Just when you thought COVID-19 had faded away, there's a new variant that is spreading quickly in New York State. It is now the dominant variant. There were 26 COVID-related deaths reported around the state.

NYC Experiencing Uptick In Covid Cases
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The New COVID-19 Variant Is Spreading Quickly In New York State

The New York State Department of Health announced on, Friday, January 6, 2023, that the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron, now makes up over 50 percent of COVID-19 cases in the state. It's now the dominant variant in New York and it appears that it spreads quicker than other variants that are circulating.

For samples of SARS-CoV-2 collected between December 18 -- December 31, 2022 from New York that are sequenced and uploaded into GISAID, 98.2% were the Omicron variant. During this time period, 6.1% of all sequences were lineage BA.2, 0.0% were BA.4, 5.6% were BA.5, 10.6% were BQ.1, 16.4% were BQ.1.1, 7.6% were XBB and 51.9% were XBB.1.5, all of which are Omicron variants.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, XBB.1.5 accounts for almost one-third of the total cases in the United States. Between January 1 and January 7, 2023, it was the second most prolific variant, making up 27.6 percent of positive cases.

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As of Thursday, January 5, 2023, (the most up-to-date data provided by Governor Chochul's Office) these are the COVID-19 7-day average positivity rates:

The statewide 7-day average is 8.58%.

North Country - 6.47%

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Finger Lakes - 7.21%

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Central New York - 7.26%

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Southern Tier - 7.40%

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New York City - 8.02%

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Mohawk Valley - 8.21%

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Capital Region - 8.56%

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Long Island - 9.66%

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Mid-Hudson - 10.04%

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Western New York - 12.77%

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Governor Hochul said,

I urge everyone to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy. Stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options.

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