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In Suffolk County, 1,439 new COVID-19 cases were reported from tests taken on on Thursday, Jan. 21, according to the state Department of Health. There were 1,364 new infections in Nassau.
The number of new cases is the highest of any region in the state outside of New York City, where there were 6,307 new cases reported during the same timeframe.
There were 19 new COVID-19 fatalities reported in Suffolk, bringing the total to 2,661, while there were eight new virus-related deaths in Nassau, bringing the total to 2,598.
A total of 2.34 million COVID-19 tests have been administered in Suffolk, resulting in a total of 132,748 positive cases with 2.31 million administered in Nassau, leading to 118,735 confirmed infections.
Despite the spike in cases, the positive infection rate on Long Island has been trending in the right direction, from 7.68 percent on Monday, Jan. 18, to 7.47 percent the following day, down to 7.39 percent on Jan. 20 before hitting 7.31 percent on Jan. 21.
The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized on Long Island is at 1,613, down slightly, representing 0.06 percent of the region's population, among the largest percentages in New York. State officials are reporting that there is still 28 percent of hospital beds available on Long Island if the hospitals are stressed and New York implements its "surge and flex" plan
Long Island has 854 ICU beds, 681 of which are currently occupied with COVID-19 patients. As of Friday, Jan. 22, 20 percent of the region's ICU beds are still available.
If Long Island finds itself in danger of hitting its 90 percent hospital capacity rate within three weeks, New York Gov. Andrew 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. 22:
- Hempstead: 4,646;
- Freeport: 4,039;
- Levittown: 3,962;
- Hicksville: 3,363;
- Valley Stream: 3,229;
- East Meadow: 3,135;
- Elmont: 3,122;
- Uniondale: 2,894;
- Long Beach: 2,638;
- Franklin Square: 2,606;
- Glen Cove: 2,533;
- Oceanside: 2,331;
- Baldwin: 1,835;
- Woodmere: 1,812;
- Massapequa: 1,759;
- Rockville Centre: 1,665;
- Plainview: 1,608;
- West Hempstead: 1,552;
- Roosevelt: 1,544;
- North Bellmore: 1,463;
- North Valley Stream: 1,453;
- Wantagh: 1,453;
- Lynbrook: 1,441;
- Mineola: 1,425;
- East Massapequa: 1,414;
- Merrick: 1,412;
- North Massapequa: 1,389;
- Massapequa Park: 1,352;
- Garden City: 1,269;
- Westbury: 1,261.
- Seaford: 1,229;
- New Cassel: 1,204.
Specific data about Suffolk's towns was not available on Jan. 22.
"We are in a war with COVID and as I've said time and again, winning this war will mean winning the footrace between how fast the infection rate goes up and how fast we can vaccinate New Yorkers," Cuomo said. "Positivity and hospitalizations are both down, which is good news, but it in no way means we're out of the woods."
There were 268,001 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Jan. 21, according to Cuomo, resulting in 15,144 positive cases for a 5.65 percent positive infection rate, down from 6.18 percent the previous day.
There are now 8,846 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across the state, while more than 1,560 are in ICU, and 1,000 are intubated with the virus. There were 165 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
Statewide, there have been 1,285,337 confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York out of 29.76 tested. There have been 33,594 virus-related deaths reported since the pandemic began.
"What's concerning now is the emergence of three new frightening strains of the virus which could send those numbers back in the other direction," Cuomo added. "As we have done throughout this crisis, we will continue to monitor these strains closely, follow the science, and continue our work to vaccinate New Yorkers as quickly and fairly as possible."
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