Gov. Kathy Hochul says health officials are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, and hospitalizations around the state and the Mid-Hudson region are no exception.

Hochul says over 72 million home test kits have already been distributed in New York since the state amassed a supply of over 90 million.

Hochul says there is a "rising tide of cases" and that state officials are seriously weighing the differences between emerging COVID-19 variants. She says state officials are working with local health departments to understand the spread of two Omicron subvariants discovered in New York last week. "We have no evidence that these variants are likely to have severe impacts," she says.

State health officials estimate these variants are 23% to 27% more transmissible than the current dominant strain.

Hochul issued a reminder that masks are still required in:

• State-regulated health care setting

• State-regulated adult care facilities and nursing homes

• Homeless shelters

• Correctional facilities

• Domestic violence shelters

• Buses, bus stations, trains, train stations, subways, subway stations and airports.