NEW YORK, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 test positivity rate in New York state's "Red Zone" focus areas, where the outbreak has been the most severe, has surpassed 6 percent, Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted on Wednesday.

The rate in the focus areas reached 6.2 percent on Tuesday, up from 4.13 percent on Monday. This was the first time in days that the rate had topped 6 percent. It used to hover around 5 percent, according to official figures.

The statewide positivity rate excluding the "Red Zones" was 0.95 percent on Tuesday, compared with 1.2 percent on Monday, said the governor.

Of the 111,744 tests reported statewide on Tuesday, 1,232 were positive, or 1.1 percent of the total, while the rate was 1.4 percent on Monday, said Cuomo.

"We continue to take strong action to respond to these outbreaks and to stop the spread. Mask Up," he added.

In another tweet on Wednesday, the governor told New Yorkers, "Blood supplies are critically low because of the pandemic," and called on people to donate blood.

According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. coronavirus death toll reached 216,060 as of Wednesday noon, and the number of confirmed cases was more than 7.86 million. New York remains one of the worst-hit states in the country.