Local News

The doctors, nurses and other health care professionals on the front lines of the battle against coronavirus on Long Island are struggling to keep up, struggling to protect their own health and struggling to even understand the enemy that they’re fighting.croon

Schools and “non-essential” businesses will remain closed through at least April 29, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today. Residents must continue to adhere to stay at home and social distancing rules in order to get beyond the coronavirus outbreak, Cuomo said.

The coronavirus death toll in Suffolk County has risen to 175 people, County Executive Steve Bellone said this afternoon. That number represents the biggest increase in fatalities in Suffolk since the county's first death was reported March 16. It is nearly twice the number of the second-highest increase, which was reported yesterday.

The death toll reported by the county executive today set a grim record. The number of deaths reported daily has been increasing from week to week. The previous one-day high — 16 deaths — was reported on April 1.

A second Riverhead Town police officer has tested positive for COVID-19. The town has extended the state of emergency. All buildings are closed to the public as are town recreation facilities such as dog parks, basketball courts, pickle ball courts, the skate park and hockey rink.

All basketball courts, pickleball courts and dog parks in Riverhead Town are now closed to the public, Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller said Friday evening. The skate park and the hockey rink at Stotzky Park are also now closed.

The GIS (geographic information system) map allows users to scroll through a bar graph list of hamlets in the county and view the confirmed COVID case count for each when the cursor hovers over the bar next to the hamlet name.

Peconic Bay Medical Center's first seriously ill coronavirus patient, a 45-year-old man with no pre-existing conditions, shares his story after a week on a ventilator.

Total coronavirus cases rose above 10,000 in Suffolk County and 100,000 in New York State, the largest single-day leap so far for both the county and the state. There were just 64 ICU beds available countywide as of yesterday.

Scammers are using emails, phone calls and text messages to falsely claim they have information about cures for the coronavirus, sell medical supplies, ask for donations to fake charities or ask for personal information for people to receive money from the federal stimulus bill.