Gov. Kathy Hochul said at her COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday that cases remain high in New York, but that a downward trend in rate of increase is providing a “glimmer of hope.”

According to data provided for Jan. 10, there are 12,540 hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York and 160 new deaths.

MORE: Stop the Spread | Where can I get tested for COVID-19?

Hochul says the state is not at the end of the winter surge as every region still has positivity percentages ranging from 15% to 25%.

An area of concern for the governor continues to be pediatric hospitalizations.

“Ninety-one percent of 5- to 11-year-olds newly admitted to hospitals are unvaccinated,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

The governor announced a new Vax for Kids campaign to help encourage children who can get the shot to get one. She is also pushing to get more tests to school systems.

Hochul also nixed contract tracing in the state, saying that it is now optional for counties to call residents who become infected. She said the rate of increase has made it “impossible” and that she would rather redirect the resources it takes to trace cases.

Officials are urging anyone who does become infected to not go to an emergency room for a test. State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said that the state will be “moving to more self-management" when it comes to positive tests and contract-tracing.

"A very large number of people test positive, a short window for intervention to disrupt transmission, which is the purpose of contact-tracing," Bassett says.

The state will allow each county to determine if they want to do contact-tracing.

More details about that will be revealed on a state website that will launch on Wednesday morning.

Hochul says her indoor mask mandate, which is set to expire on Feb. 2, will continue until she is sure the trend holds.

MORE: Where can I get the COVID-19 vaccine? | New York COVID-19 Blog