Coronavirus Updates for Dec. 20: Active Cases in Westchester County, Putnam Continue to Decrease; Death Toll Grows

Cases of the coronavirus increased by 578 in Westchester County on Saturday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 62,405 since the start of the pandemic.

The county reported more six deaths, resulting in a total of 1,600 COVID-19-releated fatalities since March, according to the state tracker. This week 42 people have died from the virus, according to state data.

There are currently 8,281 active cases, another slight decrease from the previous day, with the daily test positivity rate 6.10 percent. That percentage is based on 9,478 tests taken on Friday, state data shows. Overall, there have been over 1.3 million COVID-19 tests administered in Westchester since March.

As of Thursday, there were about 360 virus patients in Westchester hospitals.

Putnam County’s total caseload has reached 4,077, according to the state, with 42 additional positive cases recorded on Saturday. The county’s daily positivity rate is 6.27 percent, with 670 tests administered Friday, state data shows.

Putnam County currently has 844 active cases, another slight decrease over the previous day.

There have been 66 coronavirus-related deaths in Putnam. No new deaths were reported on Saturday.

Statewide there were 9,919 new positive cases on Friday, according to the state tracker. The daily positivity rate is now 5.18 percent.

The state recorded 127 additional COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 28,474 since March.

Total hospitalizations are at 6,208, an increase of 127 over the previous day, according to state data. Across the state there has been a total of 838,085 positive coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Here are the latest updates on Dec. 20

As Westchester County continues to experience a surge in coronavirus cases, Northern Westchester Hospital will be offering free COVID-19 diagnostic tests to the public.

COVID-19 tests are available to community members at the facilities Center for Healthy Living, located at 480 Bedford Road in Chappaqua, next to Whole Foods. With maximum safety measures in place to prevent exposure, health officials are only requesting residents schedule an appointment prior to arrival.

No prescription will be required during the no-cost appointment, and results will be given within one to three days of taking the test.

Health officials are asking those to be aware of any symptoms relating to the virus, including fever, chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, or new loss of taste or smell. Other symptoms include, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

State law also requires those traveling out of the state for more than 24-hours to test for the virus upon their return. The mandate states travelers must obtain a test within three days of departure, prior to arrival in New York, and must, upon arrival to New York, quarantine for three days.

On day four of their quarantine, the traveler must obtain another COVID test. If both tests come back negative, the traveler may exit quarantine.

Click here to make an appointment or call the Center for Healthy Living at 914-223-1780.

School News & Business Closures 

Business Closures

• 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. Restaurants will reopen on March 15.

School Closures

• Somers Central School District will shift to remote learning Dec. 21 to Dec. 23.
• Ossining Union Free School District will be fully remote Monday and Tuesday.
• Carmel Central School District will transition to remote learning through Jan. 8.
• Brewster Central School District will be on a remote learning schedule through 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.
• Mahopac Central School District will transition to virtual learning until January.
• Lakeland Central School District will shift to its fully remote model starting Thursday through Jan. 19.

*****Westchester County has suspended sharing the community breakdown map over the last number of days. Officials are currently trying to get additional and more accurate information to share, with the goal to have the map more closely align with the New York State Tracker. They are still working on trying to get correct and expand the data, and when they do map distribution will resume.

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.