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Covid-19: Long Island Sees Slight Uptick Positive-Test Rate; New Breakdown By Community

Long Island no longer has the state's highest infection rate in New York, though it saw a slight uptick in its positivity rate over the weekend.

The Nassau County COVID-19 map on Monday, Feb. 22.

The Nassau County COVID-19 map on Monday, Feb. 22.

Photo Credit: Nassau County
The Suffolk County COVID-19 map on Monday, Feb. 22.

The Suffolk County COVID-19 map on Monday, Feb. 22.

Photo Credit: Suffolk County

The seven-day rolling average infection rate of those tested on Long Island went from 4.31 percent on Friday, Feb. 19, to 4.27 percent the following day and back up to 4.35 percent on Sunday, Feb. 21. During that same span, the statewide rate dipped from 3.53 percent to 3.52 percent following a post-holiday surge.

As of Monday, Feb. 22, there were 986 COVID-19 patients - down from 1,111 - hospitalized on Long Island, representing 0.03 percent of the region's population. The state was also reporting 657 of Long Island's 865 ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients, leaving 22 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, Cuomo has vowed to shut down the entire region.

The New York State Department of Health was reporting 516 new COVID-19 cases in Nassau, bringing the total to 144,131, while the 563 new infections in Suffolk brought the total to 158,592.

Four new COVID-19 fatalities were reported in Suffolk, as the total rose to 3,035, according to the state, and there was one in Nassau, as the death toll climbed to 2,875 since the pandemic began.

"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of New Yorkers, we're beating back COVID more and more every day and that has allowed us to begin reopening different facets of the economy as part of our post-COVID reconstruction," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. 

"Not only are our hospitalization and infection rates declining, but we're continuing to build out New York's already expansive vaccination network to ensure underserved communities are not denied access to this life-saving medication. While we're not out of the woods yet, we have the momentum on our side. 

"As long as we stay united and keep doing what we know works, we will finally defeat this invisible enemy and get back to normal."

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 Feb. 22:

  • Levittown: 3,719;
  • Freeport: 3,002;
  • Hicksville: 3,001;
  • Hempstead: 2,998;
  • East Meadow: 2,780;
  • Valley Stream: 2,676;
  • Oceanside: 2,272;
  • Elmont: 2,269;
  • Long Beach: 2,258;
  • Franklin Square: 2,224;
  • Glen Cove: 2,075;
  • Uniondale: 1,946;
  • Massapequa: 1,683;
  • Rockville Centre: 1,642;
  • Baldwin: 1,490;
  • Woodmere: 1,474;
  • West Hempstead: 1,423
  • Plainview: 1,417;
  • North Bellmore: 1,405;
  • North Massapequa: 1,363;
  • Wantagh: 1,359;
  • Mineola: 1,319;
  • Lynbrook: 1,319;
  • Massapequa Park: 1,296;
  • Merrick: 1,249;
  • East Massapequa: 1,293;
  • Seaford: 1,269.

The breakdown of cases reported in Suffolk County, according to the Department of Health:

  • Brookhaven: 44,213;
  • Islip: 39,319;
  • Babylon: 22,042;
  • Huntington: 17,771;
  • Smithtown: 11,074;
  • Southampton: 4,717;
  • Riverhead: 2,955;
  • East Hampton: 1,404;
  • Southold: 1,401;
  • Shelter Island: 45.

There were 142,019 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Feb. 21, according to Cuomo, resulting in 5,804 new cases for a 4.33 percent positive infection rate.

There were 89 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.

Statewide, a total of 1,578,785 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 36 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 37,851 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic

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