10 Lifeguards at Long Island Beaches Test Positive for Coronavirus

Lifeguards that work at Smith Point and Cupsogue Beach in Suffolk County, New York, tested positive for COVID-19 and are now at home under quarantine

Photo: Astrid Riecken/Getty

Nearly a dozen lifeguards on Long Island have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

According to ABC 7, ten lifeguards that work at Smith Point and Cupsogue Beach in Suffolk County tested positive for COVID-19 and are now at home under quarantine.

Suffolk County officials said the lifeguards likely did not contract the virus while on-duty, but rather during gatherings with fellow lifeguards during off hours.

The lifeguards are among the 102 positive COVID-19 cases that the county recorded on Tuesday — the highest since May, per ABC 7.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone addressed the issue in a press conference on Tuesday.

"Defeating this virus is very much on my mind today because the numbers are moving in the wrong direction," Bellone, 50, said, according to ABC 7 and CBS NY. "In the last 24 hours, the number of new positive cases in Suffolk County has risen by 102. We now have 42,214 positive cases."

"This is the first time the number of new positive cases has risen above the 100 mark since March," Bellone added.

Astrid Riecken/Getty

During his press conference, Bellone also pointed out that 42 percent of positive COVID-19 cases in Suffolk County since June 24 are in young people.

"My message to these young people is to think again. The truth is this virus impacts all of us," he said.

But Bellone did share some good news for Suffolk County: For the third straight day, no COVID-19 related deaths were reported.

While New York was once a COVID-19 hot spot, the state "flattened the curve," according to Governor Cuomo, thanks in part to his strict shutdown of the state, particularly New York City.

On Sunday, NYC reported zero coronavirus deaths for the first time since the pandemic struck in March.

As of Wednesday afternoon, New York has at least 407,875 confirmed cases of coronavirus, while at least 32,092 people in the state have died, according to the New York Times' database.

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