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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators. April 19, 2020:
On Friday, the Board of Legislators passed a measure authorizing towns in Westchester County to slash penalties by as much as 80% for late payments of county and town property taxes through July 15 of this year.
The approved measure applies to towns and not cities in Westchester, because the towns fall under a county law which is being changed. Cities do not fall under the same law and must take their own, separate actions on penalties, if they so desire.
The newly-passed measure authorizes towns to reduce the penalties they collect by 75% for taxes paid from May 1 – May 31 – to 0.5% from 2%. It reduces late-payment penalties by 80% for taxes paid from June 1- July 15 — to 1% from 5%.
The penalty-reduction measure passed by a bi-partisan vote of 14-3.
Town and county property taxes and assessments are due April 30. That date is set by state law and cannot be changed by county law.
The penalty-reduction plan was developed with and supported by a majority of Westchester’s Town Supervisors. It gives town governments which collect the taxes the ability to reduce the burden on taxpayers struggling during the COVID-19 epidemic, while ensuring that they have a program which they can manage for all taxpayers.
Towns may opt out of the penalty-reduction measure.
Board Chair Ben Boykin (D- White Plains, Scarsdale, Harrison), said, “This is a public health and an economic emergency that has touched every corner of this County. I’m grateful that we’ve been able to act to provide relief to taxpayers in our towns in a way that will also allow us to continue to provide essential services.”
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS GOVERNOR CUOMO BRIEFING REPORTBy John F. Bailey. April 18, 2020 UPDATED WITH VIDEO 3 PM:
The Federal Government controls whether New York State can double ability to test for coronavirus infections to control the pandemic effectively after New York “reopens.” This deserves to be repeated:
The Federal Government controls whether New York State can double its state labs capacity to test for coronavirus infections to control the pandemic with success after New York reopens.
GOVERNOR CUOMO REPORTED LABS ANALYZING TESTS IN NEW YORK STATE CONFIRMED THE LABS NEEDED SUBSTANTIALLY MORE ESSENTIAL REAGENT CHEMICALS FOR COVID-19 TEST ANALYSIS. MANY SAID THEY CAN DOUBLE TESTING CAPACITY IN A DAY IF THEY HAD THE CHEMICALS THE DISTRIBUTION OF WHICH IS CONTROLLED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH MANUFACTURERS. (Albany Feed)
The reagents “react” when exposed to the coronavirus testing samples showing the person is Covid-19 positive or negative.
These essential reagents are needed in greater supply to ramp up testing to the 2,000,000 tests a day level (the scale Governor Cuomo believes is needed for testing persons to assure a successful reopening is not compromised by infected persons coming back into work without knowing they have the virus.
The distribution of those essentials to analyze the tests and what companies get them is controlled by the federal government in Washington. (The Governor has consistently maintained that without aggressive greatly escalated testing, any reopening could quickly send COVID-19 new infections exploding again.)
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in his briefing today reported he had his staff call 50 companies that conduct analysis of coronavirus testing samples in New York State to find out how how they could analyze a volume of 2 million test samples a day.
In written quotes posted on televison today (See video above), the Lab companies shown contacted all wrote they needed an extreme increase in supply of the reactants required to analyze the tests at a 2,000,000 a day level.
The conclusion implied : if the federal government holds back the reagents or does not assure a supply enough to a state, any reopening could fail and create a whole city in coronavirus lockdown, facemasked and social distancing again very quickly.
Previously the Governor had touched on the supply needs of increased testing referring to swabs, antibody testing, fingerprick blood tests, and needs for reagents. The state staff explored with the 301 labs in New York State and found that reagent supply is controlled by the federal government, which controls where they go from the manufacturers, what states get them.
The Governor speaking with one of his daughters recently asked him what is all about this testing (not a direct quote). The governor realized he needed to make the need for testing clearer, why it had to ramp up substanially in reopening, and what had to be done to ramp it up and what was the problem.
His staff found out by asking. Previously the governor had mentioned that the reagents come from China. Today he shared what the labs told them: the federal government rations the reagents out.
No reporter in the news conference asked the Governor whether the federal government has an adequate supply of reagents in a stock pile; whether the reagents could be knocked off generically by pharmaceutical companies, to ease the supply or whether the federal government would direct the reagents they have to the states that request them or hold them back and why. Yesterday Governor Cuomo said the President did not want to do more testing because it was hard to do.
The governor focused on testing because the infection rate of new cases continued to hover at 2,000 new cases a day that has been consistent since mid-march. as he explained in the above video as well as the necessity for substanial more testing AFTER the Reopening begins, implying if the reopening proceeds without at least 2 million tests a day, it would be compromised and perhaps fail. (Video Feed)
The Governor said the Apex of the curve continued to flatten and the new case rate remained steady. He is concerned and so explained the fact nobody knew until today: the federal government controls the supply of the reactant chemicals needed to identify and isolate population that don’t know they have the virus and are returning to work.
The deaths Friday from Covid-19 numbered 540. The Hospitalization rate was down. The intubation rate (converting patients to ventilators) continued to go down.
In the news conference, the governor turned aside a question asking if the governor felt nursing homes were negligent in their care, resulting in the deaths of so many nursing home residents. The governor said no, that he felt the nursing homes were just “overwhelmed. Staff are getting sick. Residents are dying,” the governor explained about lagging nursing home reports and failure to respond. He said when complaints are made about nursing homes not providing information to relatives of a person in their care, the state calls the home.
The Governor did say that persons could get marriage licenses and tests online and could get married by video ceremony.
Asked about prisoners being released from prision terms, Melissa DeRosa Secretary to the Governor, said only prisoners with 90 days of their sentences remaining were being released to avoid exposure to Covid-19. The release affects 200 inmates
The Governor confirmed 7,090 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 236,732 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 236,732 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows (surrounding counties in bold face)::
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From Governor Cuomo’s Press Office. April 18, 2020:
Dear New Yorker
As a result of our collective actions we are starting to see the total hospitalization numbers go down as the curve begins to steadily flatten. Everything we have done so far in response to this crisis has shown that together, we can control the beast that is this virus — but it’s not over yet.
We had approximately 2,000 new COVID hospitalizations Thursday.
That is a harsh reality check for anyone who thinks that the pandemic is passing. This is still a very serious health crisis — and so we need to stay the course until the time we can move forward in safety and with protections to the public health while beginning to reopen the economy.
Here’s what else you need to know this morning:
1. Starting last night at 8 PM, if you are in a public space where social distancing is not possible, you MUST cover your mouth and nose. This week I issued an Executive Order requiring all people in New York to wear a mask or a face covering when out in public and in situations where social distancing cannot be maintained, such as on public transportation.
2. I will issue an Executive Order directing all public and private labs in New York to coordinate with the State Department of Health to prioritize Coronavirus diagnostic testing.
A key component to “un-pause” New York is ramping up the state’s testing capacity. The Executive Order will help ensure the 301 laboratories and hospitals in the state that are licensed to perform virology testing operate in a coordinated way to help get us to the testing capacity we need.
3. In order for states to reopen, we need federal help.
I reiterate my call for the federal government to provide unrestricted funding to the states to help stabilize the economy and allow the states to perform reopening functions. The federal government has passed three bills to address this crisis, including the federal CARES Act, all of which contained no funding to offset drastic state revenue shortfalls related to this pandemic.
4. NYS is launching an awareness campaign to help ensure that New Yorkers who need it most claim their Economic Impact Payments under the CARES Act.
The CARES Act provides $1,200 payments to individuals making below $75,000 and $2,400 payments to married couples making below $150,000. Many taxpayers who filed 2018 or 2019 federal tax returns will receive them automatically into their bank account. Learn more on the Tax Department’s Economic Impact Payment information webpage. The Tax Department will also partner with other state agencies and local community organizations to do direct outreach to make sure New Yorkers in need can access their payments.
Today’s “Deep Breath Moment”: Because the COVID-19 pandemic has closed restaurants across the country, food providers are dealing with excess crops. To make sure their crops don’t go to waste, Cranney Farms in Idaho is giving away 2 million potatoes on a first-come, first-served basis.
Individuals are stopping by the farm on behalf of food banks and soup kitchens to load up on potatoes. If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here.
Reiterates Call for Federal Government to Provide Unrestricted Funding to States
Confirms 7,358 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to 229,642; New Cases in 50 Counties
WPCNR CORONA VIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. April 17, 2020:
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced he will issue an Executive Order directing all public and private labs in New York to coordinate with the State Department of Health to prioritize coronavirus diagnostic testing.
This action is part of the State’s efforts to ramp up testing, a key component of the Governor’s blueprint to un-Pause New York. The Executive Order will help ensure the 301 laboratories and hospitals in the state that are licensed to perform virology operate in a coordinated fashion to overcome the testing challenges that every state in the nation is now facing.
The Governor also reiterated his call for the federal government to provide unrestricted funding to the states to help stabilize the economy and allow the states to perform reopening functions. The federal government has passed three bills to address this crisis, including the federal CARES Act, all of which contained zero funding to offset drastic state revenue shortfalls.
The Governor also launched an awareness campaign encouraging low-income New Yorkers to claim their Economic Impact Payments under the CARES Act. The Act provides $1,200 payments to individuals making below $75,000 and $2,400 payments to married couples making below $150,000.
However, taxpayers will only receive their payments automatically if they filed 2018 or 2019 federal tax returns. Because the federal filing threshold is roughly $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples, hundreds of thousands of the lowest income New Yorkers who are not required to file returns will not receive their payments unless they provide their information to the IRS.
To support the Governor’s awareness campaign, the Department of Taxation and Finance launched an Economic Impact Payment information: what you need to know web page and will do direct outreach to taxpayers who may not automatically receive the payments they’re owed. The Tax Department will also partner with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, NYS Division of Veterans’ Services, the Department of Labor and local community organizations to raise awareness and ensure action is taken by those who need this benefit most.
“As we work over the next several months to un-pause New York, the testing and tracing is going to be our guidepost,” Governor Cuomo said. “No state is currently capable of doing the large-scale COVID testing that is needed. We have 300 laboratories and hospitals across the state that do virology testing and we must coordinate them to become one system — like we did with the hospitals — to get our testing capacity where it needs to be. I am going to issue an Executive Order that says the Department of Health will coordinate all of these labs so we can ramp up testing and get more people back to work.”
Finally, the Governor confirmed 7,358 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 229,642 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 229,642 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS CUOMO REPORT. By John F. Bailey. April 17, 2020:
It was a “Q. & A” like no other.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo took the President of the
United States apart.
When asked his reaction to President Donald Trump’s statements, quoted by a reporter, that Governor Cuomo asked for more supplies, hospital construction that he didn’t need, Mr. Cuomo calmly laid out the facts for the President.
He said he, Cuomo, had followed the federal government projections as late as March 13, showing the Peter Navaro memo on the screen, declaring that “2.4 million to 21 million Americans would be hospitalized.”
In exacting, calm detail Governor Cuomo walked the President through the President’s administration predictions. He ended up his 15 minute analysis and rejection of the President’s statement that Mr. Cuomo’s coronavirus effort was always wanting more.
Mr. Cuomo called for the President, since his own CDC, Corona Virus Task Force, and Peter Navarro predictions were wrong, he should fire them.
The press room appeared in shock. Too shocked to ask to ask a question.
One reporter asked why the Governor said this. The Governor said “Because this is a pivotal moment. I don’t want to go through the race for testing materials as he went through in the search for ventilators.” He said I need two things, tests and state funding.
The President’s remarks and the Governor’s didactic, logical recitation of the progression of dire government forecasts, resounded word by word like pindrop after pindrop after pindrop , each weighing a ton, exploding in the carpeted Red Room.
It was in sharp contrast to the good news the Governor shared at the top of the meeting.
The apex of the coronavirus continued on the way down overnight.
The Governor was still concerned about the continuing average of 2,000 new cases a day. The Governor urged people to “Learn from this” and move ahead to better ways of working when businesses recover.
He announced an effort to coordinate efforts of the
state’s testing labs to work as a team in processing coronavirus tests that
would be similar to the way he and his team organized the Coronavirus
Coordination Center in Albany that allocated resources and patient movement
between the states hospitals.
He announced a new executive order mandating nursing homes to provide information on coronavirus infectees to persons with loved ones in those homes calling in concern. Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor said nursing homes across the state have not been complying and that was the reason for the executive order coming.
The governor Cuomo analysis of the President’s remarks, was an amazing unexpected event.
I was reminded of Sportscaster Jack Buck’s description of Kirk Gibson’s 2-run pinch hit winning homer with 2 out in the 9th in the First Game of the 1988 World Series, against the Swingin’ A’a that when Mr. Buck in awe, as Kirk Gibson fist-pumping jogged around the bases, in wonder yelled, “I don’t believe what I just saw!”
Fairfield County is currently the center of the COVID-19 outbreak in Connecticut. Stamford Health is at the frontline of this unfolding COVID-19 crisis caring for our family, friends and neighbors who are contending with this incredibly infectious disease.
On behalf of Stamford Health, Westfair would like to ask for your immediate help With their frontline health care workers at the hospital around the clock and often unable to go home or get to a store, they would appreciate any donation of the following items: Food Essentials
Canned foods (beans, tomatoes, pasta sauce, tuna, soup, fruits)
Bottled water
Non-Food Essentials
Toilet paper
Paper towels
Tissues
Shampoo
Body wash
Hand soap, sanitizers, and disinfectants
Laundry detergent, dish detergent & soap
If you would like to donate, please contact Chris Riendeau or Andy Bissellee of Stamford Hospital Foundation and they will make arrangements for pick-up or delivery. Chris Riendeau – 203-276-5977 or criendeau@stamhealth.orgAndy Bisselle – 203-276-2533 or abisselle@stamhealth.org Donations can also be made at a safe and secure, curbside drop-off zone located at Stamford Health’s Tully Health Center – 32 Strawberry Hill Ct. Volunteer staff will be available to accept donations Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Please note that items should be in their original, unopened packaging. On behalf of everyone at Stamford Health, thank you. Sincerely,Chris Riendeau
GOVERNOR CUOMO DEMONSTRATED THE ESSENCE OF WHY NEW YORKERS SHOULD CONTINUE SOCIAL DISTANCING, WEAR MANDATORY MASKS IN PUBLIC — SHOWING THE EXPONENTIAL EFFECT OF ONE CORONAVIRUS INFECTED PERSON GIVING THE VIRUS TO 1 PERSON OR 2 PERSONS, COMPARING IT TO WORLD WIDE OUTBREAKS. CURRENTLY NEW YORK HAS LOWERED THE INFECTION RATE TO .90 PERSONS AND HE IMPLORED NEW YORKERS TO MASK UP AND KEEP LOWERING IT AT HIS NEWS CONFERENCE TODAY. (Albany Feed)
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS CUOMO REPORT. By John F. Bailey. April 16, 2020 UPDATED 3:30 PM EDT WITH DETAILED VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS UPDATED WITH CASES BY COUNTY 5:45 PM EDT
NEW! CASES OF CORONAVIRUS IN WESTCHESTER BY COMMUNITY PUBLISHED 9:15 PM EDT
Governor Andrew Cuomo showed New Yorkers in graphically dramatic terms by comparing New York current infection rates today to the infection rates that other major outbreaks had and emphasizing how slim the margin of error, the edge that New York going ahead to keep the infection rate down.
He noted in the video leading this article that if a coronavirus infected person infected 1 other person, the infection rate will rise, and if that one infected person infected two other persons, New York will see more outbreaks and relive the entire experience of the last 45 days, with closures and distancing rules put back in place.
The governor said that reasons so many experts were wrong in their estimates of number of infections and deaths prepared for New York were because they used the usual infection rates. The governor pounded home the message that New Yorkers understood the facts of the disease and chose to comply with the state efforts to control the spread of the disease.
He extended the current NY Pause strategy through May 15, at which time he said he would look at the data to decide whether or not to proceed with a reopening.
He explained that testing figures provide a false positive in that the number of people tested are people who think they may have coronavirus, pointing out that “the more you test, the more cases you have.” The only real measure of the growth of the disease is the hospitalization rate that measures the number of persons actually sick enough to require being into the hospital.
INFECTION RATE IS EVERYTHING. GOVERNOR CUOMO ON KNOWING YOUR INFECTION RATE AND WHAT IT MEANS.
The Governor detailed issues, he feels businesses have to address before and after any reopening. Continuing his advisory yesterday on how businesses would reopen. In the video below he gives a rundown on situations to address as they reopen:
INSIGHTS ON ISSUES BUSINESSES NEED TO LOOK AT AS THEY PREPARE TO REOPEN
In the “Q & A” session afterwards, the governor set up a new format for answering questions, selecting a different reporter in random sequence and not by the loudest voice.
In that “Q & A,” the Governor said the state had lost 7.5 Billion (an estimated $10-15 Billion) in revenues and the state was not in a position to help cities, towns, and counties with shortfalls, saying “We cannot do it. We’re not in position to help anyone.”
He criticized congress and said he has made the New York delegation aware of the need to address the need for more aid to states. “They tell me well we have to get to ‘yes,’ but you’re not helping the country. It doesn’t matter if you get to ‘yes’ and don’t help the country.”
The Governor criticized the New York Times for inaccurately reporting that unexplained causes of death in nursing homes added to the death total this week when Mayor DeBlasio of New York City commented on the unexplained deaths. Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the governor said the these were deaths attributed as probably due to the coronavirus which made complications the “probables” had worse. The New York State Commissioner of Health Howard Zuckerman explained the role the coronavirus often causes organ shutdowns in persons with previous conditions.
The Governor said New York State is sending 100 ventilators to the state of New Jersey, which has not reached the apex stage of its coronavirus growth.
Melissa DeRosa said the unemployment claims processing at the New York Department of Labor, after one week of a new call-in policy in effect had processed 925,600 applications of 1.2 million applications in 5 weeks. She said all last year the state had received 300,000 applications. She attributed the remain applications to awaiting verification of items left off the application.
THIS JUST IN AT 9 PM FROM WESTCHESTER : CURRENT COUNT OF CORONAVIRUS CASES BY COMMUNITY IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY.
The Governor reported 606 deaths were reported from coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the number of persons who have died in New York State to 11,977.
He confirmed 8,505 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to222,284
The following is the current count of coronavirus counts by County (Metropolitan New York counties in bold):
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From the Governor Cuomo Press Office. April 16, 2020:
Wednesday night, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time to discuss New York’s ongoing effort to combat the corona virus. The program revealed that apparently the Federal Government at this time is unwilling to fund the amount of money to pay for increasing the ability of private labs to process an exponential volume of tests. Here is that discussion:
Governor Cuomo: That’s a legitimate issue. I knew you would get to one sooner or later. Look, the way I think of it is, when is it over, over? It’s over, over when you have a vaccine. Then people know the virus is dead. That’s 12 to 18 months, so the question is how do you get from here to 12 to 18 months? Well, maybe they’ll come up with a medical treatment, convalescent plasma, et cetera. Yeah, maybe. Otherwise, we have to get from here to 12 months, 18 months. We have to start to phase in the opening of the economy while we’re watching the public health consequences and the number of hospitalizations, et cetera.
Testing is the best mechanism for you to get through this 12 to 18 months. Now, why doesn’t the President want to go near testing? Because testing is a quagmire. No one can do it. No one can bring it up to scale quickly. It is very complicated. I have spent days and days on this. Government doesn’t really do testing, it’s really a private lab function. To now take testing and ramp it up to where you have to bring it, Chris, is an impossibility.
Chris Cuomo:Help me understand, because when people hear you say, “nobody can do it,” why? Why is it so hard? Is it about not having enough tests? Not enough people? Not enough labs? Why can’t America do it when we can do everything?
Governor Cuomo: It’s all of the above. It’s all of the above. Can we do it? Yes. Can you do it in one month? Well, no. So everybody’s reaction is hands off because this is now going to be the blame game. Well, there wasn’t enough testing. Who’s to blame? That’s why the President said 11 times, after I said 11 times, the states can’t do the test. You’ve never heard me say, “I’m not capable. I give up.” I don’t like to say it. It’s not who I am, it’s not what I believe. I said it because I want to make sure we’re clear: I can’t do it. I can’t bring it to scale. This gets very complicated. It was all of the above. They don’t have enough manufacturing equipment, they don’t have enough vials, they don’t have enough swabs, they don’t have enough machines. The private labs don’t have the capacity. They need testing agents that don’t even come from this country. There’s a whole international supply chain to this.
To grab hold of this is very problematic and we just went through this situation of how do we build ventilators in 14 days. That turned out to be very complicated. This testing is now what ventilators was in this new phase. I said I can’t do it. President said the states must do it. The states are saying, “we can’t.” This has to be justified, this dispute. It’s not even a dispute. The truth is nobody can do it well. You can’t bring that industry to this volume, this scale, nationwide. We can’t have 50 states – what’s happening now, is I’m competing against all the other states for those private sector companies that have some capacity.
I’m trying to buy tests. I called Governor Pritzker. There’s a company in his state that does these tests and they’re one of the leading companies. I said, “How do we do this? I don’t want to compete with you.” But every state is now competing and the federal government. This is madness. We did this with ventilators. It can’t be 50 states scrambling and bidding for the same product from the same 10 companies in the country. It can’t be.
