Sep 29, 2020
- New York has seen an uptick in the infection rate over the last few days that is being driven by several COVID clusters. Positive cases from "hotspot" ZIP codes are 5 times the statewide rate.
The affected areas are in Brooklyn, Queens, Orange and Rockland Counties. We will react swiftly to each cluster to stop the spread. I am talking with community leaders and deploying resources.
To that end, two hundred rapid result testing machines are available to high rate localities for deployment. We will aggressively manage these developing clusters through enforcement and intervention. Local governments must enforce compliance, because a cluster today can be community spread tomorrow. I ask all New Yorkers to do your part: Wear a mask, get tested, wash your hands often, and don't attend large gatherings. Wearing a mask is not a choice - it's the law.
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. The COVID eviction moratorium has been extended until January 1, 2021. Residential tenants are protected from eviction if they are suffering from financial hardship due to the COVID-19 public health emergency under the Tenant Safe Harbor Act. Previous Executive Orders also prohibit charges or fees for late payments for tenants facing financial hardship. No New Yorker should be forced from his or her home as a result of COVID.
2. Colorado has been added to the State's COVID-19 Travel Advisory. Arizona and Virginia have been removed from the list and visitors from these two states no longer need to self-quarantine upon arriving in New York. See the full list here.
3. The COVID positive test rate was 1.35 percent. Yesterday, there were 571 total hospitalizations. Of the 88,231 tests reported yesterday, 1,189 were positive. Sadly, we lost two New Yorkers to the virus.
4. International travelers arriving in New York must self-quarantine. Travelers arriving in New York from Level 2 and Level 3 countries must complete a 14-day quarantine and fill out the NYS Department of Health traveler health form. The order applies to almost all foreign nations, and will aid in the state's robust contact tracing efforts and further prevent the spread of COVID-19. Learn more here.
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": Jasper, a 4-year-old dachshund from Connecticut, became a hero over the weekend after saving his neighbors from a house fire. Jasper began barking persistently at 3:30 in the morning on Sunday, alerting his owners, the Houser family, that their next-door-neighbors' porch was on fire. Thanks to Jasper, the Housers were able to call 9-1-1 and save the family next door from any injuries.
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