Westchester Active Coronavirus Cases Exceed 8,400

White Plains NY

10 December, 2020

7:42 PM

Description

WHITE PLAINS, NY — The number of active cases of the new coronavirus in Westchester County continues to spike. At his Thursday news conference, County Executive George Latimer said the county has seen a steady increase in numbers over the past eight weeks. He said, based on numbers released Wednesday, that there were 8,408 active cases of the virus, with 56,372 confirmed positive cases to date. The active cases are up 250 from Tuesday's numbers, Latimer said. Hospitalizations due to COVID-19-related illnesses are also continuing to increase. As of Tuesday, there were 359 people hospitalized in Westchester, Latimer said, up from 275 last week and 207 from two weeks ago. He said that five weeks ago there were only 50 people in hospitals. There have been 1,545 fatalities in the county since the beginning of the pandemic, Latimer said. While the numbers do not match the peak period from the spring, he said it was on the increase. As an example, there was a two-month stretch over the summer where only 11 people died and there have been 25 deaths over the past week. Latimer said, in general, the rise in infections will cause a rise in hospitalizations which will, in turn, cause a rise in deaths. "What it does mean for you and I," he said, "you must wear a mask." Some people will think that it infringes on their rights or prevents them from being able to communicate well, Latimer said. "All of those things are not relevant to the disease," he said. "If you choose not to wear a mask you are flying in the face of reason and science. "At least admit it," Latimer said. "Don't try to justify it by something you read on the internet." In the question and answer period of the news conference, he was asked whether the county was seeing the post-Thanksgiving surge. Latimer said, even though there is a constant rise happening, the county is a few days short of seeing whether this is a result of Thanksgiving gatherings. He anticipates knowing more by the end of the weekend or the beginning of next week. Here is the map of total confirmed and active cases of the new coronavirus broken down by communities. (Westchester County)