More than 4,000 Brooklynites have died from the novel coronavirus since the beginning of the virus’ outbreak in mid-March — making Kings County the deadliest county for COVID-19 in the state.
A quarter of New York state’s confirmed COVID-19 deaths has occurred in Brooklyn, state data shows.
The high number of fatalities comes as Brooklyn nursing homes and psychiatric group homes report overwhelming COVID-19 cases and a concerning lack of personal protective gear. The Cobble Hill Nursing Home reported 55 deaths on April 20 — more than any other nursing home in the state.
In total, Brooklyn houses more than 44,200 COVID-19 patients, the second highest number in the state behind Queens’ 50,741 cases. Queens, however, has witnessed a couple dozen fewer deaths than Brooklyn as of April 28.
The high death toll comes as the number of citywide COVID-19 cases have begun to trend downward. On April 6, about 1,000 New York City residents tested positive for the virus — a significant decrease since the virus’ peak on April 6 of more than new 6,000 cases, according to city data. City hospital admissions have also decreased to fewer than 200 per day, reaching a rate that signals the worst is over, city health officials say.
To combat the virus’ spread, Mayor Bill de Blasio has continued enforcing social distancing guidelines, and the state extended its stay-at-home order until at least May 15, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced. The city has also rolled out additional COVID-19 testing in minority neighborhoods, which have been most heavily affected by the virus, and introduced self-swab testing and tracing programs to minimize the disease’s spread.
