Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that the federal government is sending a U.S. Navy floating hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, which has about 1,000 rooms, to New York Harbor to prevent a shortage of hospital beds during the coronavirus outbreak.
Both New York City and State are taking precautions to slow the spread of the virus, while trying to make sure that individuals are financially competent during the time of crisis.
There are 1,339 coronavirus cases in New York City alone as of earlier today, 586 of them being recent diagnoses. With easier access to testing, the number of New Yorkers testing positive for the novel coronavirus has been increasing drastically for the last couple of days. Numbers of COVID-19 related deaths increased to 20. There is a 23% rate of hospitalization among New Yorkers who tested positive for the virus.
Cuomo tweeted that the state is preparing for potential hospital staffing shortages during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are seeking recently retired health professionals as reserve staff if the need arises,” he tweeted. He also stated that the state reached out to all nursing, medical and public health schools to encourage qualified students and staff to sign up for on-call work during the pandemic. The governor mentioned last week that SUNY dorm rooms could be used as hospitals in this time of emergency.
Cuomo also succeeded in forming a coalition with governors from three neighboring states –New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to implement a regional approach to combatting COVID-19.
The four governors announced indoor portions of retail shopping malls, amusement parks and bowling alleys in the four states will close by 8 p.m., tomorrow, Thursday, March 19 – an expansion of the guidance that Cuomo, Murphy and Lamont issued from the tri-state area issued Monday.
The guidance – which Pennsylvania also adopted – limits crowd capacity for social and recreational gatherings to 50 people. The governors also announced restaurants and bars would close for on-premise service and move to take-out and delivery services only. The governors also temporarily closed movie theaters, gyms and casinos.
“We are doing everything we can as states to reduce density and contain the spread of the virus,” Cuomo said. “It is critical that we remain on the same page as our neighboring states, and so far we are the only region in the country partnering to create uniform, regional density reduction policies that prevent ‘state shopping.’ We will continue working together to update our regulations and guidance as the situation evolves while keeping a consistent standard across the region.”
Additionally, Cuomo issued orders that all local governments in the state must reduce their workforce by at least 50%, and non-essential state workers are working from home. Also, testing for COVID-19 is free for all eligible New Yorkers as ordered by a healthcare provider.
Finally, Cuomo announced yesterday that the state would suspend state debt collection, affecting student, medical and other state-referred debt for at least 30 days, starting March 17.
In the city, Mayor Bill De Blasio recently announced that all bars, restaurants and cafes will be limited to take-out and delivery, effective yesterday. Other public spaces like gyms are also closed until further notice.
In order to combat the increasing cost of necessary items in demand, “We’ve instituted a ban on price gouging on supplies needed in this crisis, including thermometers, sanitizing and baby wipes, paper towels, latex gloves, face masks, toilet paper and rubbing alcohol. Retailers will be fined for increasing the cost of those items by 10% or more,” Mayor De Blasio tweeted.
City Councilmembers Kalman Yeger (D-Borough Park, Bensonhurst, Midwood, Flatbush, Sunset Park) and Chaim Deutsch (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Homecrest, Midwood) sent a letter to De Blasio today asking for a break on water taxes for all New Yorkers during the coronavirus outbreak. Deutsch previously requested from the mayor to suspend alternate side parking regulations for one week, which began today.
And in a rare display of nonpartisan unity, Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge, Staten Island) authored a letter to de Blasio co-signed by her opponent in the upcoming Congressional race, U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Southern Brooklyn, Staten Island) and City Councilman Steve Matteo (R-Staten Island) requesting that the collection of property taxes and water bills be suspended until the COVID-19 crisis comes to an end or is stabilized.
ADDITIONAL UPDATES:
-On March 17, four Brooklyn Nets players – including Kevin Durant -tested positive for the novel COVID-19. The Nets and Barclays Center management also announced that it will continue to pay hourly employees at Barclays Center negatively affected by suspension of the NBA season and a state-wide ban on events with 500 people or more. The plan will cover the period from now until the end of May unless the events are rescheduled before that.
–Grab and Go breakfast and lunch are available at the entrance of all DOE school buildings. Any student can pick up breakfast and lunch from any building.
-Charter Communications has announced that it will “offer free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K–12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription at any service level up to 100 Mbps. Installation fees will be waived for new student households.” Toll-free number to make arrangements for installation: 1-844-488-8395.
