LI Coronavirus Rate Nearly Triples In 2 Weeks

LONG ISLAND, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned for weeks before the start of the fall school semester in New York that public health experts expected a rise in coronavirus cases amid growing fatigue over a monthslong pandemic and spikes in neighboring states, as well as people staying indoors and gathering for the holidays.

On Long Island, that spike appears to have arrived.

The three-day average of Long Island's infection rate was at 1.3 percent on Oct. 26, hovering around the 1 percent mark maintained through the summer months and into the beginning of the school year. On Monday — just two weeks later — the rate leaped to 3.4 percent, with Suffolk County climbing to 3.8 percent and Nassau rising to 2.8 percent.

"COVID is surging across the country and the globe, and we expect the rates will continue to go up through the fall and into the winter," Cuomo told media outlets in a phone conference Monday. "The long-term prognosis is get a vaccine as quickly as possible, and administer the vaccine as quickly, fairly and equitably as possible. In the meantime, we manage the increase by doing more testing and targeted restrictions where necessary, and being more aggressive on enforcement."

With the latest numbers, Long Island approached numbers previously seen only in New York's microclusters: The average positive coronavirus test rate for the microcluster zones was 4.3 percent on Monday, Cuomo said.

Statewide, the rate was 2.8 percent when including microclusters and 2.6 percent when they are excluded.

Cuomo on Monday also announced 26 more New Yorkers died of COVID-19, 1,444 were hospitalized, 282 were receiving intensive care treatment and 125 were intubated.

"As I think is clear to all we have definitely entered a new phase with COVID," Cuomo said. "The fall season has brought the expected increase in COVID as all the scientists predicted."

With the holiday season beginning in just two weeks, Cuomo warned New Yorkers to remain vigilant. The microcluster zones are evidence that the pandemic remains ongoing.

"I know people are tired — COVID fatigue is real. But the virus isn't tired," he said. "The red, orange and yellow zones are our way of saying the virus is making headway, and we're going to increase restrictions and we're going to increase enforcement."

The state has suspended liquor licenses for several Nassau and Suffolk establishments that authorities said violated Cuomo's regulations aimed at combatting the spread of the coronavirus.

On Long Island, a North Fork country club's liquor license was suspended after officials said an October wedding led to more than 30 people contracting the coronavirus. In September, another popular Long Island wedding venue had its liquor license suspended after a task force reported 95 people attended a reception, nearly twice the legal limit. And in October, a Sweet 16 party at a catering hall led to 37 coronavirus cases. After that event, 81 guests were quarantined.

Long Island's coronavirus spike comes as the United States recorded 100,000 new coronavirus infections for a week straight. The nation also topped 10 million cases overall, far more than all other countries.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center of Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota who was recently appointed as coronavirus adviser to President-elect Joe Biden, told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" the nation's darkest days of the pandemic are still to come over the next three or four months.

"What America has to understand is that we are about to enter COVID hell," Osterholm said.