Gov.: Covid-19 outbreak continues to shift to L.I.

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 Coronavirus cases in Nassau County continued to climb steadily overnight from Saturday into Sunday, nearly reaching 14,400, up from 13,346 the day before — an almost 8 percent increase, according to Governor Cuomo.

Statewide, 4,159 people have died of Covid-19, he said.

 Speaking Sunday, Cuomo said, “There is a shift to Long Island … As Long Island grows, the percentage of cases in New York City has reduced.” 

The sharp rise in Nassau cases in recent days contrasts with data that show an emerging “plateau” of cases statewide over the past three days, the governor said. 

It is too early to tell, he said, if New York is reaching the apex of cases, when the number of deaths will drop, but it appears the high point could be reached sometime in the next week. Previously, he had said it could be seven to 21 days before the apex is reached.

Data appear to suggest the state is nearing a plateau or the apex, Cuomo said. Overnight, the state saw its highest number of hospital discharges — 1,709. The total number of people who have been treated for Covid-19 and released from the hospital stood at 12,187 as of Sunday.

“Discharge is way up, and that is great news,” Cuomo said.

The state also saw its smallest number of new hospitalizations overnight, at 574. That’s a 52 percent decrease from the day before, when there were 1,100 new hospitalizations. The day before that, there had been 1,400.

The state has not seen such a low number of new hospitalizations for 16 days, according to state data.

In all, 16,400 people were hospitalized as of April 5.

The number of people who are being treated in intensive care units also dropped over the past three days, the governor said, as did the number of people who had to be intubated. Intubation is a medical intervention in which a tube is inserted into a patient’s airway to enable breathing.

The three-day statewide trend lines offer glimmers of hope for many downstate hospitals that are now operating above their capacity and, in a number of cases, are running low on supplies, the governor said.

The hospitals, he noted, “are being asked to do the impossible.”

“I hope we’re somewhere near the apex,” he said, “or somewhere near the plateau.”