Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Wednesday deemed “shocking” the rise in the COVID-19 positivity rate to 12.8 percent.
“To put it simply, today’s COVID-19 numbers are shocking,” he said. “Not only is this the highest number of new cases reported since the onset of the pandemic, but the double-digit positivity rate puts us right back to where we were in early May.
Of the 12,909 tests taken in Suffolk County on Tuesday, 1,650 were positive [note: there is a delay of one day in reporting results].
“On December 1st, we had a positivity rate of approximately 4 percent, today we are at 12.8 percent. In less than a month, the rate has tripled.”
“We are the only ones who can change these numbers,” Bellone said. “We have seen this virus spread during the holiday season through small gatherings in homes where people are more likely to let their guard down.
“As we approach New Year’s Eve, I urge Suffolk County residents to limit gatherings, and to do what we know works, wear face coverings and socially distance.”
COVID-19 numbers for Suffolk County
On Shelter Island, the official number of cumulative cases remained at 25, with 16 being reported since mid-October. But officials say they know of another dozen or so cases that were not included in the state’s reporting.
Even so, the rate of infection here is significantly lower than what’s reported elsewhere in Suffolk County, just 8.95 cases per thousand residents. Next is East Hampton with 35.52 cases per thousand residents. Leading the 10 towns is Islip with 73.52 cases per thousand residents.
The data below are from December 29:
COVID-19 Testing
• 12,909 COVID-19 tests were administered
• 1,650 new cases were reported
• 94,041 total cases have been reported since March
• 4.9% of those tested since March have been confirmed positive for COVID-19
• 11.7 tested positive on Long Island yesterday; 7.5% positive on a 7-day average
• 12.8% tested positive in Suffolk County yesterday; 8.3% positive on a 7-day average
Fatalities
• 12 fatalities in the previous 24 hours
• 2,286 total fatalities since March
Hospitalization
• 700 individuals were hospitalized, an increase of 6 in 24 hours
• 84 were new admissions
• 97 patients were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a decrease of 4 in 24 hours
• 55 patients were in the ICU and intubated
Hospital Capacity
• 3,240 hospital beds, 644 available, 20 percent
• 394 ICU beds, 92 available, 23 percent
Source: Suffolk County COVID-19 Tracker
