Nicole Epstein, with Gotham Public Relations, sends in a quick recap of Governor Cuomo's COVID-19 briefings. Here are her notes from Governor Cuomo’s conference call:

COVID:

  • Day 345
  • Statewide Positivity rate 4.28%
  • 197,183Test results reported
  • 114 deaths
  • 7,716 Hospitalizations, up 67
  • 1,454 ICU patients, down 5
  • 961 Intubations, down 18

  • COVID Numbers are down across the state
  • 3 priorities: Control COVID Spread, Vaccinate New York, and Reimagine, Rebuild, and Renew the Economy
  • Governor said indoor dining will reopen in NYC beginning Friday, February 12th, rather than Valentine's Day

Hospitalizations by Region:

  • Capital Region: 326 (0.03%)
  • Central New York: 176 (0.02%)
  • Finger Lakes: 409 (0.03%)
  • Long Island: 1,339 (0.05%)
  • Mid-Hudson: 870 (0.04%)
  • Mohawk Valley: 184 (0.04%)
  • North Country: 95 (0.02%)
  • NYC: 3,756 (0.04%)
  • Southern Tier: 205 (0.03%)
  • Western NY: 356 (0.03%)

Positivity by Region:

  • Bronx: 7.03%
  • Brooklyn 5.42%
  • Capital Region: 3.41%
  • Central New York: 2.04%
  • Finger Lakes: 2.99%
  • Long Island: 5.47%
  • Manhattan: 3.48%
  • Mid-Hudson: 5.30%
  • Mohawk Valley: 2.96%
  • North Country: 4.95%
  • NYC: 5.10%
  • Queens: 5.61%
  • Southern Tier: 1.33%
  • Staten Island: 5.22%
  • Western NY: 4.26%

COVID Vaccine:

  • 2,465,292 total doses administered
  • 90% of allocated first doses administered
  • Vaccine supply is now week-to-week but NYS is now being told how many vaccines to expect in the next few weeks
  • 5,000 distribution centers are ready for additional vaccine supply
  • 75% of hospital workers vaccinated but there is still a disparity in rates among hospitals
  • Governor said NYS DOH will be reviewing slow-vaccinating hospitals

  • This week, (Week 9) NYS will allocate to hospitals whatever they need to finish vaccinating all eligible workers who want the vaccine
  • Starting in Week 10 (week of February 15) will start using excess vaccine supply for people with pre-existing conditions
  • People with comorbidities can begin making appointments at State mass vaccination sites on February 14th
  • Governor said comorbidities will be validated with a doctors letter or medical information evidencing comorbidity, or signed certification
  • State will audit local comorbidity validations systems with federal data system Tiberius

  • Governor said NYS needs an increase in federal vaccine supply
  • Johnson and Johnson filed for Emergency Use Authorization, Governor said this would be a game changer
  • Biden Administration is against using the second dose allocations for first doses and Governor said NYS will follow Biden Administration guidance
  • Governor said that with 15 million New Yorkers, and the state receiving 300,000 doses per week, it will take almost one year to fully vaccinate the state

Reimagine, Rebuild, Renew:

  • Governor said COVID has created an economic opportunity
  • Governor said NYS needs state and local relief to prepare to reopen the economy
  • NYS needs $15 billion for the state budget
  • Governor said that as NYS approaches 2 million vaccinations, "pop up" performances will be introduced to bring back the arts to cities
  • NY PopsUP will be the first initiative to accelerate restoration of culture, arts, and creative energy in the post-COVID economy
  • There will be 300+ free pop-up events across the state over 100 days with opening day February 20th
  • The pop-up events will begin the reopening process for the arts which will involve reopening venues with testing
  • Governor said the state will also hold the 20th anniversary of Tribeca Film Festival and the opening of Little Island at Pier 55 in the summer

Federal:

  • President Biden hoping to provide $350 billion for state and local relief
  • Governor said $350 billion needs to be distributed fairly
  • Governor said the Federal government needs to repeal SALT which is costing taxpayers $34 million a day

Q&A

On whether Pop-up events are the first step in re-opening Broadway theaters
  • Governor said that opening Broadway is where the effort to reopen arts is headed.
  • The goal is to reopen venues with rapid testing.

On confusion over the vaccination process
  • Governor said the state has to react to changes in COVID numbers and availability of the vaccine.
  • Governor said there are variables outside of the state's control so he can only react to those variables and make necessary changes to the vaccination process

On if an otherwise healthy individual falsified claims to having a comorbidity will there be any consequence
  • Governor said he is expecting fraud to occur in this process, and addressing instances of fraud will be need to be enforced

On adding more information to the Vaccine tracker webpage
  • Over the weekend demographic and hospital distribution data was added
  • The state is working to add more categories of data to the webpage

On whether NY PopsUp performances will be put on by union performers
  • Governor said he was unsure and will check on this question

On whether hospital staff will be able to get the vaccine beyond the final week of allocation
  • Governor said about 75% of hospital workers have been vaccinated and some will choose not to take it.
  • Governor said that if people change their mind, or want to and have not had a chance to receive the vaccination, they will still receive the vaccination.
  • Governor said only excess doses will be reallocated

On how ready the state vaccination appointment portal is to receive millions of new appointment registration attempts on Sunday
  • Governor said appointments will be booked very quickly on the portal and this will be an ongoing tension until supply increases.
  • The portal will open in the morning and the system will be overrun with people trying to make appointments, but people have to be patient in the process