Coronavirus News: Officials monitoring uptick in cases in upstate New York after out-of-state travel

COVID-19 News and Information

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Tri-State COVID cases remain stable amid unsettling spike around the country

COVID-19 cases in New York and New Jersey remain stable despite a concerning increase around the country.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Officials in New York are closely monitoring an uptick of COVID-19 cases in Rensselaer County.

The increase is being investigated as being linked to several individuals who tested positive for coronavirus after traveling back to New York from Georgia.

They are in isolation and the health department is conducting contact tracing.

Georgia is one of 19 states on the quarantine list for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

Despite the increase in cases upstate, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that the state's numbers remain low and stable.

COVID-19 deaths across New York matched the previous low with five reported Saturday.

"New York State continues to move forward combating COVID-19 with its phased, data-driven reopening in the face of alarming increases in cases throughout the country and in the nationwide death rate," Cuomo said. "What's happening elsewhere in the United States is very concerning to us here at home, and our ability to avoid the same fate rests on New Yorkers' willingness to wear masks, socially distance and wash their hands, and local governments' willingness to enforce state guidelines. Today's numbers remain low and stable, but it is up to us to keep it that way. Being New York Tough isn't easy, but New Yorkers have shown the nation that we can effectively fight the virus when we all come together, and I urge them not to give up any ground now."

An additional 677 cases were reported in New York, bringing the statewide total to 401,706.

There is also an investigation underway in Westfield, New Jersey, where the mayor says an increase in cases is connected to parties.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio along with local health experts have repeatedly called contact tracing a key element in preventing another spike of coronavirus in the city.

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