HIV Cases Hit All-Time Low In NYC
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The number of new HIV diagnoses in New York City has reached an all-time low.
The city's Department of Health released the good news on Monday -- World AIDS Day.
The city recorded 2,832 HIV diagnoses in 2013. That is a 40 percent drop since 2003.
Health Commissioner Mary Bassett marked the data release with a speech at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater. She said she was "proud to celebrate'' the new low.
HIV Cases Hit All-Time Low In NYC
Moreover, the number of AIDS cases decreased 67 percent over the last decade.
City officials said that while blacks and Hispanics make up half of the city's population, they make up three-quarters of the new HIV cases.
Bassett said that black and Hispanic men who have sex with other men remain the most at-risk population.
Although the city has come a long way, Bassett said there's still work to do and the city is launching NY Knows, the city's plan to make it easier to get tested through AIDS organizations all over the city.
Bassett said there will be a highly visible campaign called #BeHIVSure.
"Each of us should be HIV sure regardless of our status, our sexual orientation, our risk," Bassett said, adding that the end goal is zero new AIDS cases in New York by 2020.
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