UPDATE: The city Health Department late Thursday night revised the coronavirus death total on Staten Island, decreasing the overall total to 608, down from 707 (599 confirmed and 108 probable coronavirus cases) which it had posted on its web site earlier in the day.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The coronavirus (COVID-19) death total on Staten Island has surpassed 600, city Health Department data shows.
As of Wednesday evening, the disease had claimed the lives of 608 borough residents, according to the most recent data available.
The fatalities include 500 borough residents with confirmed coronavirus cases, an increase of 15 from Tuesday’s count of 485. Eight more cases were added to the “probable” category, raising that tally to 108.
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.
But there was some encouraging news.
For the second time this week, Staten Island marked its lowest increase in coronavirus cases recorded in April over the prior 24 hours.
There were 177 new coronavirus cases confirmed in the borough as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, raising the borough’s total to 10,582.
There had been 10,405 confirmed cases on Tuesday night, making Wednesday’s tally a rise of 1.7%
Previously, the smallest uptick in new cases in April occurred on Monday evening with 180.
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Citywide, there were 141,754 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Wednesday evening, an increase of 3,319, or 2.4%, from Tuesday’s figure of 138,435.
The death total across the five boroughs has surpassed 15,000.
There were 15,411 fatalities in the city by Wednesday evening, a jump of 415 from Tuesday evening’s tally of 14,996, said Health Department data.
The fatalities consist of 10,290 individuals who were confirmed coronavirus cases, along with 5,121 others whose deaths were deemed as “probable” COVID-19 cases.
More than 99% of the 7,535 confirmed coronavirus deaths investigated by the city thus far have occurred in patients with underlying medical issues, said the Health Department.
Underlying conditions include diabetes, lung disease, cancer, immunodeficiency, heart disease, hypertension, asthma, kidney disease and gastro-intestinal/liver disease, said the Health Department.
Meanwhile, the number of patients treated in Staten Island’s hospitals for the coronavirus and released continues to ascend.
As of Thursday afternoon, a total of 1,454 patients had been discharged since the pandemic’s outbreak, according to information from the borough’s two hospital systems.
Staten Island University Hospital’s (SIUH) two campuses have discharged 1,171 patients, said Jillian O’Hara, a spokeswoman.
Richmond University Medical Center has treated and released 283 patients, Alex Lutz, a spokesman, said.
At the same time, the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients decreased from Wednesday’s total.
As of Thursday morning, 367 patients were being cared for, down 22 from the prior morning’s tally of 389.
At SIUH, 238 patients were receiving treatment Thursday morning – 198 in the Ocean Breeze campus and 40 in the Prince’s Bay facility, said O’Hara.
The overall number reflected a decline of 10 from Wednesday morning’s total.
Richmond University Medical Center was caring for 129 coronavirus patients as of Thursday morning, a dip of 12 from Wednesday’s total. Of those patients, 46 are in the Intensive Care Unit, a drop of five from Wednesday.
Testing shows 2,222 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders have received positive results for the coronavirus, according to 2018 Census data projections and the Health Department’s Wednesday afternoon data.
Staten Island’s rate, which had been the highest among the five boroughs for nearly the past two weeks, has dipped to second.
The borough accounts for 7% of the city’s total coronavirus cases.
Officials, however, stress the examinations do not necessarily reflect the full spread of the virus.
The Bronx now has the highest infection rate in the city with 2,228 residents per 100,000 having tested positive. Its 31,911 cases account for 23% of the overall total.
Queens has the third highest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city, with 1,923 residents per 100,000 testing positive. That borough, the second-most populous, has 43,824 cases, the most in the city and comprising 31% of the overall total.
Brooklyn, the most populated borough, has the fourth-lowest rate of infection per 100,000 residents – 1,454.
Brooklyn’s 37,564 cases are the second highest among the five boroughs.
Brooklyn accounts for 27% of the city’s reported coronavirus cases, Health Department statistics show.
Manhattan retains the lowest infection rate among the boroughs with 1,093 per 100,000 residents testing positive.
There have been 17,803 positive cases in Manhattan, comprising 13% of the five-borough tally, the data said.