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On Long Island, the positivity rate has risen from 3.98 percent on Sunday, Feb. 28 to 4.18 percent as of Tuesday, March 2, while the statewide average has climbed from 3.08 percent to 3.18 percent during that same time span.
There were 600 newly confirmed infections in Nassau, while Suffolk reported 569. A total of 149,851 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Nassau since the beginning of the pandemic, while Suffolk has confirmed 163,885.
As of Wednesday, March 3, there were 922 COVID-19 patients - down from 944 late last week - hospitalized on Long Island, representing 0.03 percent of the region's population and leaving 33 percent of hospital beds still available.
The state was also reporting 682 of Long Island's 865 ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients, leaving 23 percent available in case of another surge of the virus.
If Long Island - or any of the state's nine other regions - finds itself in danger of hitting its 90 percent hospital capacity rate within three weeks, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to shut down the entire region.
Cuomo questioned why the positivity rate on Long Island, the mid-Hudson Valley, and New York City was so much higher than other locations across the state on Wednesday.
"The question is, why is there such a variance in the demographic areas that are basically very similar," he said during a COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday. "It's the same state, and the same basic demographics, so it's all about behavior.
"It's all about what we do and how a community adapts. This is a function of personal behavior and that's why you're seeing these variances across the state."
Seven new COVID-19 fatalities were reported in Suffolk, as the total rose to 3,102, according to the state, and there were four in Nassau, as the death toll climbed to 2,930 since the pandemic began.
The latest breakdown of the communities with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nassau, according to the most recent data provided by the county Department of Health on March 3:
- Levittown: 4,020;
- Hicksville: 3,262;
- Freeport: 3,219;
- Hempstead: 3,219;
- East Meadow: 2,965;
- Valley Stream: 2,874;
- Oceanside: 2,466;
- Elmont: 2,465;
- Long Beach: 2,432;
- Franklin Square: 2,382;
- Glen Cove: 2,276;
- Uniondale: 2,119;
- Massapequa: 1,794;
- Rockville Centre: 1,762;
- Baldwin: 1,614;
- Woodmere: 1,580;
- Plainview: 1,535;
- West Hempstead: 1,508
- North Bellmore: 1,495;
- Wantagh: 1,485;
- North Massapequa: 1,465;
- Lynbrook: 1,431;
- Mineola: 1,419;
- Merrick: 1,415;
- Massapequa Park: 1,382;
- Garden City: 1,381;
- East Massapequa: 1,381;
- Seaford: 1,364;
- Bethpage: 1,291.
The breakdown of cases reported in Suffolk County, according to the Department of Health:
- Brookhaven: 45,870;
- Islip: 40,533;
- Babylon: 22,760;
- Huntington: 18,508;
- Smithtown: 11,438;
- Southampton: 4,831;
- Riverhead: 3,057;
- Southold: 1,462;
- East Hampton: 1,443;
- Shelter Island: 45.
There were 218,069 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on March 2, according to Cuomo, resulting in 5,323 new cases for a 3.53 percent positive infection rate, up from the previous day
Forty-six COVID-19 patients were released from New York hospitals, leaving 4,323 still being treated statewide. There are 1,047 in ICU and 735 intubated.
There were 75 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
Cuomo made note that 95 percent of the first COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to New York have been administered as of 11 a.m. on March 3.
A total of 3,290,980 first doses have been received, with 3,125,025 administered. New York has received 5,372,605 first and second doses, with 4,819,412 administered.
"New Yorkers have done a tremendous job working to defeat COVID, and we're gradually loosening restrictions as the numbers reduce and the public health improves. It's clear that if we remain vigilant, we will reach the light at the end of the tunnel," Cuomo said. "While we continue to expand access to the vaccine throughout the state, New Yorkers should double down on the behaviors that make such an important different fighting this pandemic—washing hands, wearing masks and social distancing.
"This is a tough footrace, but the infection rate is down and the vaccination rate is up, and New Yorkers will get through this together as long as we stay touch and keep this momentum heading in the right direction."
Statewide, a total of 1,650,184 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of 38.62 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 38,735 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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