News

- Hospitalizations due to COVID continue to increase throughout the State. The total number of hospital beds in NY is about 53,000—currently 35,000 of those beds are occupied by patients, about 4,000 of whom are COVID patients. For context, at the height of the pandemic in the…

- The federal government has informed us that New York will be getting its first 170,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks. If all safety and efficacy approvals are granted, we expect to receive these vaccines doses—from the New York pharmaceutical company…

- December is here, and we are quickly moving toward a COVID-19 vaccine, which is great news. However, the federal government's current vaccine distribution plan fails to address equity issues adequately. Today, joined by a coalition of groups, I issued a letter to the Department for Health and…

- Tuesday, December 8, at 1pm ET -Phocuswright and Miles are teaming up again for the fifth annual webinar for travel and tourism marketers. The 2020 edition will explore insights, analysis and predictions of how the industry is changing. We'll shine a spotlight on the impact of technology and…

- I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. We are entering a new phase in the war against COVID, and therefore a new strategy is required. We need to ensure that hospitals have enough capacity and enough staff to deal with the fall and winter surge that is upon us. Tonight's update will be longer…

- Unfortunately, we expect the virus to continue to spread as winter approaches. To that end, New York State in consultation with health experts is developing a winter plan to respond to the continued threat that COVID-19 poses to our state. The first step is to prioritize areas with the highest…

- Wednesday, Dec 9 at 2 PM -.NY State of Health is the Official Health Plan Marketplace for New Yorkers. The Marketplace's one stop shopping experience allows consumers to compare and enroll in high quality comprehensive health plans. NY State of Health is the only place where consumers can qualify…

- At the current rate of increase in COVID cases, we're very likely to see a major COVID spike after the holiday. In three weeks, hospitalizations have gone up 128 percent—we went from 1,200 total hospitalizations in the state to about 2,800 total hospitalizations now. We…

- This Thanksgiving isn't normal—nothing in 2020 has been. But Thanksgiving was never really about the trappings. It's always been more powerful than that. This Thanksgiving is a time to really give thanks to the people who did phenomenal things during the course of this year: The…

- New York State continues to remain on guard as Thanksgiving approaches. While the State's COVID numbers are better relative to most of the nation, we have still seen an uptick in the number of total COVID hospitalizations, and test positivity rates in many parts of the state that are higher than…

- Wed, Dec 2, 2020 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Nothing has changed destination marketing quite like digital advertising – a marketing discipline that allows for speed, responsiveness, and agility on a wide variety of cost-effective platforms. To make the most of SEM, programmatic,…

- Initiative to Help New York Area Residents Plan Staycations in the Big AppleWebsite, Social Media Campaign Encourages People Within Driving Distance of NYC to Take Tours Throughout the Five BoroughsDo you live in the Greater New York area and are planning a daycation or staycation in New York…

- What I've seen from this virus after battling it for 260-plus straight days is that in some ways its course is predictable. So it is clear that as people travel for the Thanksgiving holiday—so will the virus. Travel is a real concern because New York State has one of the lowest…

- After Canadian Thanksgiving, on October 12, Canada saw a major spike in COVID cases. It is our deep concern that the same thing will happen here. For that reason, I have continued to raise the alarm about the risk of COVID spreading in smaller indoor settings — so-called "living…

- Thursday, December 3, 2020 @ 12:00 PM ETLooking Ahead to 2021: U.S. Travel's Latest Travel ForecastJoin us on December 3 at 12:00 p.m. ET for the next webinar in our Assessing Recovery webinar series where Adam Sacks, president and CEO of Tourism Economics, will break down the latest Fall 2020…

- There's so much about COVID that we still don't know. But it is clear that COVID can have devastating long-term effects for some people. Known as "long-haulers," these individuals struggle with symptoms that last for months after catching COVID. One of the most concerning symptoms is chronic…

- Over the past six days, the United States recorded 1 million new COVID cases. The virus is spreading across the country and we see its impact in New York now too. It's not an Upstate or Downstate issue—cases are increasing throughout the state and all New Yorkers, regardless of…

- I want to ask all New Yorkers to carefully think about their Thanksgiving plans in the context of the current COVID surge around the nation. Look at the numbers in your community and look at the numbers in the United States and the world. They are rapidly increasing—countries are…

- If change is indeed the new status quo, then survival, much less success, will depend on our resilience, adaptability, capacity for innovation, and perseverance in the times ahead. You may feel that the word 'pivot' is getting overworked, but be prepared - in fact plan - to pivot in the future.I'm…

- Unfortunately, COVID is raging nationally, setting record numbers of cases and hospitalizations each day. Yesterday, there were 148,302 new COVID cases in the United States—nearly doubling the number from November 1st. The fall surge is here. Yesterday, we announced new actions…