STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The coronavirus (COVID-19) is believed to have claimed the lives of two more borough residents in the past 24 hours, while there were 25 new confirmed cases of the disease here, city Health Department data show.
As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, there had been 996 deaths on Staten Island attributed to the coronavirus, according to the most recent figures published.
The fatalities include 822 Staten Islanders with confirmed coronavirus cases, an increase of one from Tuesday afternoon’s total. In addition, 174 deaths were in the “probable” category, also an uptick of one from 24 hours earlier.
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 13,451 confirmed coronavirus cases on Staten Island since the pandemic’s outbreak, the data said.
That total had been 13,426 cases at the same time on Tuesday.
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Across the five boroughs, there were 201,806 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Wednesday afternoon.
The number represented a spike of 683 from Tuesday’s tally of 201,123, as well as a departure from the previous two days when less than 300 new cases were recorded in each of those respective 24-hour periods.
Citywide, the death toll stood at 21,688 on Wednesday afternoon, up 39 from the 21,649 fatalities reported 24 hours earlier.
The deaths consist of 16,933 individuals who were confirmed coronavirus cases, along with 4,755 others whose deaths were deemed as “probable” COVID-19 cases.
A large majority of the deaths in confirmed coronavirus cases which were 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.
On a positive note, a total of 3,149 coronavirus patients have been treated at and released from the borough’s two hospital systems since the pandemic’s outbreak.
Staten Island University Hospital’s (SIUH) two campuses have discharged 2,021 patients as of Wednesday, said Jillian O’Hara, a spokeswoman.
Richmond University Medical Center has treated and released 1,128 patients, Alex Lutz, a spokesman, said.
Meanwhile, the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in the borough dipped by five.
On Wednesday morning, 89 patients were being cared for on Staten Island.
The total is a fraction compared to nearly two months ago when hospitalizations peaked.
On April 8, 554 Islanders were hospitalized with the coronavirus.
At SIUH, 56 patients were being treated Wednesday morning, a drop of six from Tuesday’s total. All the coronavirus patients are at the Ocean Breeze campus, said O’Hara. No coronavirus patients are in the Prince’s Bay facility, she said.
Richmond University Medical Center was caring for 33 coronavirus patients as of Wednesday morning, up one from Tuesday, Lutz said.
With respect to testing, the data show 2,825 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 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 still tops the city.
In that borough, 3,184 residents per 100,000 have tested positive. The Bronx has had 45,600 cases.
Queens has the third highest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city, with 2,707 residents per 100,000 testing positive. There have been 61,683 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 – 2,158.
Brooklyn’s 55,733 cases are the second most among the five boroughs.
Manhattan has the lowest infection rate in the city with 1,550 per 100,000 residents testing positive.
There have been 25,237 positive cases in Manhattan, the data said.