New York City Covid-19 Cases Rising

The first epicenter for the Covid-19 pandemic in the US is seeing and uptick in cases again as New York City tries to open schools and brace for winter.

As cases spike in parts of New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned that Covid-19 “remains a force to be reckoned with throughout the country.”

“I urge New Yorkers to keep wearing masks, socially distancing and washing their hands, and local governments must continue to enforce state public health guidance,” Cuomo said in a statement. “By staying vigilant and smart, we can beat COVID together.”

Experts have cautioned the US could see an explosion of coronavirus cases in the fall and winter as people exercise less caution and spend more time indoors. Already the US has reported more than 7.1 million cases and 204,756 deaths since the pandemic began, and 21 states are reporting more new cases in the last seven days compared with the week before, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

Once the epicenter of the pandemic in the US, New York had boasted a test positivity rate — the percentage of tests being performed that come back positive for the virus — of less than 1% for more than a month. That rate broke 1% on Saturday as Cuomo reminded New Yorkers “we cannot drop our guard.”

Though the benefits of working from home are myriad — there was zero chance you’d become a master of sourdough bread in the third-floor break room, right?

Though the rate of positive tests is still low relative to other states, neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn are seeing cases “continue to grow at an alarming rate,” according to a news release from the city’s Department of Health.

But New York is still among the states with the lowest positivity rate in the US. The World Health Organization advised that the rates of positivity in testing should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days before businesses reopen. Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia meet that recommendation, with Vermont holding the lowest rate at 0.53% positive. Twenty-eight states and Puerto Rico have positivity rates higher than 5%. The territory has a 100% positivity rate. Among US states, the rate is highest, 24.64%, in South Dakota, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Public schools in New York City are returning to the classroom for the first time this week, but officials could decide to close schools, limit gatherings and issue fines for not wearing masks.