One of the two Omicron subvariants of the highly transmissible BA.2 COVID strain is believed to have contributed to significant community transmission in parts of New York. The subvariant, BA.2.12.1, now accounts for an estimated 52.3 percent of all viruses circulating in the New York area, which, in the agency’s case, also includes New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, according to data updated by the CDC late Tuesday. This is up from an estimated prevalence of about 21 percent two weeks ago and 12 percent the week before.
As of Wednesday, Central New York owns the highest rolling positivity and case rates per 100,000 residents of all 10 New York regions, and it’s not even close. The rolling case rate for the region that includes Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego counties has a 13.2% rolling positivity rate, well above the next Closest Western, 12.3%) and dwarfing the rolling rate in New York City (3.4%).
Right now, hospitalizations, which are the more important benchmark from a public health perspective, are still manageable, but they’re starting to climb. New York had 1,404 COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide, a 56% increase from the previous month, even though health Department data show that more than half of New York’s COVID-19 hospitalizations were for causes other than the respiratory virus.
Exactly as described.