
COVID-19 positivity rate on Long Island lingers above the state overall, data shows

More than 5.8 million New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 3.2 million have completed their vaccination, according to the state. Credit: Howard Schnapp
The percentage of new positive COVID-19 cases on Long Island remains stubbornly higher than the overall rate for New York, according to state figures, as outdoor sports and performing arts venues prepare to welcome spectators back this week.
The state recorded 9,395 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Saturday out of a total of 267,261 tests, for a daily positivity rate of 3.52%. The daily positivity rate on Long Island was higher, at 4.90%.
Those new cases included 797 in Suffolk County and 690 in Nassau County.
Across the United States, COVID-19 cases have been inching up in recent days, to an average of 62,000 cases a day, up from 54,000 cases a day two weeks ago.
New York topped the list of states with new cases as of March 28, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, followed by Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey.
The rates of COVID-19 in the community and in the United States are a reflection of two competing forces — vaccination rates versus the loosening of restrictions and spread of an especially contagious newer variant circulating in New York City and other parts of the Northeast, said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief public health and epidemiology officer at Northwell Health, and chief of infectious diseases at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
"The NY variant has spread very rapidly over the past month, which is preventing the anticipated fall in COVID rates," Farber said in an email.
The New York City variant, known as B.1.526, is believed to be more infectious than older strains, according to CDC officials who said last week they are closely monitoring it.
For nine of the last 10 days, the daily positivity rate on Long Island has been 4% or higher. The overall state daily positivity rate has remained under 4% for eight of the last 10 days.
Last week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone voiced frustration about the stagnant rate of new cases.
"We have been — since the height of the surge and the second wave — seeing our numbers decline but they are not declining any further at this point," Bellone said during a news conference to open a new vaccination site at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge on Wednesday. "From a height of more than 12% we had reached during the second wave, we are stubbornly maintaining this approximately 4 percent positivity rate. ... Based on the trajectory that we were on, I had predicted we would be somewhere back in the 1% range by the middle of March."
Bellone said there is a "a race to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, before the virus can change or mutate in a way to evade our efforts to destroy it."
Starting Thursday, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field can host baseball games at up to 20% capacity. Other outdoor sports and performing arts venues that fit 2,500 or more people can reopen at 20% capacity and indoor sports venues of that size at 10%, also on Thursday. Proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test result will be required.
More than 5.8 million New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 3.2 million have completed their vaccination, according to the state.
On Long Island, 686,830 people have received at least one dose while 375,489 have completed their vaccinations.
"Nassau County continues to vaccinate eligible residents as quickly as we receive vaccines — outpacing the state average for residents who have received at least one dose," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said in a statement. "The next few months will be vital to our success."
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," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement on Sunday.
"Simple behaviors like wearing a mask, washing hands and social distancing can have outsize impact, especially when communities make the collective decision to follow the rules," he said.
Cuomo said there was some hope in the daily statistics, pointing out that the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units dropped to 877, a new low since Dec. 6 and a 46% decline from the post-holiday peak.
An additional 64 people died from COVID-19 on Saturday, including three people in Suffolk County and two people in Nassau County, according to the state.
With AP
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