New York state set a record high in COVID-19 tests on Thursday, with just under 100,000 results reported — with less than 1% of them coming back positive for the virus.
It was the 14th straight day that New York’s positivity rate fell under 1%, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday. On Aug. 20, the state tallied 98,880 COVID-19 tests, with approximately 0.72% of them (711 in all) resulting in a positive diagnosis.
The test total bested the previous high of 88,668.
Every major indicator the state uses to assess the COVID-19 pandemic in New York continues to trend in the public’s favor, Cuomo added.
On Thursday, New York recorded just 490 patients hospitalized for COVID-19; the number hasn’t been below 500 patients since March 16. Of those still hospitalized, 119 of them are in intensive care — the lowest number recorded since March 15. Hospitals discharged on Aug. 20 another 79 patients recovering from the illness.
Unfortunately, three New Yorkers died of COVID-19 on Thursday. None of them were from New York City.
“Part of the reason we were able to tame the beast in New York is because of our aggressive testing strategy. When the federal administration fell down, New York stepped up – and yesterday we raised the bar even higher with nearly 100,000 tests reported in a single day,” Cuomo said on Friday. “This is proof positive that when you have the virus under control, more testing does not equal more positives. But my message to New Yorkers remains the same: this is not over, we have to be smart, wear a mask, socially distance and be New York Tough!”
