NY COVID-19 cases hit 10,000 for 1st time since January

The number of new COVID-19 cases across New York State continues to rise with the daily number topping 10,000 on Wednesday for the first time since January.

There were 10,251 new positive COVID-19 test results Wednesday, according to state officials Thursday. That is the highest number since Jan. 28, when 12,332 cases were reported.

On Long Island, the number of new positive test results reached 1,648, the highest since Jan. 27, when the total hit 1,733 cases. Wednesday’s figure includes 906 new cases in Nassau and 742 in Suffolk.

The actual figure could be even higher, state officials have said, since people who test positive with at-home COVID-19 tests are not counted.

Most people are likely aware of the jump in community spread as they see more friends and family members test positive for COVID-19, said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology for Northwell Health.

“The good news is we’re not seeing very many hospitalized people,” Farber said. “And although hospitalized patients with COVID-19 rates have gone up, in reality, most of the people in the hospital with COVID are in there for other reasons and the COVID is an incidental finding because we are screening all people in the hospital for COVID.”

The majority of COVID-19 cases across the country — about 61.9%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — are of the omicron subvariant BA.2. But the BA. 2.12.1 is moving up, now accounting for 36.5% of cases.

Figures from the New York State Health Department show that while BA. 2.12.1 made up around 5% of samples from New York City and Long Island collected in March, it increased to almost 20% of samples from the region as of April 20.

“Hopefully, that will peak soon,” Farber said. “But every time you predict something with this virus, you are at the mercy of a lot of things we don’t know.”

With most COVID-19 restrictions still on pause, Farber said, people need to remain cautious. He also urged people to make sure they are vaccinated and boosted.

“Everyone knows if they go to a big crowded event that there is going to be COVID transmitted, you have to count on that happening,” he said. “You have to decide for yourself on every occasion ‘Is this event worth the risk?’ ”

Also on Thursday, the CDC released a new report showing that nursing home residents who receive additional primary doses or COVID-19 booster shots have better protection against the disease.

Health officials have pointed out that these facilities hold some of the most vulnerable members of the population who are at a high risk of developing serious illness or dying due to COVID-19, as many did during the early days of the pandemic in New York.

Researchers looked at COVID-19 surveillance and vaccination data from about 15,000 skilled nursing facilities between Feb. 14 and March 27, when the omicron variant was dominant.

Stuart Almer, chief executive of Gurwin Healthcare System which includes the 460-bed Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack, said 96% of their patients are vaccinated, 94% have received a first booster and more than 25% the second.

“Vaccination and boostering have both worked well for us,” said Almer. “We are at a good place. We have no residents with COVID in the center.”

With Matt Clark

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By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.