NYC COVID-19 test positivity rate up to 6.29 pct: mayor

NEW YORK - New York City's COVID-19 test positivity rate on a seven-day average went up to 6.29 percent, compared with 6.19 percent one day earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Thursday.

There were 201 new hospitalizations and 2,890 new cases of the coronavirus in the city, said de Blasio, adding that "It may be #Christmas Eve, but #COVID19 isn't taking the holiday off."

On Wednesday, the mayor announced that with reports of a new COVID-19 strain in Britain, all international travelers will receive an order to quarantine from the city's health commissioner via certified mail, and anyone traveling from Britain will be personally served that order by the Sheriff's Office.

As of Thursday morning, the coronavirus deaths added up to 24,790 and confirmed cases to 391,640 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.