NEW YORK (WROC/WSYR) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo toured the new Settlement Community Center in the Bronx Friday. According to the governor’s office, this event was closed to the press due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The governor expressed optimism about the improving COVID-19 situation in New York. “It was a winter of darkness and pain, but the seasons change,” Gov. Cuomo said. “The sun is out, it’s a different season, it’s a season of renewal, it’s a season of rebirth, it’s a season of possibility, it’s a season where we see opportunity again and we’re reenergized in the spring, and we needed that.”

The governor announced a new vaccine partnership in New York. “Today we’re announcing that SOMOS—which has a fantastic network of community clinics, 2,500 pharmacies in many of the communities across the state that need health care the most,” Cuomo said. “You have SOMOS doctors and you have the SOMOS organization. The goal is 1 million vaccines by SOMOS alone. The state is going to be providing vaccine directly to SOMOS so they can get those needles in those arms in those hard to reach communities.”

The governor again reiterated the emphasis of equity n the vaccination process. “We need to do vaccine equity,” Gov. Cuomo said. “We have to get the Black number up, we have to get the Hispanic number up, and that’s what we have been focusing on and we are going to continue to focus on. 7 million New Yorkers have taken the vaccine, 7 million! My mother took the vaccine, I took the vaccine, 7 million people. It is safe and if you want to talk about risk. The risk is not in taking the vaccine, the risk is in not taking the vaccine, that’s where the risk is.”

Earlier on Friday, the governor announced the launch of the new Excelsior Pass. Officials from the governor’s office say this new tech will help New Yorkers share vaccination status or negative COVID test results for admission to weddings, stadiums, theaters, and more.

The governor said after New York is vaccinated, the focus will shift to rebuilding and repairing the damage left in the pandemic’s wake. “The second thing we have to do after the vaccine is we have to rebuild,” Gov. Cuomo said. “Spring says resurrection, spring says life comes back, but it does not come back automatically. God helps those who help themselves. God doesn’t say you sit there and I will pick you up and raise you. God says ‘I will be with you, but you need to do what you need to do.’ You have to show the resiliency and take the effort to start up and that’s what we need to do, we have to show the resiliency of who we are and we have to rebuild.”

“I am confident in New Yorkers, and confident in our ability to do that because that’s who we are,” Gov. Cuomo said. “This is one of those life moments that tests and shows character. You know when you know who a person is? Not in the good days. You know who a person is when they get knocked to the ground. When life hits them and sets them back. When they have a health emergency, when they have a problem in their family, when they lose their job, when they have a setback. Life will knock you on your rear end for one reason, but in that moment, now we’re going to see who you are. Now we’re going to see what you’re made of.”

The governor also announced the opening of the Hurricane Maria Memorial, and updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“New Yorkers have showed themselves and the country what it means to be New York Tough throughout this crisis,” Cuomo said. “While we are moving at a faster pace than ever before to the light at the end of the tunnel, vigilance and continued practice of the guidelines we know stop COVID in its tracks are a crucial part of the effort to win this war. More and more New Yorkers are getting vaccinated every day, but must all continue to practice social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing. The light is getting brighter every day, but not without our continued dedication to ending COVID once and for all.”

Friday’s data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported – 282,449
• Total Positive – 8,507
• Percent Positive – 3.01%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive – 3.37%
• Patient Hospitalization – 4,603 (+3)  
• Patients Newly Admitted – 611
• Hospital Counties – 51
• Number ICU – 913 (-18)  
• Number ICU with Intubation – 558 (-25)
• Total Discharges – 159,303 (+555)
• Deaths – 49
• Total Deaths – 40,190

The regional hospital bed capacity and occupancy numbers, including the number of hospitalizations as a percent of the region’s population, is as follows:

Region	COVID Patients Currently in Hospital in Region	COVID Patients as Percent of Region Population	Percent of Hospital Beds Available Within 7 Days Under Surge Plan
Capital Region	112	0.01%	32%
Central New York	40	0.01%	32%
Finger Lakes	143	0.01%	41%
Long Island	801	0.03%	33%
Mid-Hudson	558	0.02%	43%
Mohawk Valley	48	0.01%	39%
New York City	2,637	0.03%	31%
North Country	16	0.00%	57%
Southern Tier	78	0.01%	49%
Western New York	170	0.01%	39%
Statewide	4,603	0.02%	35%

The regional ICU bed capacity and occupancy numbers are as follows:

Region	Total ICU Beds in Region	Total Occupied ICU Beds in Region	Percent of ICU Beds Available in Region (7-day Avg)
Capital Region	238	197	20%
Central New York	262	171	32%
Finger Lakes	397	226	40%
Long Island	843	654	22%
Mid-Hudson	679	407	41%
Mohawk Valley	97	71	25%
New York City	2,588	2,044	22%
North Country	59	34	51%
Southern Tier	126	71	44%
Western New York	545	325	43%
Statewide	5,834	4,200	29%

Thursday, 282,449 test results were reported to New York State, and 3.01 percent were positive. Each region’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

REGION	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY
Capital Region	2.13%	2.18%	2.24%
Central New York	0.93%	0.91%	0.97%
Finger Lakes	1.86%	1.89%	1.93%
Long Island	4.38%	4.41%	4.34%
Mid-Hudson	4.76%	4.74%	4.82%
Mohawk Valley	1.84%	1.73%	1.79%
New York City	4.14%	4.18%	4.18%
North Country	1.44%	1.31%	1.29%
Southern Tier	0.64%	0.64%	0.68%
Western New York	2.51%	2.78%	2.78%
Statewide	3.34%	3.37%	3.37%

Each New York City borough’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

BOROUGH	SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY
Bronx	4.51%	4.69%	4.75%
Brooklyn	4.33%	4.39%	4.51%
Manhattan	2.60%	2.86%	2.92%
Queens	4.81%	5.03%	5.02%
Staten Island	4.75%	4.84%	5.03%

Of the 1,818,344 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	22,276	62
Allegany	3,000	5
Broome	16,341	46
Cattaraugus	4,712	13
Cayuga	5,568	11
Chautauqua	7,817	25
Chemung	6,740	35
Chenango	2,723	23
Clinton	4,077	16
Columbia	3,632	9
Cortland	3,372	9
Delaware	1,846	12
Dutchess	25,400	118
Erie	71,849	410
Essex	1,422	2
Franklin	2,273	3
Fulton	3,700	20
Genesee	4,723	14
Greene	2,906	10
Hamilton	292	0
Herkimer	4,735	8
Jefferson	5,161	8
Lewis	2,257	15
Livingston	3,764	8
Madison	4,047	18
Monroe	55,854	180
Montgomery	3,501	31
Nassau	164,481	696
Niagara	16,239	53
NYC	811,866	4,393
Oneida	20,641	37
Onondaga	33,879	74
Ontario	6,233	23
Orange	42,067	242
Orleans	2,567	8
Oswego	6,507	23
Otsego	2,815	28
Putnam	9,278	60
Rensselaer	9,824	47
Rockland	42,741	185
Saratoga	13,101	67
Schenectady	11,642	56
Schoharie	1,384	8
Schuyler	910	4
Seneca	1,770	2
St. Lawrence	5,876	11
Steuben	5,831	18
Suffolk	178,813	736
Sullivan	5,370	34
Tioga	3,066	11
Tompkins	3,807	30
Ulster	11,591	63
Warren	3,116	17
Washington	2,590	8
Wayne	4,756	14
Westchester	117,509	441
Wyoming	3,037	6
Yates	1,049	1

Thursday, 49 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 40,190. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

Deaths by County of Residence
County	New Deaths
Bronx	6
Dutchess	1
Erie	1
Kings	9
Manhattan	4
Monroe	1
Niagara	1
Onondaga	1
Queens	15
Richmond	3
Schenectady	1
Suffolk	4
Tioga	1
Westchester	1