As New Yorkers prepare to give thanks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is warning more COVID-19 restrictions are expected for many more parts of the state.

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Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo placed Newburgh, New Windsor, Middletown and Highland Falls in a Yellow Zone. Cuomo calls a Yellow Zone a "wake up call," to areas of the state with rising COVID numbers. In Yellow Zones, houses of worship are capped at 50 percent capacity and dining is limited to 4 people per table. Businesses and schools can remain open, though schools must do more testing.

The Yellow Zone in Rockland County was expanded to include Pearl River, West Haverstraw, Stony Point and Suffern. New Rochelle, Ossining, Tarrytown, Yonkers and Peekskill in Westchester County all also met the metrics for precautionary yellow zones in each area.

On Sunday, Cuomo said "several communities" across New York are tracking to enter a micro-cluster zone this week or expand on an area's existing zone.

"We have several communities across the state in the warning track to yellow zones or become red or orange zones this week," Cuomo said. "The only question of how much and how fast is up to you. You can change what you do, and you can change how your community acts."

Cuomo didn't hint at which communities might enter a micro-cluster zone this week. Over the past week, Western New York has the highest 7-day-average positivity rate at 5.06 percent. The Mid-Hudson Region, at 3.75 percent, has the second-highest positivity rate in the past week.

Current 7-Day Average for Mid-Hudson Region:

  • Dutchess County: 2.7%
  • Orange County: 4.7%
  • Putnam County: 5.4%
  • Rockland County: 3.5%
  • Sullivan County: 3.8%
  • Ulster County: 2.2%
  • Westchester County: 4.0%

"Between now and January, there will be increased social interaction, and the consequence, I believe, will be an increase in the rate of cases," Governor Cuomo said. "And while a vaccine is expected to come in December or January, we cannot let our guard down. The vaccine will be first distributed for high-need populations, but it will be six months at a minimum before it is widely available, so we simply cannot afford six months of a sustained increase in cases. The post-holiday increase is purely a function of what we do and New Yorkers have already proven their toughness, but as Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, we need to stay the course. If we all continue to wash our hands, wear our masks and avoid gatherings, we will be able to keep our infection rate down and keep New Yorkers safe."

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