NY Covid-19 hospitalisations down to 8,527, positivity rate 6.57%

New York, Jan 10 Total Covid-19 hospitalisations reached 8,527 in New York state in the past 24 hours, down from 8,561 a day earlier, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced.

Meanwhile, of the 258,031 Covid-19 tests reported on Friday in the state, 16,943 were positive, or 6.57 per cent of the total, down from 7.72 per cent a day earlier, Xinhua news agency quoted Cuomo as saying in a statement on Saturday.

He added that the fatalities went up to 188 on Friday, compared with 161 the previous day.

"Starting Monday, NYS will begin scheduling vaccinations for the next group of people (Phase 1B): People age 75+, Education workers, First responders (police, fire), Public transit workers and Public safety workers," the Governor said in a tweet.

"Sites will include pharmacies, doctors' offices, Javits Center & more."

Also on Friday, Cuomo signed an executive order expanding the eligible pool of trainees who can administer Covid-19 vaccines at distribution sites to include licensed practical nurses, pharmacists, midwives, dentists, podiatrists, emergency medical technic and certain eligible students.

The state of New York has reported more than 1.12 million coronavirus cases till date, while the death toll stood at 39,041, the highest in the US.

( With inputs from IANS )