Long Island Coronavirus Cases Hit 3,000

The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus on Long Island has reached about 3,000 as of Sunday morning, jumping from 1,000 on Friday as testing capacity increases, New York State officials said.

Update: NY Coronavirus Peak Coming Sooner Than First Thought

Update: Long Island Coronavirus Cases Top 5,000

There were 2,934 cases, including 1,900 in Nassau County and 1,034 in Suffolk County, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his Sunday morning news briefing. There were 15,168 cases statewide, including 114 fatalities, and more than 300,000 cases nationally, with more than 300 deaths.

“As we test more people, we’re gonna see more positives,” said Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein, the Nassau health department commissioner. “Don’t panic. The strategy is to find people who are positive … to make sure we get them safely isolated so they don’t spread disease.”

Nassau County Executive noted that the statics include patients who have recovered, as a majority of those who contract COVID-19 are expected to do.

Melissa DeRosa, the governor’s secretary, said of the 114 people in the state who died of coronavirus as of Sunday, 15 were older than 90, 36 were in their 80s, 29 were in their 70s, 18 were in their 60s, 11 were in their 50s, and five were in their 40s. More than a dozen of the fatailities were on LI.

Cuomo noted that the hospitalization rate as of Sunday was 13 percent. Government efforts to limit public gatherings were aimed at containing the spread of the disease so the rate of infection doesn’t overwhelm the healthcare system.

Hospitals are also being mandated to increase their number of beds. In addtion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is erecting field hospitals at SUNY College at Old Westbury and Stony Brook University so there is enough space to handle to additional patients anticipated when the virus peaks by the end of April.

Among those diagnosed were New York State Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D-Wheatley Heights), Suffolk County Deputy County Executive Peter Scully, and Suffolk County Deputy County Executive Dennis Cohen. As a result, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone is under mandatory quarantine and is running the county’s response from his home. And U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) quarantining herself until after coming in contact with a congressmen who has been diagnosed with coronavirus.