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WHITE PLAINS WEEK THE OCT 21 COVID REPORT WHERE COVID IS GOING NOW AVAILABLE ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
GOVERNOR HOCHUL OPENS 148 UNIT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HOMELESS APARTMENTS IN THE BRONX
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Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams today announced the completion of a $62 million affordable housing development in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. The El Borinquen Residence creates 148 new affordable apartments, including 90 with on-site supportive services for people experiencing homelessness and 29 homes reserved for seniors.
“Affordable and supportive housing is a fundamental component to addressing homelessness across the state,” Governor Hochul said. “Building on the successful opening of the El Borinquen Residence, my administration is implementing our $25 billion, five-year housing plan that will allow us to continue to make important investments in communities like the Bronx. By increasing the supply of high-quality inclusive housing, we can ensure that New Yorkers have not only an affordable place to call home, but also access to the supportive services they need to thrive.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “With the completion of the El Borinquen Residence, more of our neighbors experiencing homelessness and mental illness will have a place they can call home. Our administration’s Housing Our Neighbors blueprint finally treats homelessness as a housing problem and we’re working to solve it with a housing solution, and supportive housing projects like El Borinquen are a critical part of making that solution reality. Thank you to our partners helping to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for the Bronx and New York City.”
The El Borinquen Residence complements Governor Hochul’s sweeping plans to make housing more affordable, equitable, and stable. In the FY 2023 State Budget, the Governor introduced and successfully secured a new $25 billion, five-year, comprehensive housing plan that will increase housing supply by creating or preserving 100,000 affordable homes across New York including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes.
The El Borinquen Residence consists of a single ten-story building with 148 apartments. The colorful streetside façade along Third Avenue was designed to pay tribute to the neighborhood’s Puerto Rican heritage.
90 apartments are reserved for formerly homeless adults and youth or young adults ageing out of foster care. These residents have access to rental subsidies and on-site services funded through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.
Supportive services include individual case management, mental health referrals, job readiness training and financial literacy workshops. Comunilife is the service provider, as well as the project’s developer.
In addition to the supportive units, 29 apartments are reserved for residents aged 62 and older with incomes at or below 30 percent of the Area Median Income. The remaining apartments are for households earning at or below 60 percent of the AMI.
Residential amenities include a community space for events, bike room, landscaped area on the ground floor, and a rooftop garden. The development is located within a mixed-use residential and commercial area with access to local amenities and within ten blocks of four subway lines.
State financing for the El Borinquen Residence includes$7.7 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds, Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that generated $23.2 million in equity and $14.3 million in subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development provided $14.2 million through the Supportive Housing Loan Program.
In the last five years, New York State Homes and Community Renewal has invested more than $1 billion to create or preserve nearly 7,500 affordable apartments in multifamily buildings in the Bronx.
COUNTY PROVIDES DETAILS ON MORE AIR PURIFIERS FOR WESTCHESTER SCHOOLS. NO “DASHBOARD” PLANNED FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS COVID CASES BY HEALTH DEPARTMENT. SCHOOL INFECTIONS INCLUDED IN NY STATE COVID TRACKER
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. October 20, 2022:
Last week, WPCNR asked for details on the Westchester County program to distribute over 3,600 air purifiers to 29 Westchester school districts. Carolyn Fortino, Deputy Director of the Department of Communications furnished further background in response to these WPCNR queries in this written statement:
WPCNR: Why did the county feel it was important to provide the air purifiers to 29 school districts of Westchester’s 41 districts?
Ms. Fortino: The County had remaining funds from the ELC Reopening Schools grant (meant to help districts stay safe and open for learning during the COVID-19 pandemic) and one of the allowable costs for that grant is portable air purifiers for classrooms.
While these machines eliminate 99.99% of COVID-19 particles from the air, the benefits of cleaning the air extend far beyond that. The units help to eliminate other virus, bacteria, mold, allergens, dust and VOCs from the air, thus improving air quality overall. The air purifiers are a sound investment to help keep classrooms safe and teachers and students healthy through COVID and beyond.
WPCNR: Were all school districts polled/analyzed by county, as to which districts needed the purifiers, and why did they need them — (i.e., failure to equip all their buildings with air purifiers for all rooms?
Ms. Fortino: Yes, this opportunity was made available to ALL public K-12 school districts. A memo outlining the program and a survey to opt into (or out of) the program was sent to all school districts, and follow up calls were attempted to any districts that had not responded to the survey by the deadline. The districts that are not receiving purifiers either opted out or did not respond to our communications.
WPCNR: Is the County Health Department directing all school districts in Westchester to report new covid cases among students, teachers, staff?
Ms. FORTINO: Reporting of suspected or confirmed communicable diseases is mandated under the New York State Sanitary Code (10NYCRR 2.10,2.14). COVID is one of the communicable diseases required to be reported to local health departments by school nurses.
WPCNR: (The State Education Dept in August said school districts no longer had to report new cases to the state as they did last year ). But does the County Health Department still require districts to do so?
Ms. Fortino: Yes.
WPCNR: If the County Health Department is collecting the new case data, when will they release the first figures on school district numbers of new infections compared to last year?
Ms. FORTINO: The County Health Department will not be creating a school dashboard. Since labs are a mandated reporter, lab confirmed cases of COVID will still be reflected in the NYS COVID tracker. In addition the widespread availability of OTC antigen tests, will make tracking COVID more challenging.
WPCNR: When will the purifiers be delivered?
Ms. Fortino: The vendor is working with each district one-on-one to arrange delivery dates. Almost 3,000 units have already shipped and will be delivered in the coming days. Another ~1,500 are expected to ship before the end of this week, and the remaining ~1,000 will likely ship the following week.
WPCNR: Are the purifiers installed in class rooms and self-contained, plug ins (easy to install) ?
Yes, these are floor units that are simply plugged into a regular outlet. The control buttons are behind a locked panel to avoid accidental tampering, and the machine has sensors to automatically adjust based on room occupancy, air quality, etc.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SENIOR PROGRAMS PUBLIC HEARING OCTOBER 26 AT WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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| en Español The Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services (DSPS) will hold its annual public hearing on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, from 9 a.m. to noon at Westchester Community College, Gateway Center in the Davis Auditorium, 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla, NY. The Department will unveil the 2023 update to the 2020-2024 four-year area plan on the use of proposed funds from the Older Americans Act, and the New York State Programs for the Elderly. The hearing provides a venue for individuals to learn about and speak out on concerns that affect Westchester County seniors and their families. We are asking speakers to identify the many benefits of services we provide to help older citizens maintain a healthy and dignified lifestyle. Registration is not required to attend or speak at the meeting. The plan will be distributed at the public hearing and is also available upon request. To request a copy of the plan, or for any other information or accommodations please contact Andrew Crawford at aqcq@westchestergov.com or call 914-813-6408. Written comments on the plan must be sent by Wednesday, November 9 to Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, 9 South First Avenue, 10th Floor, Mount Vernon, NY, 10550, Attention: Sandra Brown or via e-mail at shs2@westchestergov.com. en Español Este Aviso de Audiencia Pública fue previamente difundido por la oficina del Ejecutivo del Condado de Westchester.AVISO DE AUDIENCIA PÚBLICA DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE PROGRAMAS Y SERVICIOS PARA PERSONAS MAYORES DEL CONDADO DE WESTCHESTEREl Departamento de Programas y Servicios para Personas Mayores del Condado de Westchester (Department of Senior Programs and Services (DSPS) llevará a cabo su audiencia pública anual el miércoles, 26 de octubre de 2022, de 9 a.m. a mediodía en Westchester Community College, Gateway Center en el Davis Auditorium, 75 Grasslands Road, Valhalla, N.Y. El Departamento dará a conocer la actualización de 2023 del plan de área de cuatro años 2020-2024 sobre el uso de los fondos propuestos de la Ley de Americanos Mayores (Older Americans Act), y los Programas para Personas Mayores del Estado de Nueva York.La audiencia proporciona un lugar para que las personas aprendan y hablen sobre las preocupaciones que afectan a las personas mayores del Condado de Westchester y sus familias. Estamos pidiendo a los oradores que identifiquen los muchos beneficios de los servicios que brindamos para ayudar a los ciudadanos mayores a mantener un estilo de vida saludable y digno. No es necesario registrarse para asistir o hablar en la reunión.El plan se distribuirá en la audiencia pública y también está disponible a pedido. Para solicitar una copia del plan, o para cualquier otra información o adaptaciones, comuníquese con Andrew Crawford en aqcq@westchestergov.com o llame al 914-813-6408.Los comentarios por escrito sobre el plan deben enviarse antes del miércoles, 9 de noviembre al Departamento de Programas y Servicios para Personas Mayores del Condado de Westchester, 9 South First Avenue, 10th Floor, Mount Vernon, NY, 10550, Atención: Sandra Brown o por correo electrónico a shs2@ www.westchestergov.com. |
IMMIGRANT COALITION CALLS FOR COUNTY, STATE, FEDERAL GOVT TO HELP OUT. ASKS MAYOR ADAMS TO ASSEMBLE UNDERUSED BUILDINGS TO HOUSE TEXAS “NOT WANTEDS” BUSED TO NYC– NOW INTO TENTS ON RANDALLS ISLAND. NO COUNTY OR COMMUNITY STEPPING UP SO FAR
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Today, the Randall’s Island “Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center” opened to house new asylum seekers arriving in New York City.
The New York Immigration Coalition strongly denounces the decision to house asylum seekers in tent encampments in this mass transit desert, and demands Mayor Adams utilize alternative housing options to meaningfully protect new arrivals.
Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition said:
“The decision to open the Randall’s Island tent camp today is a stain on our city’s rich history of welcoming immigrants and morally reprehensible.
By confining new asylum seekers to isolated tents, vulnerable to inclement weather and removed from critical social services, the Adams administration has failed in its duties to protect and integrate the newest arrivals to our city.
To continue ignoring the calls from advocates and other city officials to utilize alternative and more appropriate housing options, and instead begin implementing this dangerous plan, Mayor Adams has compromised New York City’s status as a beacon of hope.
Mayor Adams must immediately halt any future plans to use or expand tents around our city, instead prioritize the use of underutilized buildings to house new asylum seekers and intensely work to decompress the NYC Shelter system by providing permanent housing to our unhoused neighbors.”
Background: The New York Immigration Coalition’s Welcoming New York Campaign is advocating for a coordinated City, State and Federal response to asylum seekers being sent by bus from Texas to New York.
17,782 NEW COVID CASES OF STUDENTS/STAFF REPORTED FROM ALL 5 BOROUGHS OF NYC SCHOOLS AFTER 4 WEEKS OF SCHOOL.
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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS SURVEILLANCE. Statistics from NYC SCHOOLS TRACKER. UPDATED Observations and Analysis By John F. Bailey October 18, 2022 11:30 A.M. EDT”
Daily COVID Case Map
The map shows all known cases of COVID-19 at New York City public schools. It is updated Sunday through Friday at 6:00 PM. For detailed information about a school, click on the dot.
Each dot indicates that at least one positive case has been reported to the Situation Room at this school today. For more detailed information about a school’s cases, click on the dot.
https://ws.nycenet.edu/rts/publicportal
Situation Room Summary
The data below reflects Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks Stay Safe, Stay Open plan, a multi-pronged approach for safely returning to school in-person for NYC schools, which includes:
- Every student and adult in a classroom with a positive case will immediately receive an at-home rapid test kit and will need to take two tests in five days.
- Making vaccination easily accessible and available for all, a vaccine mandate for all in-school staff members, physical distancing, and fully functioning ventilation systems backed up by two air purifiers in every classroom.
- Read the Press release from January 3, 2022: Mayor Adams and Schools Chancellor Banks Emphasize Health and Safety in Day One School Visits
Reported COVID Cases: October 18, 2022 as of 6 PM
| Total | Students | Staff |
|---|---|---|
| 441 | 285 | 156 |
Cumulative Reported Cases: September 08, 2022 – October 18, 2022 at 6 PM
| Total | Students | Staff |
|---|---|---|
| 17,782 | 11,741 | 6,041 |
Observation by WPCNR: As of the start of the New York City Public School Year, 2022-23 there were 164,983 students enrolled . The staff of the public school account for 51% of the infections, students 49%. The infection rate for the reported 164,982 students, with 17,782 infections computes to an infection rate of 11%
At the start of the school year, Westchester County had 255 K-12 public schools enrolling 143.392 students. School Districts are not publishing the numbers of students in their schools who have caught covid. If the school environments in Westchester (no compulsory precautions, open environment), are the same as New York City schools which are infecting at 11%, one might, might expect Westchester as a whole to have after 4 weeks of school 15,773 students and staff come down with covid.
Of course, there’s no way we can know what the number is if the School Superintendents do not tell us.
Students and staffs may be as low as 2% which would give the school pupil and staff population in Westchester 2,827 covid infections, which would add to the 1,000 a week Westchester is already reporting.
Still that puts 3,000 infected students and staff out there with a spread rate of 1 infected person giving covid to one other person every two days due to the fast, fast, fast transmission history of the bivalient strain.
Even a 2% infection rate doubles infections weekly in Westchester. Need I say that the County needs to give us demographics by age to see where the population trend is.
Currently Westchester is running 1,000 new cases a week. If we see that start to grow, it will mean more infections in November and December, repeating last year growth infections.
In New York City those 17,000 infections in four weeks may double infections in a week. The four weeks of school in New York City, the public schools in their entirety in all five boroughs, have averaged 4.445 infections a week, four times Westchester County weekly average of 1,,200.
NY ATTORNEY GENERAL ON HOW ONLINE PLATFORMS INFLUENCED BUFFALO SHOOTER/ GOVERNOR OUTLINES REFORMS TO REIN IN PURVEYORS OF HATE.
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GOVERNOR HOCHUL AND ATTORNEY GENERAL JAMES RELEASE REPORT ON THE ROLE OF ONLINE PLATFORMS IN THE BUFFALO SHOOTING
Report Details Shooter’s Radicalization on Fringe Websites, Use of Mainstream Platforms To Livestream Violence
Governor Hochul, Attorney General James Call for Federal and State Legislative Reforms To Combat Online Extremism and Violence
Governor Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James today released a report on the role of online platforms in the tragic Buffalo mass shooting at a Tops grocery store where 10 Black individuals were killed and three others were injured.
The Office of the Attorney General reviewed thousands of pages of documents and social media content to examine how the alleged shooter used online platforms to plan, prepare, and publicize his attack.
This investigation and subsequent report were completed in accordance with a referral from Governor Hochul. During the course of the investigation, OAG obtained and reviewed external and internal content and policies of several of the online platforms used by the shooter.
The report concludes that fringe online platforms, like 4chan, radicalized the shooter; livestreaming platforms, like Twitch, were weaponized to publicize and encourage copycat violent attacks; and a lack of oversight, transparency, and accountability of these platforms allowed hateful and extremist views to proliferate online, leading to radicalization and violence.
In the wake of these findings, Governor Hochul and Attorney General James are calling for federal and state reforms to combat online extremism and violence, including state legislation that would criminalize graphic images or videos created by a perpetrator of a homicide and penalize individuals who reshare or repost those same images or videos.
In addition, Governor Hochul and Attorney General James are recommending changes to Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act to increase accountability of online platforms and require companies take reasonable steps to prevent unlawful violent criminal content from appearing on their platforms.
“For too long, hate and division have been spreading rampant on online platforms — and as we saw in my hometown of Buffalo, the consequences are devastating,” Governor Hochul said. “In the wake of the horrific white supremacist shooting this year, I issued a referral asking the Office of the Attorney General to study the role online platforms played in this massacre. This report offers a chilling account of factors that contributed to this incident and, importantly, a road map toward greater accountability.”
“The tragic shooting in Buffalo exposed the real dangers of unmoderated online platforms that have become breeding grounds for white supremacy,” said Attorney General James. “Today I met with the victims’ families to share the findings of this report. This report is further proof that online radicalization and extremism is a serious threat to our communities, especially communities of color.
We saw this happen in Christchurch, Charlottesville, El Paso, and Buffalo, and we cannot wait for another tragedy before we take action. Online platforms should be held accountable for allowing hateful and dangerous content to spread on their platforms.
Extremist content is flourishing online, and we must all work together to confront this crisis and protect our children and communities.”
The OAG report examined several online platforms used by the shooter, including 4chan, 8kun, Reddit, Discord, Twitch, and YouTube, and other online platforms where OAG found graphic content of the shooting or the shooter’s manifesto, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Rumble.
The OAG subpoenaed these companies and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. Investigators looked at how platforms have been used to distribute and promote racist and antisemitic memes and messages and share graphic media of previous racially motivated violence, both of which contributed to the alleged shooter’s radicalization.
The report also details how several more mainstream platforms were used to livestream the shooting with the goal of inciting additional violent acts, and how graphic video of the shooting has proliferated online.
In sum, the report confirms that several online platforms played an undeniable role in this racist attack, first by radicalizing the shooter as he consumed voluminous amounts of racist and violent content, helping him prepare for the attack, and finally allowing him to broadcast it. The report notes these takeaways:
- Fringe Platforms Fuel Radicalization: By his own account, the Buffalo shooter was radicalized by virulent racist and antisemitic content on anonymous, virtually unmoderated websites and platforms that operate outside of the mainstream internet, most notably 4chan. In the wake of the Buffalo shooting, graphic video of the shooting recorded by a viewer of the shooter’s livestream proliferated on fringe sites. The anonymity offered by 4chan and platforms like it, and their refusal to moderate content in any meaningful way, ensures that these platforms continue to be breeding grounds for racist hate speech and radicalization.
- Livestreaming Has Become a Tool for Mass Shooters: Livestreaming has become a tool of mass shooters to instantaneously publicize their crime, further terrorizing the community targeted by the shooter and serving as a mechanism to incite and solicit additional violent acts. The Buffalo shooter was galvanized by his belief that others would be watching him commit violence in real-time. Although the platform he used to livestream his atrocities disabled the livestream within two minutes of the onset of violence, two minutes is still too much.
- Mainstream Platforms’ Moderation Policies Are Inconsistent and Opaque: Many large, established platforms improved on their response time for identifying and removing problematic content related to the Buffalo shooting, including graphic video of the shooting and the shooter’s manifesto, as compared to past events. However, the platforms’ responses were uneven, with one platform unable to identify posts that linked to off-site copies of the shooting video even after those posts were flagged through user reports. Many platforms also do not fully disclose how they moderate hateful, extremist, or racist content.\
- Online Platforms Lack Accountability: Online platforms enjoy too much legal immunity. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act largely insulates platforms from liability for their content moderation decisions, even when a platform allows users to post and share unlawful content.
In response to the findings in the report, Governor Hochul and Attorney General James recommend a variety of reforms to tackle online extremism and increase accountability of online platforms. These recommendations include:
- Create Liability for the Creation and Distribution of Videos of Homicides: New York and other states should pass legislation imposing criminal liability for the creation, by the perpetrator, of images or videos depicting a homicide. New York should explore establishing civil liability for anyone who transmits or distributes a perpetrator’s images or videos depicting the homicide they commit. In concert with appropriate revisions to Section 230, this liability would extend to online platforms, including social media and livestreaming platforms, that do not take reasonable steps to prevent such content from appearing.
- Add Restrictions to Livestreaming: Livestreaming was used as a tool by the Buffalo shooter, like previous hate-fueled attacks, to instantaneously document and broadcast his violent acts to secure a measure of fame and radicalize others. Livestreaming on platforms should be subject to restrictions—including verification requirements and tape delays—tailored to identify first-person violence before it can be widely disseminated.
- Reform Section 230: Currently, Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act protects online platforms from liability for third-party content that they host, regardless of those platforms’ moderation practices. Congress should rethink the ready availability of Section 230 as a complete defense for online platforms’ content moderation practices.
- Instead, the law should be reformed to require an online platform that wishes to retain Section 230’s protections to take reasonable steps to prevent unlawful violent criminal content from appearing on the platform. This proposal would change the default. Instead of simply being able to assert protection under Section 230, an online platform has the initial burden of establishing that its policies and practices were reasonably designed to address unlawful content.
- Increase Transparency and Strengthen Moderation: Online platforms should provide better transparency into their content moderation policies and how those policies are applied in practice, including those that are aimed at addressing hateful, extremist, and racist content. They should also invest in improving industry-wide processes and procedures for reducing the prevalence of such content, including by expanding the types of content that can be analyzed for violations of their policies, improving detection technology, and providing even more efficient means to share information.
- Call on Industry Service Providers to Do More: Online service providers, like domain registrars and hosting companies, stand in between fringe sites and users. These companies should take a closer look at the websites that repeatedly traffic in violent, hateful content, and refuse to service sites that perpetuate the cycle of white supremacist violence.
In May 2022, Governor Hochul provided a referral to OAG under New York Executive Law Section 63(8) to investigate the role of online platforms in the Buffalo shooting.
The investigation and subsequent report were conducted by the Bureau of Internet and Technology and the Hate Crimes Unit of the Bureau of Civil Rights, with special assistance from the Research and Analytics Division and the Criminal Justice Division.
COVID-19 STATE OF AFFAIRS OCT 18, 2022
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NORTHEAST UP 11% IN INFECTIONS IN WEEK. NEW YORK STATE HOSPITALIZATIONS UP.
ARS-CoV-2 is having a mixed impact across the globe.
The WHO is tracking more than 100 subvariants of Omicron, and each country has a different makeup of “subvariant soup,” but two are winning the race: XBB and BQ.1.1.
Couple this with changing behaviors and different immune histories (which wave hit and when; booster uptake), and country-to-country comparisons are getting harder than ever.
But I’m up for a challenge. Here is a snapshot of the current landscape, which is changing quickly.
International trends
In Western Europe, behavior drove the current wave. Thankfully, cases have peaked as it looks like the virus ran out of social networks to follow, but Omicron subvariants (and specifically BQ.1.1) are brewing below the surface. Whether cases continue to descend, plateau, or begin to increase is directly dependent on the number of “susceptible” people the virus can find—the million dollar question.
All eyes are still on Germany, as hospitalizations “for COVID-19” are the highest they have ever been. (Take this with a grain of salt, though, as hospitalizations in Germany have historically been low. So admissions are high, but not outrageous compared to other countries.) The current surge is largely attributed to Oktoberfest as a superspreader event and the fact that Germany’s fall booster rate among 60+ year olds is one of the lowest in Europe thus far.
Also concerning is the quickly rising number of ICU patients in Germany and the fact that 30% of ICU patients are on a ventilator, which is high. In addition, some German hospitals have called for help as a majority of their staff are out sick. In all, excess deaths in Germany are high and increasing.
Moving to Southeast Asia, an Omicron subvariant—XBB—is causing a substantial infection wave (as opposed to behavior). Specifically, Singapore is getting hit hard with a high rate of reinfections due to waning immunity. However, only 15 people total are in the ICU (out of 6 million people). This amazing progress is attributed to:
- A highly vaccinated and boosted population, and
- A massive BA.2 wave (as opposed to a BA.1 wave, like in the U.S.). This may help as BA.2 is more closely related to XBB than BA.1.
The Singapore Ministry of Health predicts they will peak in mid-November at around 15,000 cases per day—an infection peak much larger than their BA.5 wave but smaller than their first Omicron wave. Their death rate is already far below Germany’s and the U.S.’s, regardless of high case rates. I expect it to remain there.
Then there are places like Japan, Australia, and South Korea that have similar growth rates of BQ.1.1 and XBB. These places will be particularly interesting to watch and see which subvariants win the battle. Or, for the first time in this pandemic, we may witness co-circulation—two subvariants of equal strength circulating at the same time.Time will tell.
United States
It’s incredibly difficult to predict what will happen in the U.S. given that we have such a different immune landscape than other countries. We only have 14.8 million Americans boosted with the fall vaccine—far below what’s needed to divert 100,000 deaths this winter. According to recent models, we are still on track for a fall/winter wave.
The CDC now updates COVID-19 data weekly, so we are getting bursts of information rather than a continuous story line.
From last Friday’s new CDC data update, Northeast has the highest proportion of BQ.1.1, which jumped from less than 1% to 11% of cases. Increasing subvariants are causing an uptick in wastewater. In fact, the Northeast is experiencing the highest concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater since last winter.
Wastewater trends during pandemic. Yellow=Northeast; Pink= South; Green= West; Purple=Midwest. Source: Biobot Analytics
New York, specifically, has the highest proportion of BQ.1.1—an estimated 25% of cases—in the country. Perhaps more concerning is that it is causing an uptick in hospitalizations. (Keep in mind that reported cases remain flat; these no longer accurately reflect transmission due to at home antigen testing.)
DAILY HOSPITALIZATION SUMMARY New York State (Source here)
There is very preliminary data (n=1) showing BQ.1.1’s cellular mechanisms are getting close to Delta in regards to disease severity. We need more data, but not a great thing to see.
Bottom line
Cross-country comparisons are less straightforward than ever. However, subvariants are growing, and metrics around the globe are starting to reflect it. COVID-19 transmission is rising in the Northeast United States, which means it’s time to start riding the wave. If you were waiting to get your booster shot, now’s the time to schedule an appointment.
WESTCHESTER HAS 10TH CONSECUTIVE WEEK OF OVER 1,000 NEW COVID CASES. 10,000 IN 10 WEEKS. 18 of 43 towns/cities account for 74% of County Infections.
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WPCNR COVID SURVEILLANCE. Statistics from NY State Covid Tracker. Observation & Analysis by John F. Bailey. October 17, 2022:
On Sunday, Westchester was reported to have 173 new infections Saturday, bringing the week infections October 9-15 to 1,253 or 179 new persons a day being lab-tested confirmed with covid. The total is 35 infections lower than last week total of 1,284 positive, making this week the 10th week in a row Westchester has reported 1,000 new cases of covid.
Over the last two weeks, 18 of 43 towns are responsible for 2,324 (44%) of the 3,005 active cases of covid
The is well ahead of last September October infections which produced a massive number infections in December and January.
It is hoped with the lower serious infections of the disease the county in experiencing that the infections, currently showing 1 person infected with covid is infectiong only 1 other person, that the disease will not continue at this spread rate but will lower, otherwise the present rate of infections 1,000 a week or more will continue.
The Friday Westchester County Covid Tracker showed 18 towns and villages in Westchester account for,2,213 Active cases (74 %) of the 3,003 Westchester covid cases the last two weeks up through Friday, October 13.
Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Yorktown, White Plains, Greenburgh,Cortlandt, Mt. Pleasant-Pleasantville, Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow, Mamaroneck Town-Mamaroneck Village-Larchmont, Ossining Town-Village, Harrison, Peekskill, Port Chester are those 18 Towns. The 18 towns daily infections average 9 infections per day, a total of 2,324.
The towns with infections over 100 are:
TOTAL ACTIVE DAILY TOTAL NEW OVER 2 WEEKS(DAILY RATE)
Yonkers 599 599 34 476
Mt. Vernon 225 21 294
New Rochelle 212 16 224
Yorktown 190 13 182
White Plains 166 15 210
Greenburgh 155 17 238
Cortlandt 119 7 98
Mt.Pleasant-Pleasantville 113 10 140
Tarrytown-SleepyHOL 110 5 70
TOWNS LESS than 100 ACTIVE CASES BUT CLOSE
Mamaroneck TowN-V-Larch 95 5 70
Ossining Town-Village 93 3 42
Harrison 83 4 56
Peekskill 83 6 84
Port Chester 70 10 140
REP MONDAIRE JONES (17TH DISTRICT) INTRODUCES BILL TO ALLOW ABORTIONS BY MEDICATIONS BILL
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REPS. JONES, DEGETTE LEAD CALL TO DEFEND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE FROM GOP-LED ATTEMPTS TO BLOCK ACCESS TO MEDICATION ABORTION
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Mondaire Jones (D-NY) and Diana DeGette (D-CO), along with 28 of their colleagues, introduced a resolution urging Congress to protect access to reproductive health care by reaffirming the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority to preempt state law and ensure access to reproductive health care products.
This resolution reaffirms the FDA’s preemptive authority over state laws that seek to regulate approved drugs and biologics, as established in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act. Anti-abortion states seeking to limit or prohibit access to medication abortion and other reproductive health products are breaking the law and must be stopped in their tracks by Congress and the FDA in order to protect vital reproductive health care services across the country.
“Congress must act immediately to prevent states from banning medication abortions,” said Rep. Jones. “Our most fundamental rights are under attack by this rogue Supreme Court majority, and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to protect these rights and defend every American’s access to life-saving medical care. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and safeguard reproductive health services at the state level — before it is too late.”
“Every woman in this country, no matter where she lives or how much money she makes, should have the freedom to make her own health care decisions – including whether to use birth control or seek abortion care,” said Rep. DeGette. “We are not going to sit back and allow states to put their own radical agendas between patients and the care they need. By reaffirming FDA’s power to regulate health care products in this country, we are sending states a clear message that Congress will not tolerate any attempt to limit women’s access to reproductive care.”
Since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Republican-led state legislatures have launched attacks on reproductive freedom, attempting to criminalize the delivery of medication abortion by mail and imposing strict regulations to discourage doctors from prescribing this option. Medication abortion is a safe, effective, and widely used method to terminate a pregnancy that has been approved by the FDA for more than 20 years; this method is newly under threat by ultra-conservative, anti-abortion legislation at the state level in every corner of the United States.
The resolution is co-sponsored by Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), André Carson (D-IN), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MO), Dina Titus (D-NV), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chuy García (D-IL), John Larson (D-CT), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Marie Newman (D-IL), Mark Takano (D-CA), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Troy Carter (D-LA), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).
The resolution is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the National Women’s Law Center, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Power to Decide, the EMAA Project, and Physicians for Reproductive Health.
“We are in the midst of a public health crisis that is becoming more dire by the day,” said Katherine Gillespie, Acting Director of Federal Policy & Advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Abortion services are now illegal in eight states, and the number of states enforcing radical bans and denying people life-saving care is growing rapidly. We appreciate Congress’ efforts to reaffirm FDA’s authority to preempt state laws restricting or banning medication abortion in an effort to help mitigate this crisis.”
“Decades of research and use show just how safe and effective medication abortion care is,” said Kirsten Moore, Director of the EMAA Project. “Banning the use of an FDA-approved medication is unprecedented and further cuts off access to care, especially for those who live in rural areas or who may be unable to get to a clinic in-person. This resolution affirms the FDA’s science-based decision making and makes it clear that playing politics with people’s health care is cruel.”
“This resolution sends a clear and forceful reminder that medication abortion is safe and effective health care and that FDA’s authority takes precedence over restrictive state laws attempting to block access,” said Power to Decide CEO Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, MD, MPH. “Power to Decide thanks Rep. Jones and all of the legislative champions for defending abortion access in this crucial moment.”
Full text of the resolution can be found here.