Coronavirus In Nassau: 'A Staggering Number Of Deaths'

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — The number of Nassau residents who have died from the new coronavirus increased by nearly 120 overnight, County Executive Laura Curran reported on Tuesday.

So far, there have been 500 deaths in Nassau County due to the coronavirus, Curran said, calling it a "staggering" number. The death roll rose significantly from Monday, when 381 deaths were reported.

At her daily news conference Monday, Curran said that because of the escalation in deaths, the county has stopped doing its own count and is instead using numbers from the state. Curran said that the state's verification process is quicker than what the county was doing, and she is confident in the accuracy of the numbers.

The number of coronavirus cases in Nassau continues to increase daily. There were 994 new cases reported overnight — a steep decrease from the 1,200-plus cases the county reported each day over the last few days. There are now 16,610 positive cases in the county, a "significant number" of which Curran said have already resolved.

The jump in deaths came as the state reported its largest single-day death toll since the outbreak began. Deaths jumped by 731 overnight to 5,489. Nassau County accounted for 16 percent of the deaths.

However, there is a bright spot for the county. For the second day in a row, the number of people discharged from hospitals was higher than those admitted. There were 85 new hospitalizations overnight and 151 discharges.

"If that trend continues, that means that this really is a plateau, and that gives us a ray of hope," Curran said.

Curran said there are 111 positive cases in Nassau County police departments, and 187 in quarantine. There are 37 positive cases in the sheriff's department, with 68 in quarantine. There are 19 inmates at the Nassau County Correctional Facility who tested positive for the virus, and two who are pending test results. Those inmates are in isolation from the rest of the population.

There is help for the county's first responders: the state deployed 10 ambulances from FEMA, each with two paramedics, to assist with calls in the county. The ambulances arrived Sunday, and Curran said they handled 16 percent of calls that day alone. The ambulance crews are supposed to be in the county for a week to help take some of the burden off first responders.

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Curran said her administration is also working to get information out to all residents in a multitude of languages. Residents can already send a text to 888777 to get updates from the county. For updates in English, text "covid19cn". Updates are also available in Spanish by texting "covidnassau" and in Haitian Creole by texting "covidnassau1". Curran said her team is working on getting updates available in Mandarin, Hindi and Urdu, and will announce when they are available.

Curran warned people to be careful what they flush down their toilets. With more people at home, the sewer system is strained, Curran said. The county has seen a 35 percent increase in clogs in sewer lines.

Residents are urged to not flush things down the toilets that shouldn't be flushed, like disposable gloves. Flushable wipes are not actually flushable, and should be thrown out. The clogs could cause backups into your home, Curran warned.

"If you're home with a backed up sewer and you can't leave, that's not good," she said.

And New Yorkers are going to be home for longer, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that he was extending the stay-home order until April 29. All schools and nonessential businesses will remain closed until then.

Cuomo said he wants people to take that order and social distancing rules more seriously. He urged local governments to enforce the orders and doubled fines to $1,000.

"It's not about the fine," Cuomo said. "No one wants the money — we want the compliance."

Both Curran and Cuomo urged residents to keep up with social distancing and stay indoors. Even though the weather is nice and some of the virus numbers seem to be trending down, they urged people not to get complacent and cause a resurgence of infections.

"There's also a real danger in getting overconfident too quickly," Cuomo said. "This is an enemy we have underestimated from day one, and we've paid the price dearly. While the numbers look like they may be turning: 'yay, it's over.' No, it's not. Hong Kong made that mistake. South Korea made that mistake. We're not going to make that mistake."