You are reading

COVID-19 Cases Continue to Increase Citywide, Concerning City Officials

Mayor Bill de Blasio (Michael Appleton/ Mayoral Photography Office)

Nov. 5, 2020 By Allie Griffin

City officials are concerned over a steady increase in COVID-19 cases citywide.

The number of new coronavirus cases has risen above the city’s cautionary threshold for nearly a week and it hit a new high on Tuesday — the date of the latest data available, Mayor Bill de Blasio said today.

The seven-day average of reported COVID-19 cases grew to 633 on Tuesday — well above the threshold of 550 cases that the Health Department set as an advisory marker when the city reopened over the summer.

“Again today, we’re noticeably above that threshold,” de Blasio said during a press briefing Thursday morning. “That’s an area of concern… We want to see that number go down.”

The average number of new cases has been above the 550 threshold since Thursday, Oct. 29. The number surpassed the threshold — that was set in August — for the first time last month.

De Blasio said part of the reason for the increase is due to increased COVID-19 testing citywide. Still, he said, the number needs to come down.

The increase in cases is one of three COVID-19 data points city officials collect to monitor the coronavirus in New York City. Each data point — new cases, positivity rate and new hospital admissions — has a threshold set by the Health Department.

The thresholds were used to determine when New York City could reopen over the summer. When the data fell below the set thresholds for consecutive days, the city lifted COVID-19 restrictions.

If the data rises above the threshold markers, the city could bring back restrictions and possible closures. An uptick in just one of these variables, however, is unlikely to lead to any restrictions in the short term.

Both new hospital admissions for suspected COVID-19 and the coronavirus positivity rate remain below their respective thresholds across the city.

The seven-day average of New York City residents who tested positive for the virus was at 1.81 percent on Tuesday, below the 5 percent threshold. However, de Blasio said it’s another number he would like to see decrease.

“That number puts it pretty much right in the middle of where we’ve been for the last few weeks — a level that we can work with, but a level we want to push down,” he said.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Twenty people indicted in Queens-based $4.6M vehicle theft ring after three-year probe: DA

Twenty individuals were indicted and variously charged in a wide-ranging scheme to steal cars in Queens, throughout New York City and its suburbs, following a three-year investigation by the Queens District Attorney’s Office, the NYPD, and the New York State Police dubbed “Operation Hellcat,” into the criminal enterprise based in Queens.

Some of the vehicles were stolen from owners’ driveways, some with the keys or key fobs inside. The stolen vehicles were often sold through advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The defendants are charged in nine separate indictments for a total of 373 counts, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday.

Masked gunman robs Total Wireless store in Flushing, steals $6K: NYPD

Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are looking for a masked gunman who pulled off an armed robbery at a cell phone store on the night of Monday, May 5.

The suspect entered the Total Wireless shop located in the old Hua Cheng Restaurant at 41-19 Kissena Blvd., across the street from the Queens Public Library branch, just before 7 p.m. He approached the counter, pulled out a firearm, and threatened the 27-year-old woman who was working the night shift, police said Wednesday.