Despite a decline in statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations, Gov. Kathy Hochul says it is still important for New Yorkers to continue to wear masks and get vaccinated.

According to the governor's office on Wednesday, statewide hospitalizations dropped by more than 500 over the past day, and have fallen nearly 2,700 in the past week to 9,335 patients.

"I am grateful for all the hard work New Yorkers have put in to bring infections down, but our fight is not over yet," Hochul said in a statement. "It is important that we continue to wear our masks and get vaccinated. For the parents hesitating to get their children vaccinated, thousands of young New Yorkers across the state have already gotten their shot - it is safe, free, widely available, and the best way to protect your children and keep them in school."

New York's seven-day average positivity rate also continues to fall, Hochul said, and currently sits at 9.11%.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data cited by the governor, 95.0% of all New Yorkers age 18 and older have received at least one vaccine dose and 84.3% have completed their vaccine series. For New Yorkers of all ages, 87.1% have received at least one dose and 73.7% have completed their vaccine series.

Over the past 24 hours, 66,121 vaccine doses were administered and 469,438 shots were given out in the past seven days.

As of data provided on Wednesday, Central New York's seven-day average positivity rate of 15.49% is the highest in the state, followed by Western New York at 15.45% and the North Country at 15.43%. The region of the state with the lowest seven-day average positivity rate is currently New York City, with a reported 7.03% rate.