Washington

According to reports, virus positivity rates in New York reached 20 per cent amid the fifth wave of the pandemic.

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Long Island recorded positivity rate of over 21 per cent as Queens reported nearly 15 per cent positivity rate with areas in Manhattan recording similar trends.

Also Read | Virus wave could infect 100 million Americans this winter: Report

US health officials said the new virus subvariant BA.2.12.1 was more contagious than BA.2. Reports claim virus cases were on the rise in Boston.

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New York officials had raised the COVID-19 alert to "medium" last week due to the rising number of virus cases even as Manhattan and Staten Island recorded the highest transmission rates. However, hospitalisations and deaths continued to decline.

Watch: US can't eliminate the COVID-19 virus completely, says Anthony Fauci

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The US is the worst-hit country due to the virus with over 82 million COVID-19 cases and more than 998,000 fatalities since the pandemic first took hold in the country in March 2020.

Last week New York had reported transmission rates climbing up 32 per cent over a ten-day period as areas in Manhattan recorded a positivity rate of over 16 per cent.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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