The state’s overall daily rate of new COVID-19 cases dropped to its lowest since early November, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Sunday, one day before bars and restaurants statewide can remain open later.
Of the 243,171 COVID-19 tests results reported to the state Saturday, 5,704 were positive for a daily positivity rate of 2.35%, according to a statement from the governor.
Those new cases included 343 in Nassau and 395 in Suffolk. Long Island’s daily rate was 2.4%.
The state wide seven-day rate was 2.92% and slightly higher on Long Island at 3.21%.
That rate, which had been stuck around 4% for months, finally dropped a bit last week.
Vaccinations are increasing, the statement said, with more than 40% of New Yorkers receiving at least one dose of vaccine as of Sunday morning.
More than 8.2 million New Yorkers have received at least one dose and over 5.5 million have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Close to 1 million Long Islanders have received at least one dose and over 639,000 have completed their vaccine series.
“New York is making tremendous progress in our goal to vaccinate every New Yorker while keeping the infection and hospitalization rates down, but variants of the virus remain a concern across the state,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Starting Monday, bars and restaurants can remain open until midnight. The previous curfew, set as part of COVID-19 restrictions, was 11 p.m.
