NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- New York City's COVID-19 infection rate on a seven-day average hit a new high of 5.43 percent, compared with 5.19 percent one day earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Friday.
The rate has been above 3 percent since Nov. 18, and topped 4 percent for the first time on Monday. It surpassed 5 percent on Thursday. Three percent is deemed by the municipal government as a threshold for a second wave of the pandemic.
"If you're a senior or have a pre-existing medical condition, stay home as much as possible this weekend. This is a serious situation," said the mayor, adding that there were 134 new hospitalizations and 2,041 new cases of the coronavirus in the city.
As of Thursday afternoon, coronavirus deaths added up to 24,305 and confirmed cases to 321,053 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. Enditem
