COVID-19 infection rate in New York state hot spots 5 times that statewide: governor (9)

A vendor waits for customers behind a plastic covering at her booth at Rego Park of Queens, a COVID-19 hotspot area in New York, the United States, on Oct. 8, 2020. The latest coronavirus positivity rate in the 20 hotspot ZIP codes in Queens, Brooklyn, Orange and Rockland counties in New York State was 5.8 percent, more than five times the statewide positivity rate excluding these ZIP codes which stood at 1.01 percent, tweeted Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday. Shutdowns of non-essential businesses, schools and social gatherings in those hotspot areas have gradually taken effect this week under the instructions of the governor and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, though it has triggered criticism and protests from certain groups and some parents. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)