Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - JUNE 1, 2022

 Clinical specimen testing for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at Wadsworth Laboratory

Statewide 7-Day Average Case Rate Has Consecutively Dropped For Past 15 Days  Lowest Level Since April 27

Cases Continue to Decline Across All Regions

49 Statewide Deaths Reported, from 5/28 to 5/31


 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

"As we continue to monitor the numbers, it is important that we don't let our guard down and keep using the tools we have available to us to stay safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from serious illness is to get vaccinated and keep up to date with your booster doses. If you are experiencing symptoms, get tested, and if you test positive talk to your doctor about available treatments."  

Today's data is summarized briefly below:   

Important Note: Due to the holiday, HERDS data collection from health care facilities was paused from 5/28/2022-5/30/2022. Data from those days were submitted in Tuesday's report. Where noted, totals include four days of cumulative data from 5/28/2022-6/1/2022. As a result, some data may appear higher than recent trends. Data affected is marked with an asterisk.

  • Cases Per 100k - 29.07
  • 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 32.78
  • Test Results Reported - 54,078
  • Total Positive - 5,681
  • Percent Positive - 10.42%**  
  • 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.85%**
  • Patient Hospitalization -  2,459
  • Patients Newly Admitted - 1,135*
  • Patients in ICU - 238
  • Patients in ICU with Intubation - 85*
  • Total Discharges - 307,600 (+900)*
  • New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 49*
  • Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 56,106*

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 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 (HHS) 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 - 71,570

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 - 38,940,477
  • Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 8,064
  • Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 122,668
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 92.6%  
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 84.0%  
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 95.0%  
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 87.4%  
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 83.7%  
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 73.6%  
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 82.1%  
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 74.5%  
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 90.6%  
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 77.4%                                                                                                             
Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:   

Borough  

Sunday, May 29, 2022 

Monday, May 30, 2022 

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 

Bronx 

4.07% 

4.01% 

4.15% 

Kings 

5.66% 

5.59% 

5.80% 

New York 

6.48% 

6.46% 

6.49% 

Queens 

6.09% 

6.03% 

6.09% 

Richmond 

6.69% 

6.43% 

6.36% 

Attorney General James Cracks Down on Gun Sellers Illegally Selling and Advertising Ghost Gun Parts

 

AG James Orders 28 Firearms Sellers to Immediately Stop Selling and Advertising Parts Used to Make Homemade, Untraceable Guns

On the First Day of Gun Violence Awareness Month, AG James Takes Action to Protect New Yorkers

 On the first day of Gun Violence Awareness Month, New York Attorney General Letitia James today took action to crack down on firearms sellers illegally selling and advertising gun parts that are used to create homemade, untraceable firearms, known as ghost guns. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that 28 firearms sellers across the state advertised and/or offered to sell one or more unfinished frames, receivers, and/or kits containing both. The OAG’s investigation found that a majority of these gun sellers were located in Western New York and on Long Island. New York law prohibits the sale, exchange, or disposal of unfinished frames and receivers. In cease-and-desist letters to all 28 dealers, Attorney General James ordered these businesses to immediately stop advertising and selling the prohibited parts and warned of the legal consequences, including imprisonment, if they do not comply.

“Ghost guns are fueling the flames of the gun violence epidemic, and we will not sit idly as they proliferate in our streets and devastate communities,” said Attorney General James. “Across the nation, too many lives are being lost because of these untraceable and unregistered weapons that anyone can get their hands on without a background check. We are not going to wait for another tragedy, my office is taking action to crack down on gun sellers that are illegally advertising ghost guns. If gun sellers do not comply with the law, they will face the full force of my office.”

The OAG’s investigation found that most of these firearms sellers advertised the prohibited unfinished receivers, frames, and kits online or at gun shows. They advertised them on their websites, with some allowing consumers to buy online and others telling consumers to call and ask for the price. Today’s enforcement action is the result of the Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act and the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act, which recently came into effect and criminalizes the sale of ghost guns and requires gunsmiths to register and serialize all such firearms.

Nine of these businesses are in Western New York, six on Long Island, five in Central New York, four in the Hudson Valley, two in the Southern Tier, and one in the Capital Region.

Unfinished receivers and frames, also known as 80 percent frames, do not have serial numbers and can easily be used to make untraceable guns, or ghost guns, at home using basic tools. Unfinished receivers hold the upper, lower, and rear portions of a semiautomatic rifle together. Purchasers of unfinished receivers only have to make a few small changes with a common drill press to transform an unfinished receiver into a fully operational one. Once milled, a receiver may be readily turned into a fully-assembled, illegal assault weapon. Similarly, a purchaser of an unfinished frame can use commonly available tools to finish the frame, which may then be readily assembled into an untraceable handgun.

Some of the businesses identified by OAG were selling kits that contained unfinished frames and the tools needed to put a finished gun together at home. They advertised “blank serialization plates,” which makes the firearms untraceable.

The OAG identified the following illegal products advertised by these gun dealers.

ghostgunpic1

Illegal gun kit advertised for sale online by a Western New York gun shop. Kit includes an unfinished frame, hardened rail pins, a finishing jig, drill bits, and an end mill, which are all components that can be used to make an untraceable gun at home.

Ghost gun release pic2

Illegal, unfinished lower receiver advertised for sale by gun sellers across the state.

ghost gun pic 3

Illegal, unfinished frame advertised for sale online by a Capital Region gun shop.

In her cease-and-desist letters, Attorney General James reminds the gun sellers that it is illegal in New York for any person not licensed as a gunsmith or dealer in firearms to knowingly possess an unfinished frame or receiver, and false or misleading advertisements about the legal risks of buying an unfinished frame or receiver could subject them to disgorgement, restitution, and penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation.

Today’s action is the latest example of Attorney General James’ commitment to cracking down on ghost guns and combatting gun violence in New York. In April 2021, Attorney General James sent a letter to U.S. DOJ urging them to strengthen federal regulations on ghost guns. In February 2021, Attorney General James led a coalition of 21 attorneys general from around the nation in filing an amicus brief in the case Grewal v. Defense Distributed before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the coalition fought a lawsuit that seeks to stop states from enforcing their laws against a company disseminating dangerous 3D-printed gun files on the internet.

In September 2019, Attorney General James sent cease and desist letters to the companies behind a number of websites selling incomplete weaponry pieces to New Yorkers that could be easily assembled into illegal assault weapons. In July 2020, Attorney General James announced that all the companies behind the sale of these firearms or firearms components had complied with her cease and desist letters and ended the sale of these weapons to New Yorkers.

To date, Attorney General James has taken more than 3,000 firearms, including dozens of ghost guns, out of communities through gun buyback events and takedowns of violent drug and crime rings since taking office in 2019.

MAYOR ADAMS SIGNS LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING FIRE SAFETY ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION IN WAKE OF BRONX APARTMENT FIRE

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today signed five pieces of fire safety legislation into law, strengthening enforcement, education, and outreach efforts in the wake of the tragic Bronx apartment fire this past January. The laws include shortening the timeline of re-inspection for self-closing door violations, increasing the fine for building owners who do not cure violations, banning the sale of certain space heaters that do not meet certain safety standards, and codifying increased fire safety outreach.

 

“More than a dozen New Yorkers, some just children, were killed in the fire at the Twin Parks apartments. We mourn their passing but that is not enough — we must ensure that a tragedy at that level never happens again,” said Mayor Adams. “In March, I signed an executive order to immediately improve fire safety coordination and outreach. Today, I’m proud to work with the City Council to create long-term solutions that strengthen enforcement and education and will keep all New Yorkers safe.”


“While we mourn the 17 lives lost in the Twin Parks fire this year, we will continue our work strengthening our fire safety laws and enforcement to save lives and build a safer New York City,” said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks. “Today’s actions are an essential step towards the goal of preventing this kind of tragedy from ever occurring again.”

 

“The Twin Parks Fire was a devastating tragedy, and one that we keep in our minds every day as we focus on the state of our housing stock in New York City,” said New York City Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “I am grateful to our council colleagues for advocating for these bills, which are an important step to hopefully avoid any future fires like this one. We will continue to work with our partners across the government to identify other avenues to building safer, healthier housing for all New Yorkers.”


“The horrific Twin Parks fire earlier this year was a wake-up call for our city, and this administration is committed to taking all steps necessary to prevent these tragedies from happening in the future,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “Intro 106 will ensure all space heaters sold in New York City adhere to strict consumer safety standards. I thank our partners in the City Council for advancing this suite of bills to enhance consumer and fire safety throughout our city.”


“Educating New Yorkers on fire safety and prevention is key to the Department’s lifesaving mission,” said New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Acting Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. “These bills, and the mayor’s Executive Order increasing coordination between our department and HPD, will strengthen the FDNY’s ability to reach the neediest residents in our city with critical messages of fire education and prevention.”


“The tragic Twin Parks fire was a call-to-action. Today’s bills strengthen fire safety for New Yorkers while making it clear to landlords that self-closing doors are paramount to protecting lives,” said New York City Housing and Preservation Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo CarriĆ³n Jr. “I am proud to stand here united as an administration, a government, and as the people of New York City taking action to prevent apartment fires and make it less likely they can cause the kind of devastation that occurred in the Bronx on January 9.”


“The Twin Parks fire was an unspeakable tragedy that should not have happened. As the city’s consumer protection agency, DCWP will be watching to make sure that space heaters sold in New York City are properly labeled, certified, have a thermostat, and have an auto-shut off,” said New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “I thank the mayor and the City Council for championing these important bills.”


“The Twin Parks fire was a devastating tragedy, the Department of Buildings is committed to working with its partner agencies to improve fire safety and help prevent tragedies like this from happening again,” said New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) Commissioner Eric Ulrich. “This package of legislation will improve fire safety and help keep New Yorkers safe.”

 

The mayor signed the following bills into law today:

 

Intro. 104 clarifies the definition of a self-closing door to mean a door equipped with a device that will ensure the door, when opened and released, returns to the closed position and self-latches shut.

 

Intro. 105 shortens the timeline for correction of self-closing door violations from 21 days to 14 days, requires HPD to reinspect a self-closing door violation no later than 20 days after the expiration of the 14-day correction period, and increases penalties for building owners who do not cure those violations. It establishes a civil penalty range of $250-$500 for the violation of the self-closing door requirement and a $250/day penalty from the date set for correction of the violation until it is corrected. The law also increases civil penalties for the false certification of corrections for Class A, B, and C violations of the Housing Maintenance Code.

 

Intro. 106 bans the sale of electric space heaters that do not have automatic shut off capabilities if the heater falls over or overheats, and requires that space heaters sold in New York City be labeled by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.

 

Intro. 131 expands fire safety education to require FDNY to provide educational materials and conduct outreach relating to the safe use of electric space heaters in residences. The law — which takes effect as FDNY continues to conduct a robust fire safety education program — also requires that such educational materials be made available to tenants in the top 10 most common languages in New York City.

 

Intro. 155 prohibits the DOB from charging filing fees for a permit to repair fire damaged conditions of one-, two- or three-family homes. If construction defects are discovered at such fire-damaged locations, this fee exemption would extend to other dwellings within the same homeowner or cooperative association to correct the same construction defect. The law will diminish repair costs for owners remediating fire-damaged properties and construction defects found during the remediation process and task DOB with conducting targeted outreach showcasing the fee-exemption program.

 

The signing of these bills into law follow Mayor Adams’ signing of Executive Order 12 in March that strengthened fire safety enforcement and outreach to increase coordination between FDNY and HPD inspectors to identify safety violations earlier, as well as increased fire safety compliance.

 

“We must ensure that tragedies, like the Twin Parks fire in the Bronx that claimed the lives of 17 New Yorkers, never happen again,” said New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “This fire safety legislative package is a pivotal step towards enacting proper measures that protect our city's residents and save lives. I thank Council Members Feliz, Hanif, Sanchez, and Carr for their leadership on these critical bills."

 

“There was one tool that could have prevented the unspeakable Twin Parks fire tragedy: properly-functioning self-closing doors,” said New York City Councilmember Oswald Feliz. “Had the self-closing doors worked, smoke wouldn't have filled the 19-story tower, and families would've been able to safely escape the fire. These fire safety bills will help ensure another similar tragedy never happens again, by ensuring that self-closing door laws are scrupulously followed and enforced. Properly functioning self-closing doors can prevent tragedies and save lives. They prevent smoke from spreading and harming others. I thank everyone who supported the bills and took action to help ensure self-closing doors are closing.”

  

“This package of legislation is the first iteration of the City Council’s commitment to improving fire safety. Int. 131-A will expand educational outreach regarding space heaters and add increased language access for immigrant communities,” said New York City Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, chair, Committee on Housing and Buildings. “Educational outreach by the FDNY has reached thousands of New Yorkers, but expanding this to include language access to the top 10 languages will ensure our immigrant communities have access to the same information in New York. The first package of legislation addressing the Twin Parks fire is just a start, to be clear. We do not rest now. We will continue to improve building and fire safety by holding landlords accountable, modernizing our fire and building codes and ensuring adequate code enforcement is working for all New Yorkers.”