Details about New York's COVID-19 "winter plan" were announced as the state reported it's highest positive test rate since May.

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On Thanksgiving, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his "winter plan" to try and slow the spread of COVID-19 in New York. The winter plan is a three-part plan involving tweaks to the micro-cluster approach, increased testing in schools and a plan to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine

"On the winter plan, we're going to stay with the micro-cluster approach because that targets the spread, minimizes economic impact and stresses individual and community accountability. So that's working very well, and all the experts think that is state-of-the-art. The winter plan will include three elements—first, adding more factors to the micro-clusters. Second, the schools and the testing of the schools to keep them open at a rate that's sustainable. Third, a vaccine distribution plan," Cuomo said.

More details about New York's COVID-19 winter plan are expected to be released in the near future.

"This is a new phase for COVID — call it the winter phase or the holiday phase or the surge upon surge phase — and we are spending this weekend talking to health officials and local governments about the plan for that next phase. We'll be speaking to that tomorrow and this week with more details. In the meantime, everyone needs to stay vigilant: wear your mask, wash your hands, maintain social distance, and above all stay New York Tough," Cuomo added on Sunday.

On Sunday, Cuomo announced the statewide positivity rate was 4.27 percent. The last time New York reported a positivity rate above 4.2 percent was on May 18, according to the New York State COVID-19 Dashboard.

The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 5.83 percent, and outside the focus zone areas are 3.75 percent. The positivity rate for the Mid-Hudson Region was on Sunday was 4.42 percent, down from 4.9 percent the day before.

"If you look at New York relative only to New York, you see the numbers going up — not as fast as in other states, but the numbers are going up. It's nice that we're doing better in a national and global context, but it's irrelevant to one extent because we have to deal with the issues that we have here in New York relative to New York," Cuomo said. "I expect you're going to see the rate going up through the holiday season.

 

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