New York appears to be making progress on its latest coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Kathy Hochul stated Friday.

Covid’s positivity rate, and the average seven-day case size are both shown. exploded to staggering new highsHochul indicated that the numbers are trending down despite the rapid spread of the highly transmissible variant of omicron, at a Albany press conference.

Hochul stated that “there will be a day when it’s over.” Hochul said, “We aren’t there yet. But boy, it’s coming soon. We’ve waited long enough for this.”

Hochul noted that there were 177 deaths and 12,207 hospitalizations from Covid, but both of these metrics are still behind the trajectory of the virus.

Hochul stated, “You all did the right thing and that’s why we’ll lead the states in this long-awaited, much anticipated decline.” Hochul predicted that New York “turning around on the winter surge”.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined that New York has one of the most high vaccination rates in the United States. Nearly 73% are completely vaccinated against Covid in New York, with almost 86% having received at least one dose.

Hochul announced also that 64 million Covid test samples have been secured by the Empire State, 15 million of which are already being distributed.

While the Omicron variant is less likely than previous Covid variants that it will cause severe symptoms but more common, this variant can still lead to significant increases in hospitalizations or deaths.

However, omicron’s milder symptoms are not causing New York’s ICUs to be as overwhelmed now as at the start of the pandemic.

This news is still in development. Keep checking back for more updates.