NYC COVID-19 test positivity rate up to 8.48 pct, new cases down to 3,627: mayor

NEW YORK - New York City's COVID-19 test positivity rate on a seven-day average went up to 8.48 percent, compared with 8.09 percent one day earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Thursday.

Meanwhile, de Blasio said that there were 300 new hospital admissions and new cases of the coronavirus reached 3,627.

Late Wednesday, de Blasio and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium will begin administering COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible Bronx residents on Friday.

The site, established through a partnership between New York State, New York City, the New York Yankees, SOMOS Community Care and the New York National Guard, was developed to not only directly address the Bronx's concerning positivity rate, which is the highest among all New York City boroughs, but to further the state's and city's mandate for fairness and social equity in the vaccine distribution process, according to an official release.

"The Yankee Stadium mega site will bring the #COVID19 vaccine to communities hardest hit by the pandemic. It's a home run for justice and equity -- thank you to the @Yankees for stepping up to the plate for the Bronx!" tweeted the mayor.

As of Wednesday evening, the coronavirus deaths added up to 27,354 and the confirmed cases 610,346 in NYC, according to The City, a project that tracks the spread of confirmed COVID-19 infections and fatalities in New York City, based on information provided by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the governor's office, The COVID Tracking Project and the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.