Curran: Nassau County Could Start To Reopen May 15

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — At her daily briefing on Monday, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said she was hopeful that the county could start the process of reopening on May 15, when NY PAUSE is set to lift.

The county is currently on track to meet the CDC guidelines for phase one of reopening during the coronavirus pandemic, Curran said. The three main criteria, Curran said, are two weeks of declining coronavirus-related hospitalizations, a declining percentage of positive tests of the virus, and an increased testing capacity.

According to Curran, Monday marks the 12th straight day of declining hospitalizations in Nassau. As of this morning, there were 1,462 coronavirus patients in Nassau hospitals, which is a 40 percent decrease over the 12-day period. That translates to 1,000 fewer hospitalizations than 12 days ago.

The county has also had a continuous decrease in the number of positive coronavirus tests. In March, half of the tests that were conducted came back positive. Now, it's less than 30 percent.

The factor the county is still working on is increased testing capacity. Under CDC guidelines, the area has to have the ability to conduct both regular and antibody tests, and have tests available for first responders and healthcare workers. Curran said she is working with Northwell Health on testing, and hopes to have that worked out soon.

"I'm hopeful that we can ramp up our testing capacity enough to achieve this goal by May 15, when NY PAUSE is set to expire," Curran said.

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Despite Curran's optimism, the coronavirus continues to spread across Nassau County, albeit at a slower rate than a few weeks ago. Three communities — Hempstead, Freeport and now Elmont — have more than 1,000 confirmed cases each. Hempstead continues to be the largest hot spot in Nassau County with 1,683 positive cases.

According to the county, there have been 34,522 confirmed coronavirus cases in Nassau since the outbreak began. There have also been 1,587 deaths. Nassau County has the second-highest number of cases in the country, only behind New York City.

According to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, based on antibody testing done by the state, it's estimated that 14.4 percent of the Long Island population has had the virus. That's down slightly from the estimated 16.7 percent of a week ago.

Cuomo also said he was going to extend NY PAUSE past May 15 for some areas of the state, but did not say where. If the order was extended in Nassau, that would push back the county's plans for reopening, despite decreasing numbers of infections.