NEW YORK, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The latest COVID-19 test positivity rates in New York State have remained more or less the same as the level in the past days, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday.
Such rate in the "Red Zone" focus areas, where the pandemic has been the most severe, was 5.7 percent, and the statewide positivity rate excluding these areas was 0.84 percent on Saturday, the governor tweeted.
"We are taking strong action to respond to these outbreaks and to stop the spread. Mask up," he added.
The state's "Red Zone" COVID-19 test positivity rate has hovered mostly above 5 percent for days, while the statewide positivity rate excluding these areas stood below 1 percent for days, according to the official figures.
Under state and city orders, non-essential businesses, schools and social gatherings have been shut down in these focus areas this week for at least 14 days in order to help contain the virus.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Sunday "We've come too far to let COVID-19 make a resurgence. Help us fight back against the clusters we've seen in Brooklyn and Queens."
According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. coronavirus death toll reached 214,639 as of Sunday afternoon, and the number of confirmed cases was more than 7.74 million. New York remains one of the worst-hit states in the country.