Coronavirus Updates for Dec. 12: Over 600 New Cases, Additional Deaths Reported in Westchester County
Cases of the coronavirus increased by 611 in Westchester County on Friday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 57,606 since the start of the pandemic.
The county reported three more deaths, resulting in a total of 1,553 COVID-19-releated fatalities since March, according to the state tracker. This week 24 people have died from the virus, according to state data.
There are currently 8,504 active cases, with the daily test positivity rate 5.88 percent. That percentage is based on 10,385 tests taken on Thursday, state data shows. Overall, there have been over 1.2 million COVID-19 tests administered in Westchester since March.
As of Tuesday, there were 359 virus patients in Westchester hospitals, a 309-case increase since Election Day. The county has approximately 3,000 hospital beds, not including the 110 beds set up at the County Center, which has been turned into a field hospital.
Putnam County’s total caseload has reached 3,608, according to the state, with 48 additional positive cases recorded on Friday. The county’s daily positivity rate is 5.26 percent, with 912 tests administered Thursday, state data shows.
Putnam County currently has 926 active cases.
There have been 66 coronavirus-related deaths in Putnam. No new deaths were reported on Friday.
Statewide there were 10,595 new positive cases on Friday, according to the state tracker. The daily positivity rate is now 4.98 percent.
The state recorded 87 additional COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 27,587 since March.
Total hospitalizations are at 5,321, an increase of 157 over the previous day, according to state data. Across the state there has been a total of 753,837 positive coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.
Here are the latest updates on Dec. 12
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced new metrics by which micro-cluster focus zones will be determined with recent data concentrating on controlling hospital capacity. Now hospitals must remain under 85 percent capacity, either by adding up to 25 percent of beds, reducing or eliminating elective surgeries, or both.
“We have been setting rules that make sense for everyone, and it is basically all common sense,” Cuomo said on Friday. “We invested very heavily in doing COVID testing, and we d more testing than any state in the nation. That gives us actual facts that we can base our actions upon.”
The states three-tiered, color-coded COVID hotspot zoning system will now be determined under new guidelines, with the shift in metrics based on hospitalizations instead of infections.
Yellow Zone: An area will be labeled a yellow zone if it has a 3 percent positivity rate (7-day average) over the past 10 days and is in the top 10 percent in the state for hospital admissions per capita over the past week and is experiencing week-over-week growth in daily admissions.
Orange Zone: A geographic area will be eligible to enter an orange zone if it has a 4 percent positivity rate (7-day average) over the last 10 days and is in a region that has reached 85 percent hospital capacity.
Red Zone: A red zone will be implemented in a region where hospital capacity is within 21 days of reaching 90 percent, even after the cancellation of elective procedures and a 50 percent increase in bed capacity in hospitals in the region.
Under these calibrated business guidelines, indoor dining in New York City will be suspended on Monday and gyms and salons will now be allowed to remain open with restrictions in orange zones. Cuomo said data has shown that gyms, fitness centers and personal care services, which were originally forced to shutter if in an orange zone, are not high-risk environments for viral transmission.
Now if labeled an orange zone, the business can remain open but operate at 25 percent capacity.
Westchester County currently has five yellow zones – Peekskill, Ossining, Tarrytown, Yonkers, and New Rochelle. Port Chester is an orange zone. Those designations haven’t been updated in over two weeks, but Cuomo said that will change on Monday.
Free mobile COVID-19 testing events are also scheduled throughout the county through Dec. 16. All testing will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. as follows:
- Saturday at Peekskill City Hall at 840 Main Street
- Sunday at the Municipal Parking Lot behind Neri Bakery in Port Chester
- Dec. 16 at the Municipal Parking Lot behind Neri Bakery in Port Chester
An appointment is required prior to arrival. Patients will be asked for insurance but do not need it to obtain a test. There is no co-pay for a COVID-19 tests and individuals will not be billed. Click HERE to register.
School News & Business Closures
Business Closures
- Pour in Mount Kisco has closed temporarily after an employee signaled he may have been exposed to COVID-19. All employees will be tested for the virus while the restaurant undergoes a necessary cleaning process.
- In Peekskill, Factoria, River Outpost, and Fin & Brew will be closed for the winter out of an abundance of caution with coronavirus cases rapidly increasing locally.
School Closures
- Carmel High School will transition to remote learning through Jan. 8, with the remaining Carmel Central School District buildings beginning remote learning Dec. 14 to Jan. 8.
- Greenburgh Central School District has transitioned all schools to remote learning through Dec. 21, for now.
- Peekskill City School District will close and shift to virtual learning through Jan. 4.
- White Plains Public Schools transition to remote learning through Dec. 14.
- All students in 6 East, Hybrid One and Two at Fox Lane Middle School will learn remotely at home through Dec. 15th.
Westchester Active Coronavirus Cases by Municipality
Here are the active cases by municipality in Westchester as of Friday. With a lag between the total number of cases confirmed by the state and the tally of cases by town, the total number of municipal cases might be slightly different than what the county’s active cases reflects.
- Ardsley – 39
- Bedford – 141
- Briarcliff Manor – 50
- Bronxville – 36
- Buchanan – 11
- Cortlandt – 148
- Croton-on-Hudson – 48
- Dobbs Ferry – 71
- Eastchester – 148
- Elmsford – 47
- Greenburgh – 239
- Harrison – 178
- Hastings-on-Hudson – 18
- Irvington – 28
- Larchmont – 24
- Lewisboro – 81
- Mamaroneck Town – 37
- Mamaroneck Village – 161
- Mount Kisco – 152
- Mount Pleasant – 183
- Mount Vernon – 294
- New Castle – 64
- New Rochelle – 520
- North Castle – 80
- North Salem – 35
- Ossining Town – 35
- Ossining Village – 211
- Peekskill – 221
- Pelham – 52
- Pelham Manor – 24
- Pleasantville – 41
- Port Chester – 234
- Pound Ridge – 19
- Rye Brook – 46
- Rye City – 90
- Scarsdale – 74
- Sleepy Hollow – 70
- Somers – 106
- Tarrytown – 57
- Tuckahoe – 20
- White Plains – 468
- Yonkers – 1,201
- Yorktown – 251
If your business or school district may have been exposed to COVID-19, please email ayoung@theexaminernews.com to be placed on our daily COVID-19 list.
