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The Department of Health was reporting 1,084 new COVID-19 cases in Suffolk, with another 977 in Nassau, bringing the total on Long Island to 2,061 newly infected parties. A total of 138,812 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Suffolk since the pandemic began last year, while 124,119 have been reported in Nassau.
In the past three days, Long Island has seen the average seven-day positive infection rate drop from 6.92 percent on Sunday, Jan. 24, to 6.90 percent the following day and down to 6.83 percent on Wednesday, Jan. 27, the highest in the state.
During a COVID-19 briefing in Albany, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that Long Island's infection rate is a cause of concern, though he was pleased that the numbers are trending in the right direction across the state.
"Long Island... Long Island... Long Island..." Cuomo said on Wednesday. "When all of the numbers are down across the state we then start to focus on who's the highest and we go from there."
Forty COVID-19 patients being treated in Long Island hospitals were discharged, leaving 1,553 - second-most in the state - still hospitalized, representing 0.05 percent of the population. As of Jan. 27, 29 percent of hospital beds on Long Island were still available in case of a new spike in cases.
The Department of Health was also reporting 689 of Long Island's 859 ICU beds are full, though the number of patients intubated has held relatively steady.
Sixteen new COVID-19 fatalities were reported in Suffolk, as the total rose to 2,724. Thirteen new virus-related deaths were confirmed in Nassau as the death toll hit 2,638.
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, Cuomo has vowed to shut down the entire region.
The latest breakdown of the communities with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nassau, according to the county Department of Health on Jan. 27:
- Levittown: 2,993;
- Freeport: 2,441;
- Hempstead: 2,413;
- Hicksville: 2,405;
- East Meadow: 2,258;
- Valley Stream: 2,099;
- Long Beach: 1,914;
- Oceanside: 1,835;
- Franklin Square: 1,830;
- Elmont: 1,789;
- Glen Cove: 1,668;
- Uniondale: 1,562;
- Massapequa: 1,407;
- Rockville Centre: 1,332;
- Woodmere: 1,175;
- Baldwin: 1,171;
- Plainview: 1,132;
- Wantagh: 1,128;
- West Hempstead: 1,127
- North Massapequa: 1,115;
- North Bellmore: 1,110;
- Lynbrook: 1,102.
The breakdown of cases reported in Suffolk County, according to the Department of Health:
- Brookhaven: 38,453;
- Islip: 34,684;
- Babylon: 19,215;
- Huntington: 15,306;
- Smithtown: 9,736;
- Southampton: 4,070;
- Riverhead: 2,587;
- East Hampton: 1,254;
- Southold: 1,247;
- Shelter Island: 38.
"New York State has finally reached a point where we are comfortable saying the holiday surge we experienced from November to January has subsided," Cuomo said. "While our infection and hospitalization rates are on the decline and more vaccines are in our immediate future, this war is not over and we must remain smart."
There were 202,661 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Jan. 26, according to Cuomo, resulting in 8,771 positive cases for a 5.44 percent positive infection rate, down from more than six percent the previous day.
Currently, there are 8,771 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across the state, while more than 1,588 are in ICU, and 1,027 are intubated with the virus. There were 162 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
"Protecting of our hospitals and their staff remains a top priority and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure these facilities do not become overwhelmed," Cuomo added. "With more and more vaccines being administered every day and an increase in allotment from the Biden administration, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, but until it is in full view we must keep doing what we know works - wear a mask, social distance and avoid gatherings."
Statewide, a total of 1,361,082 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of 31.12 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 34,579 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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