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In both Nassau and Suffolk County, there has been a near 20 percent drop in hospitalization rates as the state begins seeing the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, though new cases and deaths have been reported.
"We've basically flattened the curve with what we've been doing, and now we see we're getting a little bit on the downslope," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "But we have to be careful. Look at what happened in Germany, and their infection rate rose (30 percent) in 10 days after they reopened.
"That's troubling," he continued. "But it shows you how fast the infection rate can increase if you don't (reopen) right."
As of Wednesday, there have been 35,505 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nassau, with Suffolk just behind at 33,265, according to the New York State Department of Health.
Since the pandemic began 60 days ago, there have been 2,077 COVID-19 deaths in Nassau, and 1,205 in Suffolk, though hospitalization rates continue to tick down in both counties for the 12th straight day.
In Nassau, Hempstead (1,764 cases) has seen the most cases, followed by Freeport (1,266), Elmont (1,056), Valley Stream (965), Uniondale (924), Levittown (835), Hicksville (826), East Meadow (747), Glen Cove (684), Franklin Square (660), Long Beach (631), Baldwin (560), Woodmere (509), and North Valley Stream (502).
COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in every Nassau County municipality besides Port Washington, Atlantic Beach West, and Jones Beach Barrier Island, according to the Department of Health.
In Suffolk, the most cases have been reported in Islip (9,930), ahead of Brookhaven (7,138), Babylon (5,533), Huntington (4,007), and Smithtown (1,815). Other cases were reported in Southampton, Riverhead, Southold, East Hampton, and Shelter Island.
There were 337 new COVID-19 deaths reported in New York overnight, bringing the total to 16,599 since the outbreak began. There have been more than 282,000 confirmed cases statewide, with approximately 1,000 new patients submitted to New York hospitals in the past 24 hours.
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