New York, Oct 15 (IANS): The Covid-19 test positivity rate in New York state's "Red Zone" focus areas, where the outbreak has been the most severe, has surpassed 6 per cent, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The rate in the focus areas reached 6.2 per cent on Tuesday, up from 4.13 per cent on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

This was the first time in days that the rate had topped 6 per cent after hovering around 5 per cent, according to official figures.

The statewide positivity rate excluding the "Red Zones" was 0.95 per cent on Tuesday, compared with 1.2 per cent on Monday, said the governor.

Of the 111,744 tests reported statewide on Tuesday, 1,232 were positive, or 1.1 per cent of the total, while the rate was 1.4 per cent on Monday, Cuomo said in a tweet on Wednesday.

"We continue to take strong action to respond to these outbreaks and to stop the spread. Mask Up," he added.

In another tweet on Wednesday, the Governor told New Yorkers, that "blood supplies are critically low because of the pandemic," and called on people to donate blood.

Once the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, New York state has reported more than 483,000 Covid-19 cases, of which New York City accounted for over 256,000.

The death toll in the state stood at 32,916.

As of Thursday, the US continued as the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 7,911,497 and 216,734, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.