Classes at SUNY Oneonta will move to online-only instruction for at least two weeks after more than 100 students have tested positive for coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday announced. 

The high COVID cases were found after on-campus parties were held, Cuomo said. 

"If the students act irresponsibly and precautions are not in place, more dramatic action is going to have to be taken," Cuomo said in a conference call.

State officials are urging students to avoid social gatherings as they return to campus this month. Test results after on-campus parties at SUNY Oneonta found 105 positive cases, triggering the remote learning requirement for the college. 

"This is a different time," said Jim Malatras, the incoming chancellor of the state's public college and university system. 

New York's overall COVID positive rate remains below 1% after 100,000 test results were returned in the last day. It is the 23rd straight day in New York of test results below 1%. 

Eight people have died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, while hospitalizations remain at a new low at 429 patients. 

Cuomo praised the large-scale "community action" of New Yorkers in slowing the spread of the virus in the state. 

"In general, we have not hit what people have talked about as a second wave," Cuomo said. "The second wave was the theory the virus would mutate and come back... We're still in the first wave."

But worries over another increase in cases are compounded by the return of students to college campuses and to elementary and secondary schools. 

Health Commissioner Howard Zucker on Sunday urged New Yorkers to get a flu shot this year, and said regulations will be announced on Monday for testing people who have died of respiratory illnesses for both COVID and the flu. 

Western New York remains a "caution flag" even as the rest of the state's cases remain low, Cuomo said, where the positive rate is at 1.6%. 

Rapid testing at 8 sites tested 1,000 people, finding an infection rate of 3.4%. While that's high, Cuomo says it's not a "random" number given many people likely came to that site suspecting they had the virus.