Town officials said Tuesday that there have been 17 COVID-19 cases in seven weeks reported on Shelter Island, but a majority had not been included in the county’s novel coronavirus dashboard.
The dashboard represents the official COVID-19 case tally and is based on data collected by state health officials. Our local reliance on Post Office boxes, rather than street addresses, seems to be at the heart of the reporting discrepancy.
Of the 17 cases in the past seven weeks known to local officials, eight were reported on the Suffolk County dashboard, but nine were not. As of Tuesday afternoon, the dashboard said Shelter Island had 17 cases since the outbreak began in March. The missing cases would bring that number to 26.
Deputy Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams and Police Chief James J. Read said they’d been in contact with county health officials who, in turn, have said they’ll attempt to figure out a fix with the state health officials.
It appears that the state’s data collection system is designed to locate cases by street address and rejects PO Boxes as invalid, they said. As of Tuesday, Chief Read said, 3,043 cumulative cases were reported on the county map as “Township Unknown,” including some likely reported that way due to rejected PO boxes.
While many county residents use PO boxes, particularly on the East End, Shelter Island is the only Suffolk County town that relies exclusively on PO boxes for mail delivery.
COVID-19 Emergency Update
Town officials spoke about the discrepancy at the first COVID-19 Emergency Update held here since May 8, when cases abated in Suffolk County. At that time, Shelter Island had a total of eight cases reported on the county map.
“We’re going to travel back in time a little bit,” Supervisor Gerry Siller said as the Emergency Update delayed the start of a scheduled Town Board work session.
With case numbers rising again in our region, state and county health officials have been urging residents to take extra precautions. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday announced new initiatives to prepare hospitals for an anticipated surge (read our coverage in this post).
On Shelter Island, the surge began in October. While a ninth case had been reported in June, no new cases were reported until October 9. Chief Read said he heard no anecdotal reports of cases here during that period.
Since then, eight new cases have been added to the county dashboard, even as additional anecdotal reports circulated in the community.
School closes and reopens, testing available
In addition to Town personnel, present via Zoom at Tuesday’s meeting were school Superintendent Brian Doelger and Josh Potter, DO, who operates the Town Medical Center, a satellite of Stony Brook’s Meeting House Lane Medical Practice.
Dr. Doelger presented an update about a case of COVID-19 reported Sunday by a school staff member that prompted a shift to distance learning on Monday. The school was open for in-person learning again on Tuesday. Read our coverage of the school closing in this post.
It was Dr. Potter’s first appearance at a COVID-19 Emergency Update; his new practice opened this summer after the weekly sessions had been suspended. Dr. Potter said he provides COVID-19 tests on Wednesdays by appointment. The tests are free but must be preceded by a telehealth visit — which should be covered by most insurance policies. Call the office for details, 631-749-9140.
Deputy Supervisor Brach-Williams, reporting from self-quarantine due to recent exposure to a person who tested positive for COVID-19, also provided an explanation about contact tracing. Read about that in this Gazette post.
Questions?
If you have questions about COVID-19, you can reach the Suffolk County hotline by dialing 311.
You can watch the entire meeting at TownHallStreams.com or on Channel 22, the Town public access station.
