NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Suffolk County reported more COVID-19-related deaths in the first eight days of December than it did between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31, County Executive Steve Bellone said Thursday.
The county recorded five COVID-19-related fatalities in August, 15 in September and six in October, Bellone said at a virtual news briefing Thursday afternoon.
Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 8, meanwhile, the health department logged 34 virus-related deaths, he said. November saw 35 fatalities.
“We’re not even halfway through this month, and we’ve already had more fatalities than August, September and October combined,” he said. “These numbers are a stark reminder of the dangers that this virus poses."
As of Tuesday, 394 Suffolk County residents were hospitalized with COVID-19, 67 of whom were in intensive care units.
Small gatherings continue to drive the spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on Long Island, Bellone said.
The county’s health department is currently monitoring 13 COVID-19 clusters linked to Thanksgiving and family gatherings, including one in East Islip, one in Manorville and one in Southampton, he said.
All five people who attended the gathering in East Islip tested positive for the virus, he said. In Manorville, six out of nine attendees tested positive; in Southampton, seven out of 10 attendees tested positive.
None of the gatherings, Bellone noted, violated the state’s gathering size limits.
“Just because you were in the gathering limit doesn’t mean that the virus won’t spread and that you won’t have a spreader event happening,” he said. “That is exactly what we’re seeing happening in smaller gatherings.”