WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR CORONA VIRUS REPORT From Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. April 7, 2020:

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner issued an Emergency order earlier imposing health and safety requirements on all grocery stores (supermarkets) and pharmacies located within the town of Greenburgh.  

The law applies to businesses other than restaurants which have more than 1,000 square feet of space in which food is sold to the public (other than restaurants.  At the special Town Board work session on April 7th at 6:30 PM the Town Board unanimously approved a resolution support the emergency order.

     (a) establish at least one hour a day during which the store is open only to customers over 60 years of age who do not exhibit COVID-19 health conditions; 

     (b) limit the number of customers allowed in the store at any one time to a reasonable number, given the size of the store, to accommodate the CDC-recommended 6 foot physical distancing; 

    (c) mark six-foot distancing lines outside the entrance to the store and at check-out counters, provide sufficient personnel to remind customers to observe such markings, and provide appropriate signage of the distance markings;    

    (d) provide hand sanitizers and/or fresh, unused gloves and, if available, face masks for each employee each day, and require them to be used while working, and post COVID-19 health safety guidelines, including re hand washing, for employees; 

    (e) provide either fresh, unused gloves or sanitizing wipes to customers prior to entering the store;

    (f) if the store has carts for customer use, wipe the cart handles between use by different customers; 

and 

    (g) provide a receptacle at all exits outside the store for the disposal of gloves and masks, labelled “used masks and gloves”, and, if feasible, establish one-way aisles inside the store and separate entrances/exits for customers.

         The Police Department and Building Department are authorized to enforce this Local Emergency Order 1.1 in the following manner:   

For the first violation, the Police or Building Department shall issue a Notice of Violation.   For any subsequent violations, the Police or Building Department shall issue a Summons alleging a Class B misdemeanor as provided in Section 24(5) of the New York State Executive Law.    The Town shall cause the names of those businesses to be posted on the Town website, which posting shall remain until the Chief of Police or Building Commissioner determines that the violation has been rectified.

      This Local Emergency Order 1.1 shall become effective at 6:00 am, Friday, April 10, 2020.  The statute orders have to be renewed or amended or extended every five days.

       Given (a) the recent CDC research indicating that the vast majority of transmissions of the COVID-19 virus occur from symptomatic individuals, (b) the temperature-taking safety practice instituted by the retailers WalMart and Sam’s Club, and (c) the New York policy of responsibility of not exposing others to the COVID-19 virus,  Notice is hereby given that it is my present intent, if I determine circumstances require this Order to be extended, to provide in the extended Order that grocery stores and pharmacies adopt the safety practice of non-invasive temperature taking of employees upon arrival at work and not allowing any individual with a temperature higher than the CDC guideline of 100.4F/38C to work.   Notice is also given that Supervisor Feiner is additionally considering providing in the extended Order that grocery stores and pharmacies use non-invasive devices to take the temperatures of customers before they enter the store.   He welcomes input on these safety practices, or alternative safety measures, from grocery stores and pharmacies and from residents.

      I plan to contact the Governor’s office and Health departments and will likely require the non invasive temperature requirement next week when the order is extended unless I receive written notification from them that this cannot be done.

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Office. April 6, 2020:

South Beach Psychiatric Center in Staten Island & Brooklyn Center Temporary Hospital at 170 Buffalo Avenue Will Open This Week Specifically for COVID-19 Patients

Governor Cuomo:

“One of the reasons the rate of infection is going down is because social distancing is working. We have to continue the social distancing. Schools and non-essential businesses will stay closed until April 29. I know that’s a negative for many, many reasons. I know what it does to the economy. But as I said from day one I’m not going to choose between public health and economic activity because in either event public health still demands that we stay on pause with businesses closed and schools closed.”

Cuomo: “I’m going to call the president this afternoon and ask him to shift the Comfort from non-COVID to COVID. … That is the only way we sustain this level of intensity in the hospital system. I understand what the original plan was with the Comfort, but I understand that there is no preordained strategy here. You have to feel it out day to day and you have to adjust with the facts. We do not need the Comfort for non-COVID cases. We need it for COVID.”

Earlier today, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced all NYS on Pause functions will be extended for an additional two weeks. The Governor also directed schools and nonessential businesses to stay closed for an additional two weeks through April 29th. The state will re-evaluate after this additional two-week period.

Governor Cuomo also announced the state is increasing the maximum fine for violations of the state’s social distancing protocol from $500 to $1,000 to help address the lack of adherence to social distancing protocols. The Governor reminded localities that they have the authority to enforce the protocols.

The Governor today is asking the federal government to allow the USNS Comfort hospital ship to be used for COVID-19 patients. President Trump has already granted the Governor’s request for the Javits temporary hospital facility to be used for only COVID-19 positive patients, and the addition of the USNS Comfort would help relieve pressure on the state’s hospital system with an addition of 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients.

The Governor also announced that 802 ventilators have been distributed downstate through the state’s “surge and flex” system where all hospital systems are working together as one and sharing supplies, equipment and staff. Of the 802 ventilators, 38 were deployed to Rockland County, 36 were deployed to Westchester County, 505 were deployed to New York City and 223 were deployed to Long Island.

Governor Cuomo also announced the creation of the First Responders Fund to assist COVID-19 health care workers and first responders with expenses and costs, including child care. The State Department of Health is accepting donations for the fund, and Blackstone is making an anchor $10 million contribution to the fund. Donations can be made electronically at https://www.healthresearch.org/donation-form/ or by check sent to below address. Donors should specify the donation is for “COVID-19 NYS Emergency Response.” c/o Health Research, Inc., 150 Broadway, Suite 560, Menands, NY 12204

The Governor also announced that the state is partnering with Headspace, a global leader in mindfulness and meditation, to offer free meditation and mindfulness content for all New Yorkers as a mental health resource for residents coping with the unprecedented public health crisis. New Yorkers can access a collection of science-backed, evidence-based guided meditations, along with at-home mindful workouts, sleep and kids content to help address rising stress and anxiety at www.headspace.com/ny.

Finally, the Governor confirmed 8,658 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 130,689 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 130,689 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

(FROM WPCNR: Westchester cases now number 14,294, increasing 4% Overnight, 642 cases more than yesterday (13,723) a drop of 1% in the day to-day rate of increase.

New York City cases increased 4,630 to 72,181, an increase of 6.85 overnight statistically the same day to day increase rate as yesterday.

NASSAU COUNTY increased 1,218 to 15,616 cases, an 8.4% overnight increase compared to 7.8% overnight Saturday.

SUFFOLK COUNTY increased 1,082 cases overnight to 13,487 , a 8.7% overnight increase, compared to 9.1% Saturday to Sunday.

ROCKLAND went up 377 to 5,703 from 5,326 Sunday, a 7% increase overnight compared to 9.3%–so that county is slowing down.

ORANGE increased cases to 3,387, up 295 cases, overnight increase rate: 9.5%

PUTNAM has 345 cases, with 31 more from Sunday, increasing at a 9.8%

ULSTER went up 40 cases to 372–increasing 12%

DUTCHESS has 1,189 cases, up 112, a 10.3% increase day to day.