Albany, N.Y. — Another 197 people in New York died due to Covid-19 on Wednesday, the highest total in one day since early May.
The last time more people died in a single day was May 9, when the total was 207.
The statewide death toll is now 31,164.
Although deaths continued to rise, hospitalizations due to the coronavirus fell by 117 on Wednesday to 8,548. That’s a substantial improvement from many recent days, when hospitalizations have increased by over 200 or 300.
A total of 1,424 people were in intensive care units with the virus, up 16, and 859 were intubated, down 18.
Central New York’s hospitals are now 79% full, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. The region, which includes Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties, has the lowest percentage of available hospital beds of any in the state.
The region could add enough staffed beds within seven days to increase its capacity by 6 percentage points, according to Cuomo’s office.
Before the holidays, hospital capacity was generally 5 to 7 points better than it is now.
Cuomo has said he’ll order a shutdown of all nonessential businesses in any region where projections show hospitals will reach 90% of their maximum capacity within three weeks.
The state confirmed 17,636 new cases of the virus yesterday, a record high. But the state also performed 238,550 tests yesterday, one of its highest one-day totals yet.
New York has now had 1,075,312 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
The statewide percentage of people testing positive for the virus on Wednesday was 7.39%. The statewide positive rate’s seven-day average was 7.85% on Wednesday, down from 7.92% the previous day.
The seven-day average of Central New York’s positive rate was 8.51% yesterday, down from 9.13% Monday and Tuesday.
The Capital Region, Mohawk Valley and Finger Lakes regions have all had seven-day average positive rates over 10% for days. The Mohawk Valley’s seven-day average rate was highest in the state on Wednesday at 10.38%.
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