Hudson Valley Coronavirus Cases Rise As NY Sets New Restrictions

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — As New York health officials set new restrictions to combat the resurging coronavirus pandemic, the Hudson Valley region is seeing cases jump compared to the summertime.

The test positivity rate was 3.7 percent in the region on Tuesday, up substantially from the 0.7 percent positivity rate in the region on Aug. 10. Only Dutchess and Ulster counties have had a seven-day average positivity rate lower than 3 percent.

Hospitalizations have been going up in the region as well, from the low point reached in early September.

Tuesday, 21 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19 — including two in Dutchess County and two in Westchester, state officials said.

Port Chester, the newest of the three "micro-clusters" of more intense spread in the Hudson Valley, was upgraded to "orange" level because the 7-day average positivity rate in Port Chester has been above 3 percent for 10 days. "Orange" status limits houses of worship to the lesser of 33 percent of maximum capacity or 25 people; closes high-risk non-essential businesses (eg., gyms, fitness centers and classes, barber shops, hair salons, personal care services); limits restaurants to outdoor dining, takeout or delivery only, 4 person maximum per table; and closes schools.

Rockland County's micro-cluster continues under "orange" restrictions and Orange County's micro-cluster continues under less restrictions as a "yellow" zone.

Micro-clusters not withstanding, the whole state is subject to the new restrictions. Bars and restaurants across the state that sell alcohol must close by 10 p.m. Restaurants will still be allowed to provide curbside, food-only pick-up or delivery after 10 p.m., but will not be permitted to serve alcohol to go.

The state will give gyms a curfew of 10 a.m. as well.

The new rules go into effect Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. He said contact tracing is showing that those venues, and gatherings such as Halloween and football parties, are the leading superspreaders.

House parties of any kind should have no more than 10 people. If a household contains more than 10 people, no more than those living in the household will be permitted.

New York remains one of the least affected states in this autumn outbreak, Cuomo said. However, with neighboring New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania experiencing higher spikes, New York can't help but be affected, he said.

At least 1,448 new coronavirus deaths and 139,855 new cases were reported in the United States on Tuesday, according to a New York Times database. Over the past week, there has been an average of 123,315 cases per day, an increase of 69 percent from the average two weeks earlier.

More than 10.3 million people in the United States had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Wednesday afternoon, and more than 240,500 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

"What we're seeing is what they predicted for months, we're seeing a national and global COVID surge," Cuomo said. "Today we've seen the country set a new record in terms of COVID cases. the old record was established April 15. It is really getting much much worse by the day."