COVID-19 on Long Island: Both Counties Ramping up Contact Tracer Efforts

LongIsland.com

Both counties reported a total of 82,404 positive cases.

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Numbers reported daily by Nassau and Suffolk counties show that there are a total of 82,404 positive cases on Long Island as of Wednesday night.

 

Suffolk reported that there are 43,036 confirmed cases at this time and Nassau reported 39,368 Total Covid-19 positives.

 

Suffolk County has administered 142,800 Covid-19 tests, 27% of those tested were confirmed positive. Nassau County did not report on the total number of tests administered.

 

Sadly, 3,867 people have died so far on Long Island from Covid-19. 1,802 deaths were in Suffolk County and 2,065 in Nassau County from Covid-19.

 

“To all the family members our thoughts and prayers are with you as you grieve this terrible loss,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

 

Suffolk County also reported that there are 453 patients hospitalized. Of those, 129 are in the intensive care unit.

 

Suffolk County reports that hospital beds in the county are at 30% capacity and ICU beds are at 35% capacity.

 

In Nassau, there were 564 people hospitalized and of those 143 are in the ICU.

 

One point both executives brought up at recent press conferences was the ramping up of contact tracers to track the infection of Covid-19. It is estimated that Suffolk County has 230 contact tracers so far. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said that her county will have an “army of contact tracers going.”

 

Neither county reported on a date when they would begin deploying contact tracers and reporting results.

 

According to the CDC, the role of contact tracers involves:

 

  • Trace and monitor contacts of infected people. Notify them of their exposure.
  • Support the quarantine of contacts. Help ensure the safe, sustainable and effective quarantine of contacts to prevent additional transmission.
  • Expand staffing resources. Contact tracing in the US will require that states, tribes, localities and territorial establish large cadres of contact tracers.
  • Use digital tools. Adoption and evaluation of digital tools may expand reach and efficacy of contact tracers.