STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Since the beginning of the month, the coronavirus (COVID-19) has claimed the lives of 47 borough residents, while nearly 3,400 confirmed cases of the disease were added to Staten Island’s total, city Health Department data shows.
And while those numbers rose, coronavirus hospitalizations here have dropped sharply from the count on April 1.
As of 1 p.m. Friday, 1,747 Staten Islanders are believed to have died from complications related to the coronavirus, according to the most recent data available.
The fatalities include 1,540 borough residents with confirmed COVID-19 cases, up three from the figure reported on Thursday.
In addition, 207 fatalities were in the “probable” category, which has not changed since Saturday.
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.
As of April 1, there had been 1,700 suspected COVID-19 deaths on Staten Island — 1,493 confirmed and 207 probable.
According to city Health Department data, the vast majority of confirmed coronavirus deaths in the five boroughs occurred in individuals with underlying medical issues.
Those conditions can include lung disease, asthma, heart disease, a weakened immune system, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease and cancer.
Also, as of Friday afternoon, 58,851 confirmed coronavirus cases have been recorded in the borough since the beginning of the pandemic over a year ago.
That figure marked a boost of 197 from Thursday’s posted tally of 58,654 cases.
Data posted on April 1 through Friday shows Staten Island’s confirmed COVID-19 case count has increased by 3,377, for an average of 211 per day.
All data is preliminary, subject to change and can reflect lags in collection, according to the Health Department.
*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***
Meanwhile, coronavirus hospitalizations have tumbled.
As of April 1, 191 patients were hospitalized here for the disease.
Friday’s tally was 137.
That number represents a plunge of 54 patients in the borough’s two hospital systems since the beginning of the month. It is also down three from Thursday’s count of 140.
Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) was treating 100 patients, said Christian Preston, a spokesman. That total has dipped by two from 24 hours earlier.
Richmond University Medical Center was caring for 37 patients, down one from Thursday, Alexander Lutz, a spokesman, said.
COVID-19 hospitalizations this year on Staten Island have fluctuated widely.
They peaked three months ago on Jan. 18 at 302 patients — more than double of Friday’s total.
Afterward, they dipped to 154 on Feb. 27, before rising, then falling again.
In other data, 743,433 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported across the five boroughs as of Friday afternoon. That figure marks a jump of 2,648 from Thursday’s tally of 740,785.
Citywide, the suspected coronavirus death count has reached 32,040.
The fatalities consist of 26,968 individuals who were confirmed coronavirus cases.
There were 5,072 others whose deaths were deemed as “probable” COVID-19 cases.
With respect to testing, the data shows 12,359 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders — or nearly 1 in 8 — have received positive results for the coronavirus, according to 2018 Census data projections and the Health Department’s Friday afternoon tally.
Staten Island’s infection rate is the highest, per capita, among the five boroughs.
Officials, however, stress the examinations do not necessarily reflect the full spread of the virus.
The Bronx’s infection rate is second highest.
In that borough, 10,098 residents per 100,000 have tested positive. The Bronx has had 144,621 confirmed cases.
Queens has the third-highest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city with 9,557 residents per 100,000 testing positive. There have been 217,787 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 – 8,452.
However, Brooklyn’s 218,294 cases are the most among the five boroughs, just ahead of Queens.
Manhattan has the lowest infection rate in the city with 6,375 per 100,000 residents testing positive.
There have been 103,836 positive cases in Manhattan, the data said.