Governor Andrew Cuomo says COVID-19 cases will continue to increase in New York state throughout the 37-day holiday period.

Cuomo says he hopes for flattening of the increase by mid-January.

The governor says the focus after that will be on a vaccine.

He says New York’s first delivery of the Pfizer vaccine will be enough for 170,000 New Yorkers and could arrive by December 15th.

"As we continue to move through the holiday season, the good news is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but unfortunately it is still a ways away and we are now faced with a set of challenges to overcome before we get there. Not only is the number of COVID-19 cases rising virtually everywhere, but they are stemming from a new source, with nearly 70 percent of cases being traced back to households and private gatherings," Cuomo said.

Cuomo also says he expects the economy will be back to normal when 75 to 80 percent of the population is vaccinated.

He says that will most likely be sometime between June and September.

Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers for New York.

Over 193,00 tests were reported on Tuesday and 4.6 percent were positive.

Governor Cuomo says the positivity rate in the focus areas is 5.8 percent, while the statewide positivity rate excluding those areas is 4.2 percent.

Total hospitalizations rose to 3,924.

Cuomo says the Mohawk Valley Region has seen a 231 percent increase in hospitalizations over the last three days.

There were 69 COVID fatalities yesterday.

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