A new case brings the Shelter Island COVID-19 tally to 11. Cases had been holding steady at nine since June, but one new case was reported earlier this month and another just yesterday, according to the Suffolk County COVID-19 Case Tracker.
No details are available about the case. The Town’s official COVID-19 rate is now 3.94 cases per 1,000, up slightly from 3.58 cases/thousand after the latest one was reported. That’s significantly lower than other communities in Suffolk County, including all East End neighboring towns.
According to the county dashboard, nine cases have been reported in the Shelter Island ZIP code, 11964, including the most recent case, which was recorded on October 28 (it was one of 184 new cases reported in the county that day). The case reported on October 9 was also in the 11964 ZIP code.
Before that, three were reported in 11964 in June; two in May and two in April. Additionally, two cases were reported in April in the Shelter Island Heights ZIP code, 11965.
It is important to note that the case count attributed to Shelter Island on the Suffolk County dashboard represents only those cases where people reported their home ZIP code as 11965 or 11964. It does not include cases where the infected people may have been residing on Shelter Island but reported their primary address as elsewhere.
Also, the dashboard includes 2,809 instances of “Township Unknown” — some of these cases may have been reported at a time when home addresses were not being collected or may be associated with individuals staying somewhere in the county (including Shelter Island) who had an address outside the county.
As of October 28, Suffolk County recorded 49,198 COVID-19 cases. In all, 35 people were hospitalized, up two from the day before. Of those, two patients required treatment in an intensive care unit, down two from the day before.
In all, 2,021 Suffolk County residents have died as a result of the virus, up two from the day the before. The total includes two Shelter Island residents.
Suffolk County has begun to fine residents for hosting super-spreader events. Read our coverage in this Gazette post.
