients in ICU - 254 (-16)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 99 (-12)
• Total Discharges - 396,812 (+414)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 25
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 61,406

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 78,037

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 43,707,866
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 6,670
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 44,349
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 85.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 90.6%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older who are up to date - 15.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series - 74.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.2%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 who are up to date - 6.1%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed vaccine series - 40.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 40.8%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 who are up to date - 3.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 with completed vaccine series - 7.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 who are up to date - 7.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 76.4%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 80.7%
• Percent of all New Yorkers who are up to date - 13.6%

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:

Borough	Tuesday,   January   31, 2023	Wed.   February   1, 2023	Thursday,   February   2, 2023
Bronx	5.68%	5.65%	5.58%
Kings	3.66%	3.26%	3.33%
New York	4.71%	4.63%	4.57%
Queens	5.50%	5.24%	5.19%
Richmond	5.46%	5.36%	5.17%

WITH ARCTIC BLAST ON THE WAY, NYC ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES REMINDS NEW YORKERS THAT -- EVEN IN COLD WEATHER -- INFANTS SHOULD NEVER SLEEP WITH BLANKETS OR IN BEDS

 

To Keep Warm, Caregivers Should Put Babies to Sleep in Sleep Sacks or In an Extra Layer of Infant Clothing

Ahead of the arctic blast expected to hit New York City this weekend, the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is reminding parents and caregivers with infants how to keep their babies warm and safe while sleeping. There is serious danger associated with babies less than a year-old sleeping with parents, siblings or others in adult beds, or sleeping with blankets or quilts, which can create a risk of suffocation. To keep babies warm and safe, parents and caregivers are urged to dress babies in an extra layer of infant clothing or in a wearable blanket, such as a sleep sack.

“With freezing temperatures set to hit New York City this weekend, ACS is helping make sure that all New Yorkers caring for infants know how to put their babies to sleep in a way that will keep them both safe and warm,” said ACS Commissioner Jess Dannhauser. “Out of the best of intentions to keep our beloved little ones warm, we can unintentionally put them in danger. We’re reminding parents and caregivers that infants should sleep alone, on their backs, and in their own cribs free of blankets or other items.”

ACS’s cold weather reminder is part of an ongoing effort to help parents prevent unintentional injuries to their children. In 2021, ACS created a brand-new office, The Office of Child Safety and Injury Prevention, which supports ongoing child safety campaigns, including those related to unsafe sleep practices, hot car tragedies, window guards, unsafe storage of prescription medications and, most recently, pediatric exposures to cannabis edibles. Every year about 40 or more babies in New York City die from suffocation and other preventable sleep-related injuries. A sleep-related injury death is the sudden death of an infant less than 1 year old that occurs because of where and/or how they were placed to sleep. Sleep-related infant injury death is not the same as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) or “crib death.” SIDS is the natural death of a baby that cannot be explained after a careful medical review of the case. Unlike SIDS, sleep-related infant injury deaths are mostly preventable.

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to learn the ABCs of safe sleep. Infants should sleep Alone, on their Backs, in a safety-approved Crib. Parents should also remember the following five things during the winter weather:

1. Avoid bringing the baby into bed with you, even if you think it will keep the baby warmer. A baby must never sleep in an adult bed, on a couch or on a chair with anyone. Babies may suffocate if another person accidentally rolls on top of them or covers their nose and mouth.

2. Keep soft objects, loose bedding, or any other items that could increase the risk of suffocation out of the baby’s sleep area.

3. When worried about a baby getting cold, dress them in a wearable blanket, such as a sleep sack, or in another layer of infant clothing.

4. Place babies on their backs to sleep. Babies breathe better on their backs than on their stomachs or sides.

5. Put babies to sleep on a flat, firm sleep surface with a fitted sheet made for that specific product. Though it might seem more comfortable to put a pillow on top of the mattress, babies may suffocate on the soft surface.

 

Over the years, ACS has engaged in important campaigns to help increase awareness about safe sleep practices. ACS is working to reach families proactively with educational messages and services that can support healthy children, families and communities.

 

Pursuant to New York City’s Housing Maintenance Code, building owners are legally required to provide heat and hot water to their tenants. New Yorkers should contact 311 to file a complaint if indoor temperatures are not compliant with the Code in cold weather. New Yorkers should contact 311 to file complaint if indoor temperatures are not in compliance with the Housing Maintenance Code.

 

For more information on infant safe sleep best practices or resources in your community, visit: www.nyc.gov/safesleep or call 311 and ask for Safe Sleep.

Texas Man Sentenced For Felony Charges Related to Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

 

Defendant Carried Flagpole Into Capitol, Joined in Confrontations With Officers

A Texas man was sentenced for felony charges, including assaulting law enforcement officers, during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Joshua Lee Hernandez, 29, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison.  Hernandez pleaded guilty on November 2, 2022, in the District of Columbia, to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers, and interfering with officers during a civil disorder. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper ordered 36 months of supervised release, and a $2,000 special assessment.

According to court documents, Hernandez traveled from Memphis, Tennessee, to Washington, D.C. On Jan. 6, 2021, he illegally entered the restricted grounds of the Capitol, heading to the Lower West Terrace area, and inciting the crowd by waving a flag and chanting. At 2:13 p.m., he entered the Capitol through a window near the Senate Wing Doors, carrying a flagpole. Over the next 40 minutes, he moved through the Senate Wing, the Crypt, the House Speaker’s Conference Room, and the Rotunda, among various places, with the flagpole.

Between 2:35 and 2:40 p.m., Hernandez joined rioters who were confronting law enforcement officers at the East Rotunda interior door. He shouted and waved at others to join him in a group push against the officers in order for the mob to open the doors to other rioters outside. He braced and pushed with the group, causing the East Rotunda doors to open to those outside. He then moved around the group of rioters, moved his flagpole up, reached with it over top of the group of rioters surrounding the officers, and hit one officer on his riot helmet with the flagpole.  

At 2:46 p.m., Hernandez entered the Senate Gallery, carrying the flagpole.  He left the Gallery after a few minutes, exiting the Capitol at 2:52 p.m.

Hernandez was arrested on Feb. 23, 2022, in Memphis.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Memphis Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Hernandez as #27 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.  

 Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.