STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Zero Staten Islanders have succumbed to the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours, though 15 new cases of the disease were reported here, according to city Health Department data.
As of 1 p.m. Saturday, the coronavirus is believed to have claimed the lives of 1,031 borough residents, according to the most recent figures published.
That total was 1,031 on Friday, 1,029 on Thursday and 1,026 on Wednesday.
The fatalities include 853 Staten Islanders with confirmed coronavirus cases, in addition to 178 deaths in the “probable” category.
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.
A Health Department source said the figures reflect totals as of when they are reported to the agency and not when the deaths occur.
Also as of Saturday afternoon, there have been 13,783 confirmed coronavirus cases in the borough since the pandemic’s outbreak, the data said.
That tally had been 13,768 cases at the same time on Friday.
The past two days have seen case increases of 16 and 15, a slight upward departure from each of the two days prior, which had recorded single-digit increases.
There were just four new cases from Wednesday into Thursday, and nine new cases from Tuesday into Wednesday.
Those increases were among the lowest logged over a 24-hour period on Staten Island dating to late March, according to Advance/SILive.com tabulations.
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Citywide, there were 208,763 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Saturday afternoon.
The number represented a jump of 318 from Friday’s tally of 208,455.
Across the five boroughs, the death toll had reached 22,244 on Saturday afternoon, a bump up of eight from the 22,236 fatalities recorded 24 hours earlier.
The fatalities consist of 17,563 individuals who were confirmed coronavirus cases, along with 4,681 others whose deaths were deemed as “probable” COVID-19 cases.
Meanwhile, the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in the borough decreased by four.
On Saturday afternoon, 41 patients were being cared for on Staten Island.
By contrast, 10 weeks ago on April 8,554 Islanders were hospitalized with the coronavirus.
At Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), 28 patients were being treated Saturday afternoon, down four from Friday, said SIUH spokesman Christian Preston.
Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) was caring for 13 coronavirus patients on Saturday, the same number as on Thursday and Friday, said RUMC spokesman Alex Lutz.
With respect to testing, the data show 2,895 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders have received positive results for the coronavirus, according to 2018 Census data projections and the Health Department’s Saturday afternoon tally.
Staten Island’s infection rate is second highest among the five boroughs.
Officials, however, stress the examinations do not necessarily reflect the full spread of the virus.
The Bronx’s infection rate has topped the city for many weeks.
In that borough, 3,282 residents per 100,000 have tested positive. The Bronx has had 47,001 cases.
Queens has the third highest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city, with 2,796 residents per 100,000 testing positive. There have been 63,720 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 – 2,243.
Brooklyn’s 57,934 cases are the second most among the five boroughs.
Manhattan has the lowest infection rate in the city with 1,609 per 100,000 residents testing positive.
There have been 26,210 positive cases in Manhattan, the data said.