This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Friday, January 1st, 2021. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms. Citing rising hospitalization rates, Governor Andrew Cuomo suspended indoor dining in NYC starting Monday, December 14th. After beingshut down for several weeks, NYC public schools partially reopened on December 7th for 3K-5th grade students, with students with special needs returning on December 10th. Certain parts of Staten Island remain under a zoned shutdown.

Get answers to questions you may have with our "Ask An Epidemiologist" series, or learn more about NYC COVID-19 testing options with our explainer. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

New York City’s COVID-19 positivity rate has ticked up to 5.85%, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.

But the state's numbers conflict with the city's own rates, because the two entities use different methodologies -- the state reports positivity based on all tests reported to the state on the previous day, while the city calculates positivity on the day the tests are performed.

There were 166 deaths from the coronavirus Thursday, including two people in the Bronx, 14 people in Brooklyn, 7 people in Manhattan, 8 people in Queens and two people on Staten Island.

Statewide, the positivity rate was at 7.52%, or 16,497 of the 219,253 tests reported Thursday, and there were 1,006 newly admitted patients to hospitals. There are 1,292 patients in the state's intensive care units, an increase of 16 patients from Thursday. There are 776 patients intubated in the ICUs, an increase of 53 patients from Thursday. The number of hospitalized patients in the state declined 49 people to 7,886 patients. The city has 29% of its ICU beds available based on a seven-day average.

"As we enter this new year, New Yorkers should be energized with a bright hope for the future," Cuomo said in a statement Friday. "We know what we have to do to defeat this invisible enemy and we are reminded of what can be achieved when we come together and work toward a united solution. As we start 2021, I encourage all New Yorkers to look to their better angels and continue the practices we know stop the spread of this virus - wash your hands, socially distance, and wear a mask. I am confident that we will win this war together because we are New York Tough."

COVID-19 Deaths Surpass 30,000 Mark In New York State

More than 30,000 people have now died from COVID-19 in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.

The latest figures show 136 people across the state died on Wednesday, bringing the number of deaths to 30,040, with the bulk of those deaths—just over 25,000—occurring in New York City, once the epicenter of the outbreak. Across the five boroughs, 36 people died Wednesday—nine in the Bronx, four in Manhattan, 11 in Brooklyn, five in Staten Island, and seven in Queens, statistics tracked by the state health department show. Outside the city, Monroe County reported the most COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, with 15 people dead from the virus, according to state health figures.

As COVID-19's daily positivity rate stood at 7.76% Wednesday, Cuomo took an optimistic tone given the arrival of the vaccine, saying the state is now seeing a "light at the end of the tunnel."

"How fast we get there all depends on what each of us does," Cuomo added in a statement Friday. "Yes, the vaccine is here and yes, we are laser focused on ensuring hospitals do not become overwhelmed, but we cannot lose sight of our collective responsibility to slow the spread. As we begin 2021 and look forward to brighter days ahead."

But getting New Yorkers vaccinated has been a lumbering process, with just 88,140 people receiving the first dose of the vaccine on Wednesday while 347,525 doses were delivered so far. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is committed to vaccinating 1 million people by the end of January. To achieve that benchmark, the city plans to double the number of vaccine doses from 150,000 a week to 300,000 a week.