COVID-19 is increasing across New York State at alarming rates since Thanksgiving.

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New COVID-19 cases across New York State have increased by 48 percent in the past week. In the last seven days, New York State recorded 64,666 new COVID-19 cases, according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard. During the previous seven days, 43,615 tests came back positive.

"I understand New Yorkers may be feeling COVID fatigue, especially now that we have entered the holiday season and the first batch of vaccines is a couple weeks away, but if there was ever a time to double down and be vigilant, it's now," Cuomo said. "We continue to implement our data-driven winter plan and we are laser focused on making sure New York's hospitals have enough capacity. What's troubling is we are seeing a new trend where the majority of cases are traced to households and private gatherings. The federal government continues to overlook the black, brown, and poor communities in its vaccine plan and hasn't provided the funding necessary for the states to administer it. These are real problems, and if left unaddressed they could undermine the effectiveness of the entire program. While we won't stop fighting until these problems are addressed, New Yorkers need to do their part too. They already did the best job in the country the first time around, going from the highest infection rate to one of the lowest, and I have no doubt if we continue to stay smart, we will get through this together — stronger, tougher and more loving than before."

Cuomo said New York's latest contact tracing data shows 70 percent of new COVID-19 cases originate from households and small gatherings, or as he puts it, "living room spread."

"It's not just mass gatherings causing the spread anymore. The virus is now literally spreading in households," Cuomo said. "When you eliminate other options for socialization, people will shift their behavior and begin joining together in their homes. We are seeing the impacts of that now, with a significant number of cases originating in households and small gatherings. I know you may think, 'I'm in my house with my family and with my friends so this is my safe zone,' but that just is simply not the case anymore. As we move forward into the winter, addressing living room spread will be one of the biggest challenges in the fight against COVID-19, and we can do it, but only if New Yorkers stay smart."

Over the weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office confirmed over 3,000 new COVID-19 cases from the Mid-Hudson Region.

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