Long Island shattered its record for the number of patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in a single day when the region saw a 50% spike in cases just before Christmas, officials said.
The number of cases on LI jumped from 4,606 – 2,468 in Nassau County and
2,138 in Suffolk County – on Wednesday to 6,950 on Thursday, when there were 3,682 and 3,268 cases, respectively, New York State Department health data shows. Cases then jumped another 18% on Friday, when LI saw 8,216 new infections, with 4,457 in Nassau and 3,759 in Suffolk, data shows.
“As we come home from holiday gatherings, it is as important as ever to take precautions to limit the spread of Covid-19 this season,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “Wear your mask, wash your hands, and if you haven’t yet, get vaccinated and boosted.”
U.S. President Joe Biden and his White House Covid-19 response team planned to meet on Monday with the group representing the country’s governors as the Omicron variant spread across the nation this holiday week. U.S. Covid-19 infections are increasing, with 205,509 new infections reported on average each day, a Reuters tally showed.
New York State broke its record for the most cases reported in one day on Thursday when it saw a 34% jump with 38,835 patients diagnosed. It broke that record the next day when 44,431 cases were reported on Christmas Eve. New cases slowed to 36,454 on Christmas Day, including 6,791 on the Island.
LI also has the state’s highest 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days with 14.79% as of Saturday, according to state data. The number of hospitalizations, however, remains lower than earlier in the pandemic. But officials urged the public to take caution.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease official, warned of rising U.S. cases in coming days and potentially “overrun…hospitals, particularly in those regions in which you have a larger proportion of unvaccinated individuals.”
-With Reuters
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