New York Among Least Safest States During COVID-19 With Highest Hospitalization Rates

When it comes to fighting the coronavirus, the Empire State ranks near the bottom. New York is the third least safest state with the highest hospitality rates in the country for COVID-19.

Virginia is worst state for safety, followed by Georgia and New York, according to a new WalletHub survey.

New York not only rank highest in COVID hospitalization rates, its the second highest in positive tests, just above New Jersey. Hawaii has the honor of the state with the least positive test rates.

Only 7.9% of New York's population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, receiving both doses, as of March 2.

To find out the safest places during the COVID-19 pandemic, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics.

"Our data set includes the rates of COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death, as well as the share of the eligible population getting vaccinated."

Rankings were also based on whether restaurants are open to whether the state has required face masks in public and workplace temperature screenings.

Tourism Impact

The tourism industry has taken a major blow during the coronavirus pandemic. Hawaii, Nevada and Florida are among the hardest hit, with New York coming in at #9 on the list, just ahead of California.

Small Business Impact

Small businesses are feeling the impact of COVID around the country with some states hurting more than others. 87 percent of small business owners say their business is hurting from the coronavirus, and 35 percent say their business cannot last more than three months in current conditions, according to a recent WalletHub survey.

Hawaii is the worst for small businesses, followed by Nevada and South Dakota. New York actually comes in at 30 on the list of states with the most affected small businesses.

Several small businesses have been forced to close their doors in central New York over the past few months due to the pandemic.

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