New York State officials are contending with new coronavirus clusters in Steuben and Chemung counties amid a rise in cases on the state's border with Pennsylvania, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said. 

The designation for parts of Chemung and Steuben counties will mean increased coronavirus testing in schools and capacity limits on gatherings.

The state's daily positive rate reached 1.62%, the highest since June, including cases in parts of the state where virus rates are increasing. There are now 950 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York, Cuomo said. 

There are still clusters in Orange, Rockland, and Broome counties as well. Still, the state reported progress on reducing cases in parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Cuomo on Wednesday announced criteria for exiting "red zones" of high clusters: positive rates of less than 3% after 10 days, or 4% in less populated areas. 

The color-coded cluster zones increase from yellow to orange to red, with the severest restrictions including school and non-essential business closures to halt the further spread of the virus. 

Cuomo wants to control the spread of new COVID-19 cases through the so-called "micro-cluster" approach that prevents a regional or statewide closure of non-essential businesses and schools, like the hammer that was dropped in March. 

“I hope it doesn’t happen," Cuomo said of a region-wide shutdown. "I expect it won’t happen if we do what we have to do with the micro-clusters.”

There are "significant stressers" that are leading to a resurgence of cases in New York and across the country, Cuomo said.

"What happens in the fall -- schools open, colleges open, people come indoors," Cuomo said, "there's a COVID fatigue factor."