Shelter Island’s official COVID-19 tally was at 18 on Tuesday, according to the Suffolk County novel coronavirus dashboard. But that may not include another nine cases known to local officials.
Deputy Supervisor Amber Brach-Williams and Police Chief James J. Read said Monday at the Town’s COVID-19 Emergency Update that they knew of nine cases in the last seven weeks that had not been reported on the county dashboard.
The dashboard, which is based on figures provided by state health officials, serves as the official tally. It appears that some cases may not be properly recorded due to the Island’s reliance on PO Boxes for mailing addresses. The state system rejects PO Boxes as invalid addresses, meaning some Shelter Island cases may not be included in the official tally.
At the time of their report, the Town’s official COVID-19 tally was 17.
Later in the day, that figure rose to 18. It was not immediately clear whether the 18th case reported on the dashboard was one of the additional cases already known to local officials.
Brach-Williams and Chief Read said they addressed their concerns about the reporting discrepancy to county health officials, who in turn passed their request for a fix along to state health officials. Chief Read said he was aware of no anecdotal reports of additional cases between June and October, a time when no Shelter Island cases were reported on the dashboard.
Read our coverage of the reporting discrepancy in this Gazette post.
Same case count as in earliest days
Suffice it to say, by Suffolk County’s official count, Shelter Island has recorded at least nine COVID-19 cases since October 9, the same number that was recorded in the first four months of the pandemic.
The local surge corresponds with rising case counts throughout Suffolk County, as colder weather drives social activity indoors, where the virus is more likely to be transmitted.
Local, county and state officials are warning residents to follow all safety precautions and avoid wherever possible gatherings of any size with people outside your own household. When you are out, wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep your distance.
Virus surging in Suffolk County
The virus is surging in Suffolk County, where the number of new cases reported Monday was 609, the third day in a row over 600. That’s up from an average of 170 during the first week of November. Three deaths were reported county-wide on Monday, bringing the cumulative death toll to 2,056. Twenty people died of COVID-19 county wide in the past 7 days; up from one fatality during the first seven days of November.
In all, 266 patients were hospitalized in Suffolk County, up 18 in 24 hours. Of that number, 48 required treatment in an intensive care unit, up 2 in 24 hours. Overall, hospitals had 763 beds available, about 26 percent of capacity. That includes 127 available ICU beds, about 33 percent of capacity. The number of new hospitalizations for COVID-19 has averaged 15 per day over the past 7 days, up from 17 in all during the first seven days of November.
Find details on the Suffolk County COVID-19 dashboard at https://suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Health-Services/Health-Bulletins/Novel-Coronavirus/.
