Another 39 people have died from Covid-19 in Suffolk County in the last 24 hours, bringing the total deaths 362, Suffolk County Steve Bellone reported in his daily update on Thursday.
"That number, 362 lives lost to this virus, and we know we are not at the apex. We are still in this thick of this," Mr. Bellone said. "These are unimaginable."
The number of confirmed cases rose by 1,700 since Wednesday. There are now 18,602 people in the county who have tested positive for Covid-19. While hospitalizations are still going up, they increased by the lowest to date — 10 — in the 24-hour period. "That's a good sign. We'll see if that continues," the county executive said, cautioning that one day's data does not hold any great significance.
One of those confirmed cases and hospitalizations was in an inmate in the Suffolk County jail in Riverside — the first inmate diagnosed in the county. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s office said that the inmate displayed signs of the virus and was sent to the hospital for evaluation late on Wednesday evening. By 11 p.m., the office was notified that the inmate had tested positive for Covid-19.
"Any inmates that were in the same housing area with this individual have been transferred to another housing area where they will be evaluated three to four times a day by jail medical staff," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Twelve corrections officers have previously tested positive.
The total number of people hospitalized across the county is 1,595 currently. Of those, 531 are in intensive care units. There had been a slight decrease in recent days in the number of patients entering the I.C.U., but overnight that number also increased by 14.
Mr. Bellone said that as hospitalizations go up, more people will go onto I.C.U. beds, and "eventually the numbers of fatalities that we see will increase in somewhat of a corresponding way."
"Our obligation, our responsibility, to those we love . . . . our obligation is to continue to follow the guidance of health professionals and to continue to socially distance and stay home as much as possible," Mr. Bellone said.
Some good news —139 people who had been hospitalized with the virus were just discharged.
Also, according to the county executive, 249,000 pieces of personal protective equipment have been handed out to first responders and hospitals. Also,136 new ventilators have been distributed at the hospitals.
The county is expecting 100,000 more face shields to arrive from the state, as well as a shipment of 25,000 gowns, which have become amongst the most needed and hard-to-come-by personal protective equipment.