Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo criticized some local governments Sunday, saying they hadn’t done enough to enforce compliance with Covid-19 safety regulations. He warned that the state would close all business activity in hotspots if local governments don’t do more.
The top 20 hotspots by ZIP code are in parts of Brooklyn, Queens, Orange and Rockland counties. Overall, the state remains at 0.91 percent positivity rate on tests, while in some of the hotspots, the infection rate is in the double digits.
“Local governments have not done an effective job of enforcement in these hot spot ZIP codes. The State will be doing aggressive enforcement starting tomorrow,” Cuomo said. “As we saw with bars and restaurants, when the State initiated enforcement actions compliance greatly increased. However, the State cannot take over effective enforcement for every jurisdiction and if a local jurisdiction cannot or will not perform effective enforcement of violating entities, notify the State and we will close all business activity in the hot spots where the local governments cannot do compliance.”
“I’m concerned about the lack of testing in the schools,” Governor Cuomo continued. “If the localities do not do testing immediately in the schools in those areas, the State will close them immediately. We all want schools to reopen IF they can reopen safely. I have assured the parents of this State that I would not send my child to a school that I didn’t know was safe. Without testing we can’t assure parents and teachers of the safety of that school.”
The new effort is modelled on the State Liquor Authority and State Police Task Force that has been enforcing state guidance at bars and restaurants in New York City and on Long Island. Businesses that violate the law can be subject to fines and closures.
The hotspot ZIP codes contained 21 percent of all positive cases in New York State yesterday, but represent only 6.7 percent of the state’s population.
Top 20 ZIP code infection rates
COUNTY |
ZIP |
% POSITIVE 10/3 |
% POSITIVE 10/2 |
% POSITIVE – 3 DAY AVG |
% POSITIVE – 7 DAY AVG |
% POSITIVE – 14 DAY AVG |
Orange |
10950 |
13.7% |
27.6% |
21.2% |
18.4% |
17.3% |
Rockland |
10952 |
15.1% |
9.5% |
11.2% |
13.5% |
12.8% |
Rockland |
10977 |
8.6% |
11.6% |
11.4% |
13.1% |
11.8% |
Kings |
11223 |
11.3% |
9.0% |
9.4% |
7.9% |
7.0% |
Rockland |
10901 |
6.1% |
5.1% |
7.1% |
7.5% |
6.1% |
Kings |
11230 |
8.7% |
6.5% |
6.7% |
6.6% |
5.8% |
Kings |
11210 |
6.7% |
5.5% |
5.4% |
5.7% |
4.9% |
Kings |
11219 |
3.9% |
4.0% |
5.0% |
5.1% |
5.3% |
Queens |
11367 |
3.8% |
4.1% |
5.9% |
4.6% |
4.0% |
Kings |
11204 |
3.5% |
3.4% |
3.9% |
4.2% |
4.6% |
Kings |
11229 |
3.0% |
5.4% |
4.3% |
4.2% |
3.9% |
Orange |
12550 |
7.2% |
5.0% |
5.0% |
3.5% |
2.5% |
Queens |
11691 |
2.4% |
3.0% |
3.2% |
3.5% |
2.7% |
Queens |
11374 |
1.7% |
2.9% |
3.0% |
3.2% |
3.0% |
Kings |
11218 |
4.6% |
2.6% |
3.1% |
2.9% |
2.6% |
Kings |
11235 |
3.4% |
2.3% |
2.5% |
2.7% |
2.4% |
Kings |
11234 |
2.5% |
2.3% |
2.1% |
2.3% |
2.1% |
Queens |
11432 |
3.2% |
0.6% |
2.3% |
2.1% |
1.8% |
Kings |
11211 |
3.2% |
1.7% |
2.3% |
2.1% |
1.7% |
Queens |
11375 |
1.0% |
2.0% |
1.7% |
1.9% |
1.4% |