At least 10 COVID cases said confirmed at Israeli consulate in New York

At least 10 people working at Israel’s consulate in New York have tested positive for COVID-19, Israeli television reported Friday.

Dozens of other employees at the diplomatic mission in Manhattan were at home after reporting they did not feel well, according to Channel 13 news, which did not specify if those confirmed to have coronavirus were symptomatic.

The network said Consul General Asaf Zamir entered quarantine following the outbreak.

The report came as New York state announced Friday that just over 21,000 people had tested positive for COVID the previous day, the highest single-day total for new cases since testing became widely available.

One-day snapshots of virus statistics can be an unreliable way to measure trends, but the new record punctuated a steady increase that started in the western part of the state in late October, and has taken off in New York City in the past week as the Omicron variant spreads.

Just under half of the positive results were in the city, where lines were growing at testing stations and some Broadway shows and the Rockettes Christmas show were cancelling performances because of outbreaks among cast members.

Statewide, New York averaged 13,257 positive tests per day over the seven-day period that ended Thursday. That is up 71% from two weeks ago.

The state’s previous one-day high for positive tests came on January 14, 2021, when just under 20,000 people tested positive.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned that Omicron is in “full force,” but said the city’s hospitals are “very strong and stable right now” and far better able to handle COVID than when the pandemic began. Treatments have improved, and more than 70% of eligible city residents are fully vaccinated, he noted.