NEW YORK, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Of the 157,320 COVID-19 tests reported on Saturday, 6,723 were positive, or 4.27 percent of the total, up from 3.98 percent one day earlier, tweeted Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday.
This was the first time that the overall positivity rate of the state topped 4 percent in weeks.
The COVID-19 test positivity rate in the focus areas under state's micro-cluster strategy, where the outbreaks are targeted for its severity and potential of spread, was 5.83 percent on Saturday, up from 5.65 percent one day earlier, said Cuomo.
It was the fourth time that the prime coronavirus rate surpassed the mark of 5 percent in days. The level had been surpassed on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Further back, the rate lingered over 5 percent prior to mid-October, according to the statistics released by the state government.
Meanwhile, the statewide positivity rate excluding these focus areas was 3.75 percent on Saturday, up from 3.45 percent on Friday, said the governor.
Total hospitalizations were 3,372 on Saturday, up from 3,287 on Friday, added Cuomo, who once warned that overall New York State COVID-19 hospitalizations could reach 6,000 in several weeks based on the current trends.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University reported 34,522 coronavirus deaths in New York State, the worst in the country. Enditem
