Nearly one-fourth of all new COVID-19 cases in New York City are connected to the highly infectious and dangerous delta variant, the city’s Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said on Monday.
While the overall number of cases in the city remains low — less than 180 per day on a seven-day average, according to NYC statistics — roughly 23% are from the mutated coronavirus variant, Chokshi said.
“My primary concern with the variant is people who are unvaccinated,” Chokshi said during Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daily news briefing. “And, in some ways, based on what we are seeing with the delta variant around the world and in New York City, now may be the most dangerous time to remain unvaccinated because of the threat this variant poses.”
City health officials said the vaccine remains highly effective against the variant.
“The answer to the delta variant is more and more vaccinations,” the mayor said. “We are certainly keeping a close eye on it.”
Equivalent statistics on the delta variant for Long Island were not immediately available.
Overall COVID-19 indicators remained low throughout the state and on Long Island, though Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo warned that more people still need to get vaccinated.
The seven-day average for positive results in testing for the virus was 0.39% statewide, 0.37% on Long Island and 0.40% in New York City.
The number of new confirmed cases in test results Sunday was 22 in Nassau County, 30 in Suffolk County and 156 in New York City.
Across the state, three people died on Sunday of causes related to the virus. None were on Long Island.
“Our state has come a long way in beating back this virus, but our work continues because we need to get every New Yorker vaccinated,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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