NEW YORK _ Coronavirus is rising fast again in New York.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a sharp increase in positive tests for coronavirus, especially in hot spots in Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley.
The state recorded an overall 1.5% positive test rate Sunday, which is more than a 50% increase over previous recent daily rates.
Brooklyn had a 2.6% daily positive test rate. Orange and Rockland counties were even higher.
"We need to get to the bottom of these clusters," Cuomo said grimly.
The governor said 834 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. That number came with a relatively modest 52,000 tests, suggesting the virus is spreading much faster than it had in recent weeks and months.
Eleven people died in the state, another number that is far higher than recent daily totals in the state.
Cuomo also announced an extension of the state's moratorium on evictions during the pandemic.
The governor sternly warned New Yorkers to redouble their efforts to keep a lid on the pandemic or prepare to pay a heavy price.
"It's no time to get tired, because the virus is not getting tired," he said.
He said if the numbers keep heading the wrong way, the state will have to crack down on mask-wearing rules and gatherings of all kinds, even though he conceded that many people will chafe at the increased enforcement.
"More people will be unhappy if we're going to have to close businesses and crack down on gatherings," he said. "If you don't act responsibly it's going to be worse."
Cuomo said he suspects Labor Day gatherings may have played a role in the spiking positive test rates. Colleges have also recently returned to session.
The governor offered best wishes to the Jewish community on Monday's Yom Kippur holiday. He did not address whether some of the increase could be driven by the Jewish High Holidays, which started with Rosh Hashanah last week and continue with the festival of Sukkot coming next week.
Some of the hard-hit ZIP codes in recent days include neighborhoods with large concentrations of observant Jews.
"We're going to have to analyze where these new cases are coming from and discuss what to do about them," Cuomo said.
Cuomo pointed out that New York is still a relative bright spot in the nation and the world, which is experiencing a major upturn in the pandemic as weather turns cooler in the northern hemisphere.
Midwest states like Wisconsin and the Dakotas are experiencing positive test rates of 20% or more, an indication that COVID-19 is spreading virtually unchecked.
Still, New York has kept the test rate below 1% for weeks now. Any spike will raise fears of a return to the dreadful early days of the pandemic when more than 800 New Yorkers a day were dying.
