The number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Suffolk County rose by 111 in the past 24 hours, and the number of patients in hospitals and in intensive care units both decreased by six, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said at his daily briefing on Sunday.
There have been 39,643 cases in the county overall, and 13,953 people who had not been previously diagnosed with the virus have tested positive for antibodies. An additional nine people have died, bringing the total number of fatalities to 1,901.
Mr. Bellone spent a good portion of the briefing discussing the death of George Floyd, the black Minneapolis resident who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes, and the widespread protests that have erupted in the wake of the incident. Officials in many places, including New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, have described Mr. Floyd's death and the resulting protests as a national crisis.
There have been protests in the county, said Mr. Bellone, but they have all been peaceful. The Suffolk County Police Department has focused on building relationships in every community, he said, and officials have been attempting to root out systemic racism, particularly in the justice system.
Suffolk County Chief of Police Stuart Cameron, who participated in the briefing by telephone, said that the neck hold used by the Minneapolis police officer was not a maneuver that is authorized by the Suffolk County Police Department. The county police were "shocked" to see video footage of the incident, said Chief Cameron, and the force felt "aligned with the peaceful protesters."
"They took this job to help people, and not to hurt people in any way, shape, or form," Chief Cameron said.