As the omicron variant loosens its grip on the city, the number of COVID cases continues to plummet, and hospital admissions and fatalities are now beginning to taper off as well.

“We have been waiting for this moment,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday. “We are finally trending the direction we want to go down. And that is downward, downward, downward.”

Hochul on Friday highlighted the fact the statewide positivity rate is below 10% for the first time in a month, and far fewer New Yorkers are getting seriously ill.

What You Need To Know

  • The statewide test positivity rate is now below 10% for the first time since Dec. 20

  • Hospital admissions are also down; Medisys Health Network saw just 12 COVID patients in the E.R. Thursday, down from a high of about 60

  • For much of January, COVID fatalities topped 100 per day in the city, and many hospital morgues are reaching capacity
  • The medical examiner’s office says it stepped in last week to provide expanded capacity

“Our hospitalizations are down,” she said. “That is what has been concerning, that’s what kept me up at night.”

Dr. Sabiha Raoof is chief medical officer at Medisys Health Network, which includes so-called safety net hospitals like Jamaica Hospital that serve low-income and often uninsured patients.

Those hospitals, which have been under severe strain in recent weeks, are now finally seeing some relief. 

“We feel that we have gone over the hump now, and we are on the downward trend,” Dr. Raoof said. “If I look at my E.R. registrations, there was a point when we were up to 50 or 60 COVID-positive patients being admitted to the hospital every day. And as of yesterday we had 12 admissions.”

But hospital capacity is still a concern, even as staff shortages ease. One Brooklyn Health is another system of safety-net hospitals like Interfaith Medical Center, where all intensive-care beds are currently filled.

“At the beginning of this month, we had more than 400 staff who were out sick. As of today, that number is down to 245 individuals,” said LaRay Brown, One Brooklyn Health’s chief executive officer. “But 245 people who are incredibly important to the operations of a health care facility is quite a concern.”

And New Yorkers are still dying in droves. For much of January, COVID fatalities topped 100 per day in the city, and hospital morgues have been running out of room. 

The Greater New York Hospital Association, a leading industry group, has acknowledged the challenge.

In a statement Friday, a spokesman said: “Staffing shortages worsened by the Omicron surge have impacted all stakeholders—including hospitals, the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), funeral homes, and cemeteries.”

It continued: “As a result, hospitals have had to manage higher numbers of decedents than before the current omicron surge. OCME recently expanded its capacity, which is easing pressure on the hospitals.”

A spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office stressed the agency is experiencing no backlogs or delays in its operations.