Nassau Coronavirus: Virus Rages As Vaccine Rollout Begins

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — As the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine continued Tuesday, Nassau County has reported more than 1,000 cases a day and deaths have escalated.

December was the worst month for new coronavirus cases in Nassau County. In 2020, Nassau had 89,470 confirmed cases of the virus, 28,298 of which were recorded in December. That is 31.6 percent of the year's total. The worst day of the month was Dec. 30, when 1,608 cases were reported — more than the entire months of June, July or August.

For the first three days of January, Nassau County confirmed 3,646 cases of the virus and 27 deaths. According to Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, there were 703 people hospitalized with the virus at Nassau's 11 hospitals; 87 of them were in intensive care and 58 were on ventilators.

"We're seeing this uptake from the holidays," Curran said Tuesday. "We saw it after Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now after the winter holidays."

But there is a glimmer of hope: Tuesday marked the opening of the county's first vaccine distribution center at Nassau Community College. The center will distribute 115 vaccines Tuesday, Curran said, adding the goal is for the center to distribute 400 vaccines a day.

• Check your eligibility for the coronavirus vaccine in Nassau County

Nassau University Medical Center on Tuesday ramped up its vaccine distribution, a day after it was criticized by Gov. Andrew Cuomo for only having administered 19 percent of the vaccine it was delivered — among the lowest in the state. According to Curran, the center as of Tuesday has administered 34 percent of its vaccine.

"I saw the operation they have going down there," Curran said. "They're bustling. They're getting shots in the arm."

Getting shots in the arm is what many people are looking forward to, but distribution of the vaccine is still limited, mainly to health care workers. Curran wrote a letter to Cuomo asking the state, which is in charge of vaccine distribution, to open up the eligibility to all first responders, including police officers, firefighters and corrections officers.

As more people become eligible for the vaccine, Curran said the county may open more distribution centers. By vaccinating just 400 people a day, it would take more than nine years to inoculate the county's 1.3 million residents, she said.

"As eligibility opens, hopefully we'll get more vaccine and we'll be able to ramp it up," Curran said.

Despite the vaccine's roll-out, the virus still rages across Nassau County. A total of 31 communities have recorded at least 1,000 cases of the virus since the outbreak began. On Dec. 29, that number was 18.

Here are the latest statistics for coronavirus cases by community, according to information from the county:

• Albertson: 235
• Atlantic Beach: 121
• Baldwin: 1,462
• Baldwin Harbor: 473
• Barnum Island: 155
• Baxter Estates: 53
• Bay Park: 119
• Bayville: 388
• Bellerose: 68
• Bellerose Terrace: 135
• Bellmore: 915
• Bethpage: 903
• Brookville: 143
• Carle Place: 298
• Cedarhurst: 575
• Centre Island: 8
• Cove Neck: 11
• East Atlantic Beach: 128
• East Hills: 277
• East Massapequa: 1,102
• East Meadow: 2,423
• East Norwich: 147
• East Rockaway: 608
• East Williston: 107
• Elmont: 2,549
• Farmingdale: 484
• Floral Park: 813
• Flower Hill: 228
• Franklin Square: 2,028
• Freeport: 3,299
• Garden City: 1,009
• Garden City Park: 412
• Garden City South: 186
• Glen Cove: 2,016
• Glen Head: 285
• Glenwood Landing: 164
• Great Neck: 839
• Great Neck Estates: 161
• Great Neck Gardens: 56
• Great Neck Plaza: 416
• Greenvale: 42
• Harbor Hills: 43
• Harbor Isle: 95
• Hempstead: 3,869
• Herricks: 224
• Hewlett: 446
• Hewlett Bay Park: 20
• Hewlett Harbor: 110
• Hewlett Neck: 30
• Hicksville: 2,637
• Inwood: 809
• Island Park: 413
• Jericho: 626
• Kensington: 49
• Kings Point: 472
• Lake Success: 139
• Lakeview: 383
• Lattingtown: 81
• Laurel Hollow: 76
• Lawrence: 742
• Levittown: 3,058
• Lido Beach: 159
• Locust Valley: 167
• Long Beach: 2,100
• Lynbrook: 1,101
• Malverne: 477
• Malverne Oaks: 28
• Manhasset: 404
• Manhasset Hills: 176
• Manorhaven: 288
• Massapequa: 1,329
• Massapequa Park: 1,041
• Mattinecock: 29
• Merrick: 1,064
• Mill Neck: 44
• Mineola: 1,134
• Munsey Park: 96
• Muttontown: 160
• New Cassel: 1,006
• New Hyde Park: 601
• North Bellmore: 1,083
• North Hills: 239
• North Lynbrook: 44
• North Massapequa: 1,057
• North Merrick: 639
• North New Hyde Park: 924
• North Valley Stream: 1,160
• North Wantagh: 693
• Oceanside: 1,772
• Old Bethpage: 270
• Old Brookville: 118
• Old Westbury: 170
• Oyster Bay: 395
• Oyster Bay Cove: 141
• Plainedge: 547
• Plainview: 1,259
• Plandome: 48
• Plandome Heights: 60
• Plandome Manor: 33
• Point Lookout: 73
• Port Washington: 651
• Port Washington North: 113
• Rockville Centre: 1,263
• Roosevelt: 1,292
• Roslyn: 209
• Roslyn Estates: 55
• Roslyn Harbor: 68
• Roslyn Heights: 378
• Russell Gardens: 36
• Saddle Rock: 75
• Saddle Rock Estates: 31
• Salisbury: 629
• Sands Point: 132
• Sea Cliff: 216
• Seaford: 900
• Searingtown: 225
• South Farmingdale: 803
• South Floral Park: 78
• South Hempstead: 192
• South Valley Stream: 375
• Stewart Manor: 111
• Syosset: 663
• Thomaston: 100
• Uniondale: 2,428
• University Gardens: 24
• Upper Brookville: 95
• Valley Stream: 2,551
• Wantagh: 1,147
• West Hempstead: 1,229
• Westbury: 1,062
• Williston Park: 366
• Woodbury: 542
• Woodmere: 1,517
• Woodsburgh: 67