COVID-19 spread at Fourth of July party in Suffolk, Cuomo says

More than one-third of people who attended a Fourth of July party in Suffolk County have become infected with COVID-19, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Tuesday.

Some 35% of the partygoers at the event in Suffolk tested positive for the coronavirus, he said. State and local officials were able to determine that through contact tracing.

Cuomo said the case underscored how some people are failing to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and are spreading the highly contagious and sometimes deadly virus.

The level of people testing positive for the coronavirus was 1.5% statewide on Monday, Cuomo said. But the level on Long Island jumped to 2%. That was the highest of any region in the state, outpacing even New York City, which was at 1.4%.

“It’s also clear based on contact tracing that many of the new cases in New York are a result of a lack of compliance during the July 4 weekend and illustrate how quickly the virus spreads, with one party, for example, infecting more than a third of attendees,” Cuomo said.

“I cannot be more clear: Look at what’s happening in the rest of the country — if we are not smart, if we don’t wear masks and socially distance, cases will spike. No one wants to go back to the hell we experienced three months ago, so please stay vigilant.”

Long Island’s infection level has risen in the last three days from 0.9% to 1.5% to 2.0%.

“New Yorkers showed incredible courage and resiliency throughout this pandemic, and nowhere is their work more evident than in the numbers we release every day, including in New York City, once a global hotspot,” Cuomo said.

“However, the success of our efforts depends on citizens’ willingness to comply with state guidance, socially distance, wear masks and wash their hands, and rising cases around the country continue to threaten our progress, which is why four new states have been added to New York’s travel advisory.”

The state added Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin to the list, joining Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. 

Delaware was placed on the list last week, but was removed after that state’s metrics did not meet the levels required, Cuomo’s office said Tuesday.

Of 60,045 people tested Monday in New York, 912, or 1.5%, were positive, according to state data released Tuesday.

Suffolk rose to triple digits for the first time in weeks, with 102 confirmed cases. That was about one-third the figure in New York City, which had 315, even though the city has a far larger population.

Nassau County recorded 69 new confirmed cases, also an increase from the number in recent weeks.

The daily death toll in the state was 5. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 rose by 28, to 820.

The increase in percentage of tests that have come back positive shouldn’t send off alarm bells yet, said Dr. David Battinelli, chief medical officer at Northwell Health, the largest health system in the state.

“We should keep watching it, but we can’t react to anything that small,” he said. “We aren’t seeing this increase at hospitals.”

Battinelli, however, said New York will see more significant increases if people don’t wear masks — especially indoors and where they can’t socially distance — and people travel into the region from hard-hit areas.

“The masks are key, because we know the main source of spread are from droplets,” he said.

Battinelli said it’s less of a concern for Long Islanders to visit beaches, because “you’re further apart on a beach. If people were all within six feet on a beach, they’d look like ants.”

Patient count decreased over last week

The Northwell Health hospitals on Tuesday continued to report progress in a decreasing count of coronavirus patients. The hospital network said it had 114 COVID-19 patients at the 19 hospitals it owns and operates, down from 125 during the same period a week ago.

Over the weekend, Northwell said it had dipped to 98 coronavirus patients.

Daily admissions at Northwell facilities has remained low for the last month. The health system has generally reported between 10 and 19 daily admissions. It had 13 over the last 24 hours.

Northwell reported one death in its health system over the last 24 hours — at North Shore University Hospital.

Check back for updates on this developing story.