STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths surged to at least 12 on Staten Island, the borough also became the most affected in the city per 100,000 residents.
Based on positive tests, which officials have stressed does not necessarily reflect the full spread of the virus, coronavirus is affecting 174.3 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders, based on 2010 Census data and the latest figures from the city’s Health Department.
There are 817 confirmed cases on the borough, according to city data posted at 9:35 a.m.
Queens and Manhattan, both of which have populations of 2,230,578 and 1,586,360 respectively, are behind the borough in rate of positive tests but are nearly identical in rate when adjusted for population.
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Coronavirus is affecting 162.3 of every 100,000 Queens residents and 162.1 Manhattanites, the data shows.
There is a steep drop-off to the next-closest affected borough — Brooklyn — at 139.5 positive patients per 100,000 residents.
The Bronx, the borough with the lowest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases, is standing at a rate of 132 positive patients per 100,000 residents, though the rate of infections in every borough is almost surely to rise, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly said: “The more you test, the more positives you will find.”
In terms of confirmed cases, Queens has 3,621, Brooklyn has 3,494, Manhattan has 2,572 and the Bronx has 1,829.
Moving forward, however, who the tests are administered to is likely to change for commercial labs. Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday the country will be “caught up” on a backlog of tests by the middle of next week, but added that the Trump administration is “directing commercial labs to prioritize people who are in the hospital for coronavirus tests" in the effort “to get the results of that as quickly as possible for every American.”
The shift in test procedures to the most affected residents could shift the rate at which the amount of confirmed cases increase, but there is currently no indication that the state-run drive-through testing on Staten Island has slowed thus far.
HOSPITAL CAPACITY COULD BE STRAINED
Despite accounting for only 7% of citywide cases as of Monday morning, the high rate of coronavirus tests could put pressure on the Staten Island’s hospital systems. There are currently a total of 101 in-patients being treated at borough hospitals in coronavirus cases, the Advance/SILive.com reported.
While holding 7% of the New York City’s positive cases, according to the most recent data on Monday, the borough accounts for only 5.7% of the city’s population.
Cuomo continued his push to increase the state’s hospital capacity on Monday, mandating that all New York hospitals up their number of beds by 50% as the system prepares to deal with the worst of the coronavirus outbreak, the Advance/SILive.com reported.
Staffs at Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) and Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) previously told the Advance/SILive.com that they are aiming to maximize their capacity well ahead of the potential surge in hospitalizations, increasing room by utilizing medical tents and optimizing existing hospital space.
“We are planning for the worst-case scenario,” said Alex Lutz, a RUMC spokesman. “We are looking at our capacity within the structure of the hospital itself and not leaving any stone unturned.”
Both Staten Island University Hospital campuses have a plan to deploy medical tents if the situation requires them to do so, spokesman Christian Preston said. A medical tent was recently placed outside of RUMC with another tent possibly used for a location off the hospital’s campus.