COVID hospitalizations on Staten Island highest in over a month – SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Coronavirus (COVID-19) hospitalizations in the borough rose on Friday to its highest level in more than a month.

At the same time, four more Staten Islanders succumbed to the disease, while 204 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus were reported here over the past 24 hours, city Health Department data shows.

As of Friday afternoon, 190 coronavirus patients were being treated in the boroughs two hospital systems, an increase of five.

There had been 185 patients on Thursday, 181 on Wednesday and 184 on Tuesday, continuing a fluctuating pattern that has extended throughout the month.

COVID-19 hospitalizations this year had most recently peaked over two months ago on Jan. 18 at 302 patients before dipping to a low of 154 on Feb. 27.

Fridays total was the most since Feb. 18, when there were 197 coronavirus patients.

Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) was treating 149 patients, said Jillian OHara, a spokeswoman. That number was up three from 24 hours earlier.

Richmond University Medical Center was caring for 41 patients, a boost of two from Thursday, Alex Lutz, a spokesman, said.

Meanwhile, as of 1 p.m. Friday, 1,674 borough residents are believed to have died from complications related to the coronavirus, according to the most recent data available.

The fatalities include 1,469 borough residents with confirmed COVID-19 cases, an uptick of four from Thursday.

In addition, 205 fatalities were in the probable category, the same number for several days.

A death is classified as probable if the decedent was a city resident who had no known positive laboratory test for the coronavirus, but the death certificate lists COVID-19 or an equivalent as a cause of death.

According to city Health Department data, the vast majority of confirmed coronavirus deaths in the five boroughs occurred in individuals with underlying medical issues.

Those conditions can include lung disease, asthma, heart disease, a weakened immune system, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease and cancer.

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Also, as of Friday afternoon, 54,018 confirmed cases of the disease have been recorded in the borough since the beginning of the pandemic over a year ago.

That tally was 204 higher than Thursdays figure of 53,814.

A Health Department source has said all data is preliminary, subject to change and can reflect lags in collection.

Across the five boroughs, 686,899 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported as of Friday afternoon.

That total represents a jump of 2,857 from Thursdays tally of 684,042.

Citywide, the suspected coronavirus death count has reached 30,898.

The fatalities consist of 25,861 individuals who were confirmed coronavirus cases.

There were 5,037 others whose deaths were deemed as probable COVID-19 cases.

With respect to testing, the data shows 11,344 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders or more than 1 in 9 have received positive results for the coronavirus, according to 2018 Census data projections and the Health Departments Friday afternoon tally.

Staten Islands infection rate is the highest, per capita, among the five boroughs.

Officials, however, stress the examinations do not necessarily reflect the full spread of the virus.

The Bronxs infection rate is second highest.

In that borough, 9,442 residents per 100,000 have tested positive. The Bronx has had 135,216 confirmed cases.

Queens has the third-highest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city with 8,807 residents per 100,000 testing positive. There have been 200,693 cases in that borough, the second-most populous.

Brooklyn, the borough with the largest population, has the fourth-lowest rate of infection per 100,000 residents 7,778.

However, Brooklyns 200,893 cases are the now the most among the five boroughs, having overtaken Queens on Friday.

Manhattan has the lowest infection rate in the city with 5,896 per 100,000 residents testing positive.

There have been 96,035 positive cases in Manhattan, the data said.

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COVID hospitalizations on Staten Island highest in over a month - SILive.com