NY Coronavirus: Long Island Is State's Newest Hot Spot

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island is a hot spot for the new coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday. He singled out University Hospital in Setauket, Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Islip, Saint Francis Hospital in Roslyn, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola in his daily briefing.

"Long Island is the area that is growing. You see Long Island goes from 16 percent to 17 percent to 18 percent, to 19 to 20 to 22 percent" of the state's cases, Cuomo said. "New York City is actually dropping as the number of cases in Long Island increases, as a percentage of cases within the state."

As of Friday, the most recent data available from the state Health Department, Nassau County had 13,346 confirmed cases and there were 11,370 confirmed cases in Suffolk. The statewide total of people confirmed to be infected with what's officially called COVID-19 was 113,704, about 40 percent of those tested.

The apex of new coronavirus cases in New York State is expected to hit in somewhere between four to eight days, but the state is "not yet ready" for the high point. Cuomo said health officials are preparing for the peak of COVID-19 cases in the state by sending equipment to hospitals and receiving purchased and donated ventilators. He is preparing to sign an executive order that will allow medical students slated to graduate to begin practicing.

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