New York moving over Omicron peak as cases fall

New York, Jan 17: Covid-19's current crisis appears to be mirroring the projections made by officials and health experts that cases in New York are beginning to dip as sharply as they rose around Christmas, local media reported Sunday.

New York City Health Department data has shown "very high transmission" of Covid-19 across the city, with thousands of new cases being detected every day, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a leading news site of New York City. However, Covid-19-related infections and hospitalizations have begun to decline, signaling that the five boroughs of the city have passed the peak of the pandemic's biggest wave.

Progress has been seen in the 7-day positivity rates across the five boroughs. Fifty-two areas reported 30 per cent or higher Covid-19 positivity between January 5 and 11, but no area of the city has rates exceeding 40 per cent. During the previous week from December 29 to January 4, the city had 23 areas with 40 per cent or higher positivity rates.

On January 14, the citywide 7-day positivity rate was 27.65 per cent, compared to 32.59 per cent on January 4.

Currently, the only rate that hasn't fallen is the death rate, which has continued to rise due to long-term and more severe Covid-19 infections reported in recent days. As of Jan. 14, the average 7-day death rate was 73, according to the news site.

The unvaccinated remain at a much higher risk of infection, hospitalization, and even death from Covid-19. Health department data shows that unvaccinated New Yorkers are four times as likely to contract Covid-19, eight times as likely to be hospitalised from it, and nine times as likely to die from it than vaccinated New Yorkers, it noted.