Cuomo Calls Central New York A COVID Hotspot

Governor Andrew Cuomo says Central and Western New York are a problem in terms of high COVID-19 positive infection rates.

The governor says he'll be meeting with local leaders in Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester to come up with a micro-cluster strategy to combat the high rates and will have an announcement on Monday.

As a matter of context, we are obviously in a different phase with COVID, and we've been talking about it for weeks, but we have to fully acknowledge it. The fall phase the scientists all predicted was going to be worse. You're seeing global and national surges that are dramatic, and that's the new reality of COVID. The challenge for our state, like other states, is managing the increase," said Cuomo.

Cuomo says SUNY students will not return after the Thanksgiving break and will learn remotely for the rest of the semester.

He’s asking private colleges in New York to consider doing the same.

Cuomo also said today there will be no fans at Buffalo Bills games for now.

He says it would be reckless to open the stadium up to spectators.

Meanwhile, here are New York’s latest COVID-19 numbers.

Of the over 160,000 tests reported on Thursday, 1.99 percent were positive.

The test positivity rate in the state’s focus areas is 3.16 percent.

The positivity rate in the Mohawk Valley is 1.2 percent.

Total hospitalizations are at 1,321 and there were 18 COVID fatalities yesterday.