NEW YORK (WKBW) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo held a COVID-19 briefing Tuesday and responded to the "11th guest" stickers a local company is producing and offered a dire projection for positivity rates in 2021.
Cuomo said that by the current COVID rate of increase paired with the increased social activity of the holiday season, it is expected the state will see a major spike in COVID-19 cases.
In an example, the governor took the current COVID rate of increase and estimated the holiday season would increase the spread of COVID-19 by 20%. This example projects the state to have a positivity rate of 12.46% on January 2 compared to a 2.93% positivity rate on Thanksgiving.
"Those numbers and that rate of increase is more than troublesome," Cuomo said.
The governor continued on to urge serious caution this holiday season.
When speaking to enforcement of COVID-19 protocols such as stay home policies, social distancing and mask wearing Cuomo said it was never about government rule or the government policy, its about New Yorkers getting the advice and the facts and doing the right thing.
Cuomo continued on to say the same thing applies to Thanksgiving, he gives the people the facts and they decide.
"I saw this little cartoon of me looking in the window on Thanksgiving, I'm not looking in your window on Thanksgiving," Cuomo said. "Nobody is looking in your window on Thanksgiving. You know everything I know, it's up to you and the results are going to be decided by you."
NYS has recommended private gatherings should be kept to no more than 10 people, while the CDC recommends you keep your holiday gatherings to people who live in your household.
