For the 10th time in the last two weeks, New York state hit another record for new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with 74,207, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced.

The previous record, set Wednesday, was just over 67,000. More than 336,000 people were tested for the virus yesterday.

This puts the state's seven-day average positivity rate at 16.2%.

The governor's office said 1,635 people were newly hospitalized in the last 24 hours, with 7,373 patients in total. That is still lower than previous COVID-19 spikes the state has seen.

The state views the number of cases per 100,000 people as a better metric for the spread of the virus. Here are the latest numbers for those per region:

  • New York City: 359.9
  • Long Island: 293.2
  • Mid-Hudson Valley: 209.5
  • Western New York: 102.0
  • Central New York: 91.7
  • Capital Region: 90.9
  • Southern Tier: 78.7
  • Mohawk Valley: 77.5
  • Finger Lakes: 73.0
  • North Country: 52.1

"As the New Year approaches, it's more important than ever that we take the necessary precautions to keep each other safe in the face of the COVID winter surge," Gov. Hochul said. "It's up to all of us to make 2022 a safer, healthier year than 2021 was - get vaccinated, get boosted, mask up, and avoid large indoor public gatherings when possible." 

The state reported 76 new deaths.

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