Long Island Coronavirus Death Toll Doubles In Less Than 1 Week To More Than 1,000

The number of Long Islanders who died of coronavirus has doubled to more than 1,000 less than a week after COVID-19 fatalities in Nassau and Suffolk counties topped 500, New York State Department of Health data shows.

LI’s death toll hit 1,137 as of Friday morning, with 723 fatalities in Nassau County and 414 in Suffolk County. The development came as New York State’s total rose to 7,844 following six straight days of record-breaking coronavirus deaths.

“The number becomes unbearable,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said.

Coronavirus fatalities have hit 16,703 nationwide and 97,200 worldwide.

Statewide, 64 percent of those who succumbed to coronavirus were older than 70, 19 percent were in their 60s, and 10 percent were in their 50s, according to the latest data. Three-hundred-twenty-five were in their 40s, 138 were in their 30s, 39 were in their 20s, five were between ages 10 and 19, and one was younger than 9. The top three underlying medial conditions of coronavirus victims is hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is calling in extra funeral directors from other states to help deal with the overflow, New York City has begun burying COVID-19 victims on Hart Island, a potter’s field in the Long Island Sound, and hospitals in Nassau and Suffolk are using refrigerated trailers as makeshift morgues to make room.

The grim statistic comes as local officials have said they believe LI may be hitting the plateau, as the number of patients admitted to hospitals for treatment of coronavirus has been lower for several days than the number of those released following hospitalization. But as patients are on ventilators for longer than the usual three days, the likelihood that they will not make it increases.

“Those numbers keep going up,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said. “They are horrific, the numbers.”

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