SC Exec Bellone Call Fire Island Gatherings ‘Just Dumb’
Even as Suffolk County prepares for the final phase of its economic reopening this Wednesday, people came to Fire Island during Fourth of July celebrations, where they reportedly violated social distancing and face covering rules.
After all the work to reduce the spread of the virus in Suffolk County and the economic and personal sacrifices designed to save lives, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) was disheartened by images of people on Fire Island and in Montauk who ignored public health rules.
Bringing groups of people within six feet of each other without wearing face coverings is “just dumb,” Bellone said. “It doesn’t make sense. The way that we will undo all of the progress that we have made is to simply stop using common sense.”Such flouting of rules designed to protect the public “is unacceptable” and will result in enforcement actions, Bellone said.
Future incidents in which people don’t follow health guidelines can result in tickets from the police department. The tickets are a Class B Felony.
Bellone urged residents to remain safe so that the county can consider reopening schools and so businesses that have been able to survive the earlier shutdown can continue to rebuild.
The Suffolk County Police Department received 1,160 firework-related calls from Friday through Sunday.
Viral Numbers
The number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 was 43, which represents a 1.1 percent positive rate among the 3,812 people tested.
The total number of people who have tested positive for the virus was 41,685. The number of people who have had a positive antibody test, who have not had symptoms of the disease but whose bodies have developed antibodies, is 19,978.
Hospitalizations declined by three to 63, while the number of people in the Intensive Care Units was 16, which is also down by three.
Hospital bed use was at 64 percent. The occupancy of ICU beds was at 56 percent.
Over the last day, 13 people were discharged from Suffolk County hospitals.
One person died from complications related to COVID-19. The total number of deaths for Suffolk County increased to 1,984.
