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Long Island had a 3.46 percent positivity rate on Thursday, April 15 out of thousands tested, down from 4.5 percent a week ago and 3.71 percent as recently as Tuesday, April 13.
Statewide, the positivity rate is approaching 3 percent, down from 3.6 percent to 3.04 percent during that same stretch, the lowest in a month.
In Suffolk, there were 535 new COVID-19 cases confirmed countywide, bringing the total to 192,541 since the pandemic began last year. In Nassau, 480 new infections were reported for a total of 176,399 since last year.
Five new virus-related fatalities in Nassau brought the death toll to 3,111, while three new deaths were reported in Suffolk for a total of 3,310.
As of Friday, April 16, there were 639 COVID-19 patients hospitalized on Long Island, also significantly down, representing 0.02 percent of the region's population and leaving 34 percent of hospital beds still available.
There were 678 patients in ICU, down more than 20 over the course of the week, leaving a quarter of those beds still available in Suffolk and Nassau.
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 April 16:
- Levittown: 5,223;
- Hicksville: 4,247;
- Hempstead: 4,086;
- Freeport: 3,966;
- East Meadow: 3,708;
- Valley Stream: 3,721;
- Elmont: 3,214;
- Oceanside: 3,075;
- Franklin Square: 3,063;
- Long Beach: 3,026;
- Glen Cove: 2,892;
- Uniondale: 2,579;
- Massapequa: 2,258;
- Rockville Centre: 2,183;
- Baldwin: 2,110;
- Woodmere: 1,976;
- Plainview: 1,963;
- North Bellmore: 1,925;
- North Massapequa: 1,905;
- Wantagh: 1,894;
- West Hempstead: 1,873;
- Mineola: 1,858;
- Merrick: 1,821;
- Lynbrook: 1,785;
- Garden City: 1,784;
- East Massapequa: 1,729;
- Massapequa Park: 1,705;
- Bethpage: 1,674;
- Seaford: 1,663.
The breakdown of cases reported in Suffolk County, according to the Department of Health:
- Brookhaven: 55,108;
- Islip: 47,253;
- Babylon: 26,918;
- Huntington: 22,049;
- Smithtown: 13,673;
- Southampton: 5,557;
- Riverhead: 3,506;
- Southold: 1,652;
- East Hampton: 1,607;
- Shelter Island: 58.
There were 232,929 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Thursday, April 15, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, resulting in 6,555 newly confirmed infections for a 2.81 percent positive infection rate, up slightly from the day before.
As of April 16, there were 3,884 COVID-19 patients being treated in New York hospitals, down nearly 100 from the day before, the lowest number since November last year.
There were 43 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
A total of more than 40 percent of New Yorkers over the age of 18 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 27 percent are fully vaccinated.
As of Friday, 975,844 first doses have been administered to Long Island residents, while 612,172 have completed the process, both among the highest rates in the state.
"COVID-19 hospitalizations are down to their lowest level since Nov. 30, which is basically Thanksgiving, so we are fully back to the point before the holiday surge. I want to make it especially clear that it is the actions of a community—the actions of individuals as a collective—that matter," Cuomo said. "We know how the virus spreads, so it's a question of your behavior and the precautions you take. The more precautions you take, the fewer people get infected.
"We're at a point now where we've communicated all the information that we can communicate and everyone knows the facts," Cuomo continued. "We've beseeched people to take it seriously, but it is now up to you. It's up to you as an individual, you as a family, you as a community. Our recovery is going to be a function of how many vaccinations we take, and I believe that there is a civic and community duty for individuals to take a vaccine. No one can be safe unless everyone is safe."
Statewide, a total of 1,970,990 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of nearly 50 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 41,391 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic
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