Delayed Death Reports Cause Rockland Coronavirus Toll To Spike

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — The COVID-19-related deaths added to the total in Rockland County yesterday included 11 deaths that took place more than a month ago. They do not indicate an upward trend in the death rate, said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Laura Carbone.

"The delay in counting them is due to the fact that the Rockland County Medical Examiner’s Office just received death certificates for these prior deaths which had not been previously reported to us," she said in a statement Monday.

In the past three months, 646 Rockland residents have died from the new coronavirus, according to the latest data. A week ago, the reported death toll was 626.

In all, 53,268 residents have been tested, and 13,185 tests were confirmed positive. By far, the most cases have been in Spring Valley, Monsey and New City, according to the county's dashboard tracker. West Haverstraw has the highest concentration of cases, with 5.7 percent of the population testing positive.

There are currently 42 people in the hospital in Rockland with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. That's down from 72 a week ago.