NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – After several days of promising numbers from hospitals, Nassau Executive Laura Curran said the county should begin thinking about how it can open places that allow for adequate social distancing.
Curran said Saturday that the number of coronavirus hospitalizations were down for three days straight and that she was hopeful about reopening places like marinas and beaches.
LISTEN LIVE: 1010 WINS' 24/7 coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
There were 28,539 cases and 1,109 deaths in Nassau as of Saturday, Curran said.
But she said coronavirus cases in hospitals were down for the third day in a row.
She said there were 2,204 hospitalizations Friday night—representing an 11 percent decrease over the past three days.
“I believe that is a real story and I believe that is a good story,” she said.
The number of people on ventilators has also been decreasing and discharges have been “robust,” she said, adding that there were 258 on Friday.
“With this good news, we become more eager and ready to reopen society to get out of the lockdown to resume into whatever our new normal is going to look like,” Curran said.
“You’ve heard me talk about let’s start planning on reopening things like marinas and golf,” she said. “Boats are the best place to practice social distancing.”
Curran said the county should also begin plans for opening beaches like Nickerson Beach so that “we have open space when the weather gets warmer for everyone to utilize.”
“You can go you can walk. It’s a wonderful place to practice social distancing,” she said.
Curran said she believes "we can strike the balance" of reopening society and lowering new coronavirus cases.
Suffolk County, meanwhile has reported 26,143 cases and 693 deaths as of Saturday.