Active COVID Cases Remain High in Westchester County, Putnam as Vaccine Distribution Continues
While nearly 8,500 individuals have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Westchester County in the last week, County Executive George Latimer continues to caution about high infection rates and deaths with the coronavirus still widespread.
With New York State officially opening a vaccine distribution center at the County Center last Wednesday, Latimer said 6,569 people have since received the first dose of the immunization. About 1,980 additional shots were dispensed at the county’s health department clinic in White Plains, he said.
“We hope to hit the 10,000 mark in vaccinations by the end of the week,” Latimer said during a Tuesday briefing, adding that the county is working with state officials to open another distribution site.
With some confusion surrounding the vaccination process, Latimer has instructed the Department of Seniors Programs & Services to use all available resources to aid the senior population. DSPS staff will assist seniors and caregivers in securing available appointments.
“As we have been since day one of this crisis, county government has an all-hands-on deck approach to help Westchester through this unprecedented pandemic,” Latimer said. “DSPS stands ready and able to assist our aging population so they can feel comfortable navigating the vaccination process.”
DSPS has an information and assistance phone line that is available on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 914-813-6300.
While daily coronavirus cases in Westchester County are significantly lower than in recent weeks, active cases continue to emulate numbers reported at the height of the pandemic last spring.
Coronavirus cases increased by 600 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 85,020 since the start of the pandemic. There are now 11,639 active cases, an increase of about 2,300 over the last two weeks.
“That number of active cases is as high as it’s been since the first week of April,” Latimer said. “We are approaching the peak number of active cases, which we had in March, which was slightly over 12,000 cases.”
The county’s daily positivity rate is 6.14 percent, state data shows, with 9,769 COVID-19 tests administered on Sunday. Overall, there have been over 1.63 million COVID tests dispensed in Westchester since March.
The county reported nine more deaths on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from COVID-19-related fatalities to 1,806 since March. This week 17 people have died from the virus, with 131 overall fatalities since the start of the new year.
“That is a significant death ration from what we’ve had most of the pandemic from when we peaked out,” Latimer said. “These are serious numbers. The numbers are rising.”
As of Sunday, there are 513 virus patients in Westchester hospitals, a decrease of 41 over last week. Latimer said the decrease is encouraging, asserting hope that this is the start of a downslope in hospitalizations.
Putnam County’s total caseload has reached 6,521, with 74 additional positive cases recorded on Tuesday. The county’s daily positivity rate is 7.68 percent, with 964 tests administered Sunday, state data shows.
The county currently has 1,286 active cases.
There have been 74 coronavirus-related deaths in Putnam since the start of the pandemic. No new deaths were reported on Tuesday.
Statewide there were 12,512 new positive cases on Tuesday, state data shows. The daily positivity rate is 7.06 percent.
The state recorded 167 additional COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 33,224 since March.
Statewide hospitalizations stand at 9,236, an increase of 368 over the previous day. Across New York there have been 1,233,507 positive coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the state tracker.
As of Tuesday, 1,190,150 people have been vaccinated.
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Here are the latest updates on Jan. 20
While much has been reported on the United Kingdom strain of the COVID virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now warning residents of new strains deriving from South Africa and Brazil. Like the U.K variant, health officials say they are more transmissible but won’t make you sicker.
“We are seeing new strains of the virus from the UK, South Africa and Brazil that could spark a second wave,” Cuomo said. “New York has used our experience from the spring to prepare our hospitals and our residents as we continue to fight this invisible enemy.”
To date, there are 18 confirmed cases of the U.K. variant in New York State, with one confirmed case in Westchester County. Latimer said the case was discovered in northern Westchester, adding the county is working to ensure there are no signs of any community spread.
Westchester Active Coronavirus Cases by Municipality
Here are the active cases by municipality in Westchester as of Tuesday. 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 – 159
- Briarcliff Manor – 79
- Bronxville – 68
- Buchanan – 46
- Cortlandt – 420
- Croton-on-Hudson – 72
- Dobbs Ferry – 104
- Eastchester – 210
- Elmsford – 64
- Greenburgh – 461
- Harrison – 258
- Hastings-on-Hudson – 70
- Irvington – 41
- Larchmont – 51
- Lewisboro – 69
- Mamaroneck Town – 120
- Mamaroneck Village – 251
- Mount Kisco – 126
- Mount Pleasant – 224
- Mount Vernon – 769
- New Castle – 140
- New Rochelle – 912
- North Castle – 107
- North Salem – 54
- Ossining Town – 51
- Ossining Village – 467
- Peekskill – 437
- Pelham – 67
- Pelham Manor – 58
- Pleasantville – 75
- Port Chester – 435
- Pound Ridge – 30
- Rye Brook – 95
- Rye City – 147
- Scarsdale – 93
- Sleepy Hollow – 174
- Somers – 229
- Tarrytown – 194
- Tuckahoe – 80
- White Plains – 666
- Yonkers – 2,783
- Yorktown – 461
