Long Island continued to have the state’s highest percentage of residents testing positive for the coronavirus, as another 140 people statewide died of the disease — including 14 Long Islanders, according to data released Saturday morning by the office of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Long Island’s 7-day positivity rate was 6.41% as of Friday, compared with 5.27% statewide and 2.32% in the Southern Tier, which has the lowest rate.
Among the 12,804 people who tested positive Friday throughout New York, 1,139 were in Nassau and 1,130 were in Suffolk.
The percentage of New Yorkers who tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday rose slightly, to 4.75%, from 4.65% on Thursday. But the state’s and the Island’s 7-day average continued to gradually decline from the post-holiday 7-day positivity peak of 7.94% on Jan. 4, and the one-day peak of 8.4% on Jan. 5.
Experts had attributed the higher numbers in December and early January to people getting infected with the virus at holiday gatherings.
“We’ve gotten past the post-holiday spike and thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers, our infection rate continues to decline,” Cuomo said, apparently referring to the drop in the 7-day average. “In fact, if this current trajectory holds, we can open up indoor dining in New York City by Valentine’s Day, but actually getting to that point will be a consequence of our actions.”
Cuomo had announced Friday that indoor restaurant dining in New York City can resume at 25% capacity starting on Valentine’s Day. Currently, indoor dining is not permitted in the city.
Cuomo said that as the state continues to work on getting New Yorkers vaccinated, “we must all remember to take responsibility at an individual level also and do what’s necessary for stamping out (the) virus once and for all. The light at the end of the tunnel is within sight, it’s just going to take all of us staying tough and united to get there.”
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Sign up for COVID-19 text alerts at newsday.com/text.
