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New York has averaged 548 cases for every 100,000 residents over the past two weeks, the second-highest rate in the country, behind New Jersey’s 647 cases.
According to the latest data from the state Department of Health, the average seven-day positive infection rate on Long Island rose from 4.34 percent on Thursday, March 25 to 4.37 percent on Saturday, March 27.
The infection rate is the second-highest of New York’s 10 regions, better than only the mid-Hudson Valley, which sits at 4.76 percent.
Statewide, the average infection rate rose from 3.37 percent to 3.45 percent during that time.
According to the Department of Health, there were 797 newly reported COVID-19 cases in Suffolk, bringing the total to 180,321 since the pandemic began, while Nassau saw 690 new cases for a total of 165,785.
The 5.4 percent positivity rate in Suffolk is among the highest in the state, behind only Orange, Rockland, and Bronx County.
There new COVID-19 fatalities brought the death toll to 3,232 in Suffolk, while two were reported in Nassau as the total hit 3,034.
As of Monday, March 29, there were 801 COVID-19 patients hospitalized on Long Island, representing 0.03 percent of the region's population and leaving 33 percent of hospital beds still available. There were 651 patients in ICU, leaving 23 percent of beds available in Suffolk and Nassau.
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday blamed new variants of the virus and states for lifting restrictions.
“The variants are playing a part, but it is not completely the variants. What we’re likely seeing is because of things like spring break and pulling back on the mitigation methods that you’ve seen,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“Now, several states have done that. I believe it’s premature … because when I’ve said many times to you that when you’re coming down from a big peak and you reach a point and start to plateau, once you stay at that plateau, you’re really in danger of a surge coming up.”
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 29:
- Levittown: 4,751;
- Hicksville: 3,877;
- Hempstead: 3,737;
- Freeport: 3,688;
- East Meadow: 3,410;
- Valley Stream: 3,368;
- Elmont: 2,932;
- Oceanside: 2,863;
- Long Beach: 2,822;
- Franklin Square: 2,813;
- Glen Cove: 2,628;
- Uniondale: 2,423;
- Massapequa: 2,077;
- Rockville Centre: 2,022;
- Baldwin: 1,892;
- Woodmere: 1,869;
- North Bellmore: 1,794;
- Plainview: 1,776;
- Wantagh: 1,767;
- North Massapequa: 1,754;
- West Hempstead: 1,739;
- Mineola: 1,678;
- Merrick: 1,662;
- Lynbrook: 1,652;
- Garden City: 1,646;
- East Massapequa: 1,598;
- Massapequa Park: 1,585;
- Seaford: 1,558;
- Bethpage: 1,547.
The breakdown of cases reported in Suffolk County, according to the Department of Health:
- Brookhaven: 51,072;
- Islip: 44,396;
- Babylon: 25,210;
- Huntington: 20,553;
- Smithtown: 12,754;
- Southampton: 5,234;
- Riverhead: 3,333;
- Southold: 1,568;
- East Hampton: 1,543;
- Shelter Island: 50.
The vaccine is the weapon that will win the war, and each day more New Yorkers are getting vaccinated for COVID-19. However, the infection rate also depends on what we do, and New Yorkers should continue staying safe and protecting one another as the virus continues to spread in our state," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
"Simple behaviors like wearing a mask, washing hands and social distancing can have an outsize impact, especially when communities make the collective decision to follow the rules. Our vast distribution network is at the ready to ramp up vaccinations, but we still have a long way to go before defeating COVID-19 and ending the pandemic once and for all."\
Statewide, a total of 1,835,940 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 44.3 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 40,330 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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