New York state reports highest number of daily Covid cases of entire pandemic at more than 21,000

New York state saw its highest number of new Covid cases in a single day of the entire pandemic, topping just over 21,000 new infections on Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

About 8% of total all Covid tests were positive, almost double the rate of just a few days ago, according to the state health department.

“The winter surge in COVID-19 cases is a reminder that the pandemic is not over yet and we must take extra care to keep ourselves and each other safe,” Hochul said in a press release Friday.

The latest report comes as the U.S. battles surging cases caused by the Covid delta variant while the newly discovered omicron variant spreads rapidly. Omicron comprised 13.1% of all Covid cases in the New York and New Jersey region last week, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials are urging individuals to get vaccinated and to get a booster shot as soon as they’re eligible. Data shows vaccinated individuals with a booster shot are better protected against Covid variants than those who have just one of Johnson & Johnson’s shots or two of Moderna and Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine doses.

More than 129,000 vaccine doses were administered in New York on Thursday, the state reported.

Covid outbreaks have canceled live performances in New York this week like the Rockette’s “Christmas Spectacular” at Radio City Music Hall and “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” on Broadway.