STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For the second time this week, no new deaths related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported on Staten Island over the past 24 hours.
And also for the second time since Monday, the one-day uptick in confirmed coronavirus cases in the borough rose by less than 10, according to the most recent figures published on Wednesday.
In addition, Wednesday’s increase in the number of deaths and new COVID-19 cases reported citywide over a 24-hour period were among the lowest, if not the lowest, in months.
As of 1 p.m., the borough’s total of suspected coronavirus deaths since March remained at 1,063, the same number as Tuesday afternoon.
Several times in the past month, dating from June 7 into June 8 and most recently as Sunday into Monday, there has been no change in Staten Island’s 24-hour death total.
The fatalities include 884 borough residents with confirmed coronavirus cases.
In addition, 179 deaths were in the “probable” category.
Both numbers reflected no change from Tuesday’s tally.
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 Wednesday afternoon, there have been 14,083 confirmed coronavirus cases in the borough since the pandemic’s outbreak, the data said.
That figure represents a rise of seven from the 14,076 cases reported at the same time on Tuesday.
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Throughout the five boroughs, there were 214,570 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Wednesday afternoon.
The number represented a jump of 199 from Tuesday’s tally of 214,371.
Still, it is among the lowest one-day increases in months.
Citywide, the death toll had reached 23,224 at 1 p.m. Wednesday, a bump of six from the 23,218 fatalities recorded 24 hours earlier.
Wednesday’s uptick in fatalities likewise is also far below more recent daily totals.
The fatalities consist of 18,618 individuals who were confirmed coronavirus cases, along with 4,606 others whose deaths were deemed as “probable” COVID-19 cases.
Meanwhile, coronavirus hospitalizations in the borough rose slightly.
On Wednesday morning, 23 patients were being cared for on Staten Island, up two from Tuesday.
By contrast, near the height of the pandemic three months ago on April 8, 554 Islanders were hospitalized with the coronavirus.
At Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), seven patients were being treated Wednesday morning, the same number as Tuesday, said Christian Preston, a spokesperson.
Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) was caring for 16 coronavirus patients on Wednesday, an increase of two from Tuesday, Alexander Lutz, a spokesman, said.
Five of the RUMC patients were in the intensive-care unit; there were none in SIUH.
Meanwhile, at least 3,475 coronavirus patients have been treated and released from the borough’s two hospital systems since the pandemic struck.
SIUH’s two campuses had discharged 2,248 patients as of Tuesday, the most recent date for which figures were available, said Preston.
RUMC has treated and released 1,227 patients as of Wednesday, Lutz said.
With respect to testing, the data show 2,958 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders checked have received positive results for the coronavirus, according to 2018 Census data projections and the Health Department’s Wednesday afternoon tally.
Staten Island’s infection rate remains the 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 since late April.
In that borough, 3,359 residents per 100,000 have tested positive. The Bronx has had 48,105 confirmed cases.
Queens has the third highest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city, with 2,871 residents per 100,000 testing positive. There have been 65,428 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 – 2,309.
Brooklyn’s 59,636 cases are the second most among the five boroughs, behind Queens.
Manhattan has the lowest infection rate in the city with 1,669 per 100,000 residents testing positive of those who were examined.
There have been 27,191 positive cases in Manhattan, the data said.