NEW YORK — New York state’s COVID-19 positivity rate and deaths fell slightly Friday as officials continue to wrestle with a “limited supply” of vaccine and a more contagious variant of the virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
In a Saturday statement on the latest data, Cuomo said positivity rate from testing was 5.77%, down from Thursday’s 6.14%, adding 157 people died, compared with Thursday’s figure of 183 deaths.
An additional case of the UK variant also was identified Friday, bringing the total of known cases in the state to 17.
“New York is fighting to beat back COVID as we distribute the limited vaccine available as quickly as possible,” Cuomo said in the statement.
Demand is outpacing vaccine supply in the city, where at least one hospital was forced to cancel appointments for the coronavirus shot and people were turned away for a second day as that waited Friday for shots at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
In a statewide breakdown of the seven-day average percentage of positive test results, Long Island on Friday remained the highest at 8.06% while the city’s average was 5.66% — with Manhattan the lowest rate, with 3.76% and the Bronx the highest at 7.35%.
The highest number of deaths Friday were reported in Queens, where 17 people succumbed to the virus, followed by Brooklyn with 16 and Suffolk County with 15.
“When communities decide to slow the spread, it will slow down. It’s purely a function of our actions,” Cuomo said in his statement, restating mitigation including wearing face masks, social distancing, hand washing — “and the willingness of local governments to enforce the rules.”
