Suffolk Reporter

Suffolk County released crucial information regarding COVID-19 on April 24, 2024. According to the CDC, hospital admission rates and the percentage of COVID-19 deaths among all deaths are now the primary surveillance metrics.

In terms of hospitalizations for the week ending April 13, 2024, there were 66 new hospital admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Suffolk County, marking a -35.3% change from the previous week. The hospital admissions per 100k in the past week were 2.3, indicating a low level of COVID-19 hospital admissions.

On April 23, 2024, a total of 24 individuals were hospitalized in Suffolk County, with 58% of them being hospitalized due to COVID-19 or complications of COVID-19. Among the hospitalized individuals, 6 were new admissions, and 8 had been discharged since the last report. Notably, there were no patients in the Intensive Care Unit at the time.

Regarding fatalities, there have been a total of 5,281 fatalities in Suffolk County since March 2020, with an increase of 1 reported since the last update. The annual breakdown of fatalities is as follows: 2,311 in 2020, 1,507 in 2021, 1,015 in 2022, 318 in 2023, and 135 in 2024 to date.

In the COVID-19 Case Tracker for April 21, 2024, 50 cases were reported, with a rate of 3.3 cases per 100k and 2.5 on a 7-day average, including both PCR and antigen tests.

For those seeking vaccination information, the department in Suffolk County offers COVID vaccines to uninsured and underinsured patients through New York State's Vaccines for Children program and Vaccines for Adults program. Individuals with insurance covering the COVID-19 vaccine are encouraged to receive their vaccines at local pharmacies, healthcare providers' offices, or federally qualified health centers.

The Suffolk County Health Department continues to provide free COVID-19 tests and conducts wastewater surveillance to monitor the spread of the virus in the community.