Suffolk County Transit Riders Urged To Go Cashless For Safety

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — As the number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus continues to rise, Suffolk County is now asking riders to go cashless and use the mobile application Suffolk Fast Fare to keep both drivers and the public safe.

In line with recent measures taken by the MTA, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced new policies Sunday to protect Suffolk Transit workers amid the coronavirus outbreak. Starting Monday, the county will implement a rear-door boarding policy on fixed route bus service, and will be isolating the first few rows of the bus to create a safe social distance between the riders and the driver.

Additionally, Bellone encouraged all Suffolk Transit customers to go cashless with the Suffolk FastFare Mobile App to help limit contact between the driver and passengers. The app, which is available for download in both the Apple Store and Google Play, is available for use on all Suffolk County Transit buses and allows riders to purchase tickets on their smartphones 24/7. Passengers using Suffolk FastFare can pay for tickets using a credit or debit card, or via digital payment services such as Apple Pay.

As of Monday, there 1,034 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Suffolk County, up 123 from the 911 cases that were reported Sunday. Of that number, 89 are hospitalized, including 28 in the intensive care unit, and 12 deaths, up 3 from March 21, county officials said.

The three new deaths include a man in his 80s who died at home on March 18; a man in his 60s who died on March 14 at Stony Brook University Hospital after a car crash; and a male in his 50s who died at Southside Hospital, Bellone said.

"Things continue to move at a rapid pace," Bellone said, adding that, as expected, the number of cases continues to rise as testing ramps up. More than 2,000 tests have been given so far at the new Suffolk County mobile testing site at Stony Brook.

The breakdown of cases by town, as of Sunday night, is as follows:

• Huntington - 210
• Islip - 208
• Babylon - 164
• Brookhaven -149
• Southold - 84
• Smithtown - 70
• Riverhead - 18
• Southampton -14
• East Hampton - 10
• Shelter Island - 1
• Township not available - 88

The focus continues on hospital expansion — on Sunday, Governor Andrew Cuomo mandated a statewide 50 percent expansion — as well as the shortage of personal protective equipment. This weekend, officials announced 500,000 masks are are being sent to Long Island.

Also, Bellone said, a supply drive is underway; the county is reaching out to industries that are not operating at full capacity and asking them to donate PPE. Beginning Monday, donations can be dropped off at the Suffolk County Fire Academy, located at 103 East Ave. in Yaphank from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bellone also discussed the effort to help small businesses, the new business recovery unit, and the hundreds of calls to 311, as well as responses to surveys, that have come in.