Suffolk Coronavirus: 9 New Deaths; Crime Plummets

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Nine new deaths related to the new coronavirus were reported in Suffolk County Tuesday as crime took a dramatic nosedive.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Tuesday more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in 24 hours, bringing the county total to 6,713.

"A few weeks ago we were in the single digits," Bellone said, adding the number of new deaths is "staggering." A total of 53 people have died of the virus so far.

The new deaths included a patient in their 80s at an adult care facility; a person in their 70s at a local hospital who died last week; a person in their 90s who died at a local hospital over the weekend; two people in their 30s who died at local hospitals over the weekend; a person in their 70s who died at a hospital over the weekend; two people in their 80s who died at local hospitals over the weekend; and a person in their 40s who died at home this week. All had underlying conditions, Bellone said.

"We are seeing young people dying — it is not just the elderly," Bellone said. "It is many, many people in our community."

This is the town-by-town breakdown of cases Tuesday compared to Monday:

• Islip: 1,242, up from 911
• Huntington: 1,086, up from 868
• Brookhaven: 907, up from 671
• Babylon: 884, up from 609
• Smithtown: 302, up from 230
• Southold: 142, up from 135
• Southampton: 99, up from 78
• Riverhead: 82, up from 69
• East Hampton: 24, up from 19
• Shelter Island: 1, no change
• Township not known: 1,490

Crime plummets

Many have expressed concerns about potential crime during the coronavirus crisis, Bellone said.

"It is important to say that this is why we are here," he said. "Government continues to operate. Government is not shutting down. The core of what we do is public health and safety. We have one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the world. They do an outstanding job."

As coronavirus cases spike, crime has continued to drop over a two-week period beginning March 9. Bellone said there's been a 30% drop in major crimes, including an 18% decrease in grand larcenies, a 39% drop in vehicle larcenies and 100% drop in felony assaults.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said the early trend indicates that people are staying home and businesses are shut down.

"It comes down to taking away opportunities," she said.

Coronavirus map not accessible

The Suffolk County digitalized map for coronavirus cases is under maintenance and not accessible to the public currently, Bellone said.

New death at Peconic Landing

Peconic Landing reported an eighth death on Tuesday.

"Out of respect for the family, we provide the following information," the facility said in a statement. "The member was an 88-year-old man of The Shores for Skilled Nursing. He tested positive on March 17 and passed away on March 30 after receiving treatment for symptoms of COVID-19 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He was admitted on March 20 and had known pre-existing conditions."

Ten members of the facility's health center and 15 of its 377 employees currently have the virus, officials said.

New testing sites

The rise in numbers is largely due to more testing; 17,600 have been tested across the county. New sites countywide are opening for testing, including American Family Care, or AFC, Urgent Care, which will do molecular testing, with results available in less than 15 minutes, Bellone said. That West Babylon site will open at 125 Sunrise Highway on Thursday. Those wishing to be tested need to call ahead and testing is only done on symptomatic patients, he said. For information, call 631-983-4084.

Also this week, the first drive-thru testing site opened in Riverhead. ProHEALTH opened its first drive-thru location at 1149 Old Country Rd. in Riverhead; the site is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hospital expansion

With numbers continuing to rise, the number in hospital beds countywide spiked from 600 Monday to 708 Tuesday. Of 2,803 beds in Suffolk County, 598 are available; of 397 ICU beds, 67 are available, Bellone said.

Not only bed, but equipment and staff are critically needed, he said.

"We need more supplies and more staffing," he said.

So far, Suffolk County has distributed more than 1.3 million pieces of personal protective equipment. On Monday, 35,000 N96 masks, 100,000 surgical masks, and thousands of face shields and gowns were given out.

Bellone echoed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sentiments that the country needs to fight the coronavirus "war" as a unified nation.

"If you're in a war, you don't fight on a county by county basis, you fight it as a nation," Bellone said. "That's what we are. If this is war and a national effort, we need supplies from across the country."

New public assistance portal

With the long-term battle in mind, Bellone said President Donald Trump's disaster declaration for New York opened the door for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding and public assistance.

"It's important for us to know as we are fighting on the front lines that we are confident that we going to see reimbursement," for expenses such as overtime, supplies and other costs, Bellone said. "I want every dollar possible back."

A new public assistance website has been set up on the Suffolk County site; click here and look for the FEMA link.

New day care

A new day care for first responders and heath care professionals has been added to the Suffolk Childcare Consortium at Cordello Avenue Elementary School, located at 51 Cordello Ave. in Central Islip.

Chris Cuomo tests positive

Gov. Cuomo's brother and CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has tested positive for new coronavirus, he announced Tuesday.

"I just hope I didn't give it to the kids and Cristina," Cuomo tweeted. "That would make me worse than the illness."

Cuomo last visited CNN's Hudson Yards offices Friday and interviewed his brother remotely Monday evening, according to the network.

"He's my best friend," the governor said of his brother.

Chris Cuomo has homes in New York City and is a familiar face in the Hamptons; he put his Southampton home on the market and found a buyer last year, according to the Observer.

Flag flying high

On Monday, Bellone said the Suffolk County naval flag from in front of veterans plaza is flying on the Comfort Naval ship that docked in New York City.

Work-from-home order extended

Meanwhile, Cuomo extended his work-from-home order through April 15.

Construction stops, septic systems can still be installed

As the brakes were put on all but essential construction Friday, advanced septic systems can still be installed because water quality remains a critical issue, Bellone said.

Enforcement

New Suffolk County Police Academy graduates are helping with compliance checks to make sure people are adhering to social distancing guidelines and the order restricting nonessential businesses, was well as ensuring that essential businesses are adhering to safety guidelines. So far, Bellone said, there have been 160 reports; with 14 cases founded. In all those cases, there was voluntary compliance, he said.