NEW YORK, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 test positivity rate in the "Red Zone" focus areas in New York State was 6.61 percent on Tuesday, compared with 2.91 percent one day earlier, tweeted governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the statewide positivity rate excluding the "Red Zones," where the pandemic has been the most severe, was 1.42 percent, a slight rise over the 1.25 percent on Monday, he wrote.

Of the 124,789 tests reported to the government, 2,026 were positive, or 1.62 percent of the total, also an increase over the 1.32 percent one day earlier, he added.

The governor did not give the reason behind the growth, only saying that "We continue to take strong action to respond to these outbreaks and to stop the spread. Mask Up."

In another tweet posted minutes later, he wrote that "COVID anxiety is real. COVID stress is real. COVID depression is real. Give a friend a call. Check in with family. Let's show each other some love. Mental health is as important as physical health."

The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University reported 33,366 coronavirus deaths in New York State as of Wednesday noon, the worst among all the states of the country.