Coronavirus Updates for Dec. 4: Peekskill Reports Highest Test Positivity Rates Statewide, Death Toll Grows

Cases of the coronavirus increased by 628 in Westchester County on Thursday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 52,418 since the start of the pandemic.

The county reported five more deaths, resulting in a total of 1,525 COVID-19-releated fatalities since March, according to the state tracker. Ten people have died from coronavirus this week, with 42 deaths accounted for last month.

Westchester now has 6,746 active coronavirus cases, state data shows. The daily positive infection rate is 5.26 percent, a number that is based on 11,945 tests administered on Thursday, the third highest daily testing rate the county has seen since March.

As of Saturday, there were 244 virus patients in Westchester hospitals.

Putnam County’s total caseload has reached 3,038, according to the state, with 65 additional positive cases recorded on Thursday. The county’s daily positivity rate is 6.76 percent of 962 tests, state data shows, with 705 active cases.

There have been 64 coronavirus-related deaths in Putnam. No new deaths were reported on Thursday.

Statewide there were 9,855 new positive cases on Thursday, an 882 increase over the previous day, according to the state tracker. The daily positivity rate is now 4.84 percent.

The state recorded 61 additional COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the death toll to 26,995 since March.

Total hospitalizations are at 4,063, an increase of 139 over the previous day, according to state data. Across the state there has been a total of 674,093 positive coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Here are the latest updates on Dec. 4

Of the 29 areas labeled COVID-19 hotspots throughout New York, Peekskill has the worst infection rates, state data shows, with Ossining reporting the second highest positivity rates.

On Thursday, the seven-day rolling average of those tested in Peekskill was 10.10 percent, with Ossining 9.77 percent. While Ossining’s rolling average has steadily decreased in recent days, Peekskill has jumped from 9.57 on Wednesday.

Port Chester, which is the third highest infected municipality in colored zones statewide, has reported a seven-day rolling average of 8.58 percent, a number that has remained relatively consistent in recent days.

Currently, portions of Ossining, Peekskill, Tarrytown, Yonkers, and New Rochelle are designated a COVID-19 yellow zone. Port Chester is still in an orange warning zone.

The zoning designation is part of a three-tiered, color-coded system imposed by the state to reduce high infection rates and target micro-clusters. If labeled a hotspot, with yellow the lowest and red the highest, additional restrictions are implemented to mitigate the virus’ spread.

Tarrytown, Yonkers, and New Rochelle reported lower infection rates on Thursday compared to earlier this week.

Tarrytown has a seven-day average of 4.56 percent, with Yonkers reporting 4.69 percent. New Rochelle’s percent positive rate is 5.77 percent, a drop from 6.33 percent on Wednesday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday plans to sign an executive order that will expand eligibility for New York State’s COVID Rent Relief Program and reopen its application window. The program, which was created by the state legislature when it passed the Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020, has appropriated up to $100 million from the federal CARES Act to provide assistance to tenants who lost income due to the pandemic.

School News & Closures 

School Closures

• Peekskill City School District will close and shift to virtual learning through Jan. 4.
• All students in 6 East, Hybrid One and Two at Fox Lane Middle School will learn remotely at home through Dec. 15th.
• Ossining High School will be fully remote for the rest of the week.
• Somers Intermediate School will provide remote learning for Grade 5 through Dec. 7 due to a number of teachers and staff in quarantine.
• Kent Primary School will be fully remote through Dec. 8.

Westchester Active Coronavirus Cases by Municipality 

Here are the active cases by municipality in Westchester as of Thursday. 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 – 28
• Bedford – 116
• Briarcliff Manor – 48
• Bronxville – 30
• Buchanan – 10
• Cortlandt – 146
• Croton-on-Hudson – 33
• Dobbs Ferry – 46
• Eastchester – 141
• Elmsford – 48
• Greenburgh – 208
• Harrison – 143
• Hastings-on-Hudson – 20
• Irvington – 24
• Larchmont – 21
• Lewisboro – 77
• Mamaroneck Town – 38
• Mamaroneck Village – 158
• Mount Kisco – 126
• Mount Pleasant – 105
• Mount Vernon – 327
• New Castle – 51
• New Rochelle – 533
• North Castle – 56
• North Salem – 38
• Ossining Town – 15
• Ossining Village – 281
• Peekskill – 195
• Pelham – 42
• Pelham Manor – 26
• Pleasantville – 39
• Port Chester – 241
• Pound Ridge – 17
• Rye Brook – 57
• Rye City – 91
• Scarsdale – 46
• Sleepy Hollow – 88
• Somers – 92
• Tarrytown – 70
• Tuckahoe – 16
• White Plains – 304
• Yonkers – 1,040
• Yorktown – 174

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.