GOVERNOR CUOMO: WE HAVE TO STOP COVID NOW. “Unsustainable Trajectory!” HOSPITALS “OVERWHELMED” BY JANUARY. CORONA VIRUS INEXORABLY SPREADS. MASK UP. DO NOT SOCIALIZE CLOSE. SAVE YOUR STATE.

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WPCNR GOVERNOR CUOMO CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From Governor Amdrew M. Cuomo. December 15, 2020:

Everything we have done from the start of this pandemic has been based on the facts, and the facts are that COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all on the rise across the country.

We are on an unsustainable trajectory and if we don’t act now, hospitals could become overwhelmed in January. 

Right now, New York is focused on growing hospital capacity through our Surge and Flex program and requiring hospital systems to begin working together so they are prepared. As those operations continue, it’s on all of us to be smart, tough, and do what we know stops the spread—socially distance, wear masks and wash our hands.

Here’s what else you need to know tonight: 

1. Total COVID hospitalizations rose to 5,982. Of the 194,188 tests reported yesterday, 10,353, or 5.33 percent, were positive. There were 1,065 patients in ICU yesterday, up 25 from the previous day. Of them, 580 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 128 New Yorkers to the virus.

  2. New York hospitals continue to receive and administer doses of the COVID vaccine. Among them was Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, which administered doses that arrived today to the first members of its staff. The doses were administered to Upstate employees Kenzo Mukendi, Caprice Hibbler and Suzanne Buck, by Chief Nursing Officer Nancy Page.  3

. The Finger Lakes region, with 725 hospitalizations, has the highest rate of COVID hospitalization by population. Hospitalizations in the Finger Lakes represent 0.06 percent of the region’s population.

Western New York has 520 hospitalizations (0.04 percent of its population);

Central New York has 350 hospitalizations (0.05 percent); Mohawk Valley has 192 hospitalizations (0.04 percent); Long Island has 972 hospitalizations (0.03 percent); the

Mid-Hudson has 735 hospitalizations (0.03 percent);

Capital Region has 288 hospitalizations (0.03 percent);

Southern Tier has 166 hospitalizations (0.03 percent);

New York City has 1,968 hospitalizations (0.02 percent).

North Country, with 56 hospitalizations (0.01 percent), has the lowest rate of hospitalizations due to COVID. 

 4. In the second round of the program, Nourish NY has so far spent $3 million to help New Yorkers in need. Over 2.8 million pounds of raw milk has been turned into dairy products and distributed by food banks, along with 993,000 pounds of produce. Over 1.1 million households in need have received products sourced from New York farms. With food insecurity impacting millions of Americans, we encourage all those in need to visit a food bank or pantry.  

Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: A teenager became a hero when she rushed in to save her neighbor from a house fire on Long Island. When flames surrounded a home in Brentwood, New York, 16-year-old Star Grant noticed that one of the residents of the house was missing: 69-year-old Catarina, who lived on the ground floor of the home. Star rushed in and escorted Catarina out of the house unharmed.  

If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here. 

Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 

MONDAY DEC 14TH WESTCHESTER COVID POSITIVES CONTINUE AT 5.9% DAILY POSITIVE RATE

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THE NY STATE WORKBOOK COVID-19 TRACKER REPORTED THIS AFTERNOON THAT WESTCHESTER COUNTY CONTINUED at a 5.9% DAILY POSITIVE TEST INFECTION RATE.

ON MONDAY 9,436 WESTCHESTER TESTS WERE CONDUCTED AND 560 TESTED POSITIVE (5.9%).

IN THE LAST 24 DAYS, NOVEMBER 21 THROUGH MONDAY DECEMBER 14, 13,018 WESTCHESTER-TESTED PERSONS HAVE TESTED POSITIVE.

AN AVERAGE OF 542 NEW CASES PER DAY.

THE AVERAGE INFECTION RATE IS 5.November 21 through December 14, 13,018 WESTCHESTER-TESTED PERSONS HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, AN AVERAGE OF 542 NEW CASES, AN AVERAGE INFECTION RATE OF 5.47%

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THE WPCNR NEWS TICKER

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JOHN BAILEY’S TUESDAY MORNING COMMENTARY ON WVOX RADIO ON THE DENNIS NARDONE GOOD MORNING WESTCHESTER PROGRAM.

WPCNR NEWS TICKER. John Bailey’s WHITE PLAINS REPORT &COMMENTARY on WVOX RADIO 1460 this morning 7:50 AM every Tuesday on the Dennis Nardone Good Morning Westchester program on WVOX Westchester’s  Number One Rated Station. December 15, 2020:

White Plains revenues in sales taxes and user fees are down 21% in the first five months Common Council President Nadine Hunt-Robinson reported in last week’s meeting the first time in years the council has reported publicly of its financial position.

Councilwoman Hunt-Robinson remarked the city has put a hiring freeze in place not replacing employees who leave. She pointed out the city staged the holiday market last week to help local merchants. 

Mayor Tom Roach reported the council of mayors received word that the state should be getting a stimulus from Washington with distribution handled by the state based on population of the cities and towns.

The city now is crossing its fingers as the  November sales taxes report next week. They may have to look very early about how to cut  city expenses.

White Plains faces a $44 million sales tax handle if we equal the 7 months total November through June. In 2019-2020 the city got $50 million in sales taxes so the administration is going to have to take a harder look, if the November, December figures sharply decline.

I attended a zoom meeting of the Jacob Burns Film Center  Board of Directors last night. They are readying a series of virtual online movies for members of the theater. The theatre is ready with social distancing and reduced seating arrangements in place and complete new air filtration system to pump in fresh air.

The Theatre said they are ready to go but because of the state restrictions on theatres reopening based on each county infection rate of the coronavirus spread, the theatre cannot open.

Directors said that no theatre can open in the county unless the county has a 2% infection rate—which Westchester does not come close to.

 HERE are the latest covid stats: Westchester County through Sunday (with Monday cases reporting today at 3 PM),  has a 5.45% infection rate over the last 23 days to November 21 the county has had 12,962 persons test positive in 22 days  from November 21 through December 13 – that is an average 562 new infections a day.

https://youtu.be/PmXyvHoGwdA
Mayor of Mount Vernon on how her city has enforced social distancing, masking, restaurants, businesses covid protocols at the County Covid briefing (9:47)

Yesterday Mayor Patterson-Howard of Mount Vernon speaking in County Executive George Latimer’s covid briefing told how Mount Vernon has kept off the yellow zone designation by vigorous education and community outreach and enforcement of restaurant rules and business rules through enforcement and fines. Mount Vernon has the lowest infection rate of the major cities. You can see her talk on the White Plains Week Youtube site above. Perhaps it’s time the county adopted rigorous enforcement.

The White Plains Holiday Market on Waller Avenue with 48 heated roofed booths last week through the weekend was successful according to the merchants and local store owners in the booth. Those whom I spoke to said the first wet weekend was slow but crowds were encouraging during the cold weather last week. Saturday and Sunday crowds were out with 50 to 60 persons sifting through on the Saturday and over a 100 early afternoon Sunday when I attended.

Merchants told me they hoped the city will do the Holiday Fair again next year In my opinion the Farmers’ Market the city runs all summer should be moved to this location on Waller. It’s much easier to park on Waller with a garage and the Restaurant Row lot to park in. Think about it.

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GOVERNOR CUOMO: MASKING, FOLLOWING THE RULES ESSENTIAL NOW

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WPCNR GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS REPORT. DECEMBER 14, 2020:

Today, history was made when Sandra Lindsay, a frontline ICU nurse and New Yorker, became the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in a non-trial setting.

Sandra received the vaccination at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens. After her vaccination, I asked Sandra over Zoom how she felt and what she wanted to say to her fellow Americans. Her words speak for themselves: 

“I am hopeful. I feel hope today—relieved. I feel like healing is coming and this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history. I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe.

We’re in a pandemic and so we all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic, and to not give up so soon. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to continue to wear our masks, to social distance. I believe in science. As a nurse, my practice is guided by science and so I trust that.

What I don’t trust is that, if I contract COVID, I don’t know how it would impact me or those who I come in contact with, so I encourage everyone to take the vaccine.” She’s absolutely right: Healing is coming. Thank you, Sandra. 

Photo of the Day: Dr. Michelle Chester administers the first vaccine to Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse (Photo by Scott Heins for the Office of Governor M. Cuomo) 

Here’s what else you need to know tonight: 

1. Total COVID hospitalizations rose to 5,712. Of the 159,844 tests reported yesterday, 9,044, or 5.66 percent, were positive. There were 1,040 patients in ICU yesterday, up 31 from the previous day. Of them, 572 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 83 New Yorkers to the virus. 

 2. Hospitalizations could approximately double in one month if the current rate of growth continues. The fall and winter surge could lead to 11,000 people hospitalized with COVID and 3,500 additional fatalities in a month if the current rate continues. Please take this threat seriously. Yes, we have a vaccine—but we must be cautious and diligent in the days ahead to slow the spread as the vaccine distribution ramps up. 

3. The Finger Lakes region, with 681 hospitalizations, has the highest rate of COVID hospitalization by population. Hospitalizations in the Finger Lakes represent 0.06 percent of the region’s population.

Western New York has 526 hospitalizations (0.04 percent of its population); Central New York has 340 hospitalizations (0.04 percent);

Mohawk Valley has 193 hospitalizations (0.04 percent); Long Island has 935 hospitalizations (0.03 percent);

Mid-Hudson has 705 hospitalizations (0.03 percent);

Capital Region has 269 hospitalizations (0.02 percent);

New York City has 1,857 hospitalizations (0.02 percent).

The North Country, with 53 hospitalizations (0.01 percent), has the lowest rate of hospitalizations due to COVID.  

4. Today, New York announced updated micro-cluster focus zones. The Yellow Zone in Niagara County will be expanded. A new Yellow Zone will be added near Batavia, Genesse County, and another will be added near Rome and Utica, Oneida County—following these areas meeting the metrics for Yellow Zone designation. See all cluster zones and look up your address on our interactive map.   

5. When you’re indoors with people outside of your household, remember to wear a mask. Contact tracing data shows that 74 percent of COVID cases where the cause is known can be traced to small gatherings and the household. The CDC is urging—as are we—that you wear a mask indoors whenever you are with people that you don’t live with, in both public and private settings. 

Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: Adam Shrager, who teaches statistics at the College of New Jersey, received a moving surprise from his students on the last day of remote learning before final exams. When Shrager started the lesson, all of the students had their cameras off, which was unusual, but slowly the students turned their cameras on revealing an array of thank-you messages from the students. The display of gratitude from Shrager’s students soon went viral.  If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here. 

Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

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County Board of Legislators Approve 2020 Budget, 17-0

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2021 OPERATING, CAPTIAL & SPECIAL DISTRICT BUDGETS PASSED

Operating Budge Reduces Tax Levy & Overall Spending; Preserves & Increases Human Services

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER From the County Board of Legislators. December 14, 2020:

On Monday, the Board of Legislators unanimously approved the 2021 operating budget for Westchester that reduces the County tax levy and lowers overall spending while preserving essential services. The Board also unanimously adopted 2021 County capital and special district budgets.

Board Chair Ben Boykin (D-White Plains, Scarsdale, Harrison) said,

Budget Committee Chair, Legislator Catherine Borgia, left and Benjamin Boykin of the Westchester County Board of Legislators.

“Building back from this once-in-a-century pandemic is going to be a multi-year process. COVID-19 left an economic crater in the budgets of every County across this nation. Those kinds of holes don’t get filled in a single budget. At the same time, people are hurting. Businesses are hurting. They are turning to us for help, and we cannot and will not fail them.

The 2021 operating is tough, with a reduction in county headcount through vacancies and last year’s voluntary separation package. But it puts in the forefront the human services that residents need. We’re providing millions of additional dollars  for economic development, millions more for the social safety net, millions to deal with food insecurity and housing insecurity — programs the people of this County need to weather the storm of COVID-19 and strengthen our ability to rebuild as vaccines arrive in the new year.”

The $2.09 billion operating budget is $15.7 million lower than the 2020 budget. The budget reduces the county property tax levy by $1.0 million.

WPCNR Budget Note: The 2020 budget was described by County Executive George Latimer today as being a blueprint for 2020, but dependent on how much funds are cut by Governor Andrew Cuomo to balance the state deficit and depending on the passage of an aid-to-the-states package by congress in Washington. Mr. Latimer is expected to sign the budget Wednesday

The budget also balances the $80 Million shortfall in revenues experienced by the County in 2019 due to a wildly optimistic sales tax projection (a 27% increase which fell way short) diverting $80 Million in Federal Covid Aid into the County’s Fund Reserve and taking $80 million currently existing in that Fund Reserve to plug the deficit hole.

The adopted operating budget builds on the work the Board did last year, adding further support for community-based nonprofit organizations that provide cost-effective help to the County’s most vulnerable residents in dealing with hunger, domestic violence, eviction and educational support, among other areas.

In addition, during budget negotiations, the Board and County Executive Latimer reached an agreement to reduce the share of childcare costs paid by parents who are income-eligible for help from 25% to 23%. This was a top Board priority. Under the arrangement, the County will commit a portion of the childcare money it receives from the federal government to lowering the out-of-pocket cost of childcare programs to parents who qualify for the help.

On Monday, legislators also approved a capital budget for 2021 that takes advantage of historically low interest rates to invest millions in improving roads, bridges, parks, transportation, environmental facilities and recycling and sanitation programs.  The County’s capital program supports 2,000 permanent jobs in Westchester.

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New Highly Contagious Strain of Coronavirus Causing Rapid Spread of Positive Cases in Southern England–Possible Cause of 2nd Wave There

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock (Justin Tallis/PA)
Matt Hancock, UK Minister of Health announcing discovery of stronger faster infecting new strain today.

A new strain of coronavirus has been identified in southern England as tougher restrictions were imposed in London, The Independent of Dublin newspaper reported today in an article by Public Affairs Editor Matt Hughes, reprinted herewith as a public service:

The British capital and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire will face Tier 3 restrictions from Wednesday following “very sharp, exponential rises” in cases.

poster
London set to move to strictest tier of restrictions

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs the number of cases involving the new variant was “increasing rapidly”.

Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants, he said.

“We’ve currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the south of England although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas,” he said in the House of Commons.

The Health Secretary said there was nothing to suggest the variant was more likely to cause serious disease and he suggested the vaccine should still be effective.

“But it shows we’ve got to be vigilant and follow the rules and everyone needs to take personal responsibility not to spread this virus,” he said.

Mr Hancock said it was necessary to move London from Tier 2 to Tier 3 to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed.

“Over the last week we have seen very sharp, exponential rises in the virus across London, Kent, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire,” he said.

“We do not know the extent to which this is because of the new variant but no matter its cause we have to take swift and decisive action which unfortunately is absolutely essential to control this deadly disease while the vaccine is rolled out.

“In some parts of these areas the doubling time is around every seven days.”

Hospitals across the capital, Essex and Kent were already “under pressure”, he warned.

“We know that this doubling of cases will be mirrored in hospital admissions and it only takes a few doublings for the NHS to be overwhelmed.”

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Southern Queens Park Association Non Profit Project Manager Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud: Falsified Time Sheets, Invoices Stole “10s of thousands of dollars”

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WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation, December 13, 2020:

Friday, in federal court in Brooklyn, Ingris Coronado pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging her with defrauding her former employer, Southern Queens Park Association (SQPA), a government-funded, Queens-based not-for-profit that provides educational and other social services to young adults.

 Friday’s plea took place before United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II. 

When sentenced, Coronado faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as forfeiture and a fine of up to $250,000 for submitting false invoices and cashing checks issued in the names of other individuals. 

Since at least 2014, Coronado worked as a Project Manager for SQPA, which received millions of dollars annually in New York City government funding.  According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, between August 2014 and September 2018, Coronado engaged in a scheme to steal money from SQPA. 

Specifically, in her role as the supervisor of an after-school program run by SQPA, Coronado repeatedly falsified time sheets, collected checks issued in the names of more than ten of her supervisees and deposited those checks into her own bank account. 

On multiple occasions, Coronado also created false invoices for vendors for SQPA and deposited the resulting payment checks into her personal account.  As a result of her fraudulent conduct, Coronado stole tens of thousands of dollars from SQPA.

“For years, Coronado deceived her employer and abused her position at a not-for-profit organization by stealing funds that were meant to benefit members of the community,” stated Acting United States Attorney DuCharme.  “Today’s guilty plea makes clear that individuals who engage in fraud to satisfy their own greed at the expense of the community they are supposed to be serving will be brought to justice.” 

“Coronado stole money directly from a city-funded, not-for-profit program established to provide services to young adults. Today she’s admitted to her criminal activity and faces a significant jail sentence as a result of her behavior. Let this be a message to others who are currently scamming the system—there are consequences for your actions,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.

“This defendant falsified timesheets and vendor invoices and pocketed checks issued to employees and vendors, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars – stealing taxpayer funds meant to help residents of southern Queens who rely on this nonprofit’s programming. DOI is committed to investigating these damaging crimes that attack our City’s charitable organizations and diminish the impact of the City’s funding of their programs. We are proud to have partnered with the office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to hold this defendant accountable for her conduct,” stated DOI Commissioner Garnett.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Reilly is in charge of the prosecution. 

WHITE PLAINS HOLIDAY MARKET ORGANIZED BY CITY HALL, GETS GOOD TRAFFIC, PARTICIPANTS SAY

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THE HOLIDAY MARKET ON WALLER BEHIND RESTAURANT ROW ON MAMARONECK AVENUE DREW IN CROWDS YESTERDAY AND IT OPENS AGAIN AT 11 AM TODAY SUNDAY AND IS OPEN UNTIL 7. THE STORES ARE UNIQUE AND LOCAL. THERE ARE TERRIFIC GIFT ITEMS AVAILABLE, ELEGANT RESTROOMS AND GREAT RESTAURANTS TO GRAB A BITE TO EAT. WHEN THE CITIZENETREPORTER VISITED SATURDAY I WAS IMPRESSED WITH ABOUT 50 TO 75 PERSONS STOPPING THE HEATED KIOSKS, THE CLOTHING, THE JEWELRY, THE PAINTINGS, RECREATIONAL ITEMS.
COME ON DOWN.
PLENTY OF PARKING IN THE WALLER LOT. MERCHANTS TOLD ME LAST WEEKEND IT STARTED SLOWLY BECAUSE OF THE RAIN BUT TRAFFIC PICKED UP DURING THE WEEK AND SATURDAY YESTERDAY WAS HIGH TRAFFIC.
THE CITY ACTUALLY ORGANIZED THE HOLIDAY MARKET REACHING OUT DIRECTLY TO STORES IN WHITE PLAINS AND WESTCHESTER. MERCHANTS WPCNR SPOKE TO SAID THEY WOULD PARTICIPATE NEXT YEAR AND HOPED THE CITY WOULD STAGE IT AGAIN. THEY SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER MOVING THE FARMERS MARKET FROM COURT STREET TO WALLER. (MUCH EASIER TO PARK!)
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TROUBLED NY REAL ESTATE COMMERCIAL MARKET

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WPCNR REALTY REALITY From Optimal Spaces. December 12, 2020

December 2020: New York Office, Retail and Industrial Market Report
Office:
Manhattan Office rental prices are declining, as sublease space and new construction flood the market with more than 53 Million square feet of available office space. Availability is over 11% which means it is a Tenant Market.

Retail:
Manhattan retail prices continue to decline due to leases not being renewed and subleases flooding the market. Retail prices are unlikely to get better until the Covid vaccine and tourism rebounds.

Building Sales:
The building sales market is very quiet with the exception of a large long-term leased office building occupied by Amazon at 410 10th Avenue which sold for $952.5 million.

December 7, 2020

Office:
Manhattan Office rental prices are declining, as sublease space and new construction flood the market with more than 53 Million square feet of available office space. Availability is over 11% which means it is a Tenant Market.

Retail:
Manhattan retail prices continue to decline due to leases not being renewed and subleases flooding the market. Retail prices are unlikely to get better until the Covid vaccine and tourism rebounds.

Building Sales:
The building sales market is very quiet with the exception of a large long-term leased office building occupied by Amazon at 410 10th Avenue which sold for $952.5 million.

New York Market Overview

Manhattan Office:

Manhattan office leasing volume in 2020 will be 52% lower than the year before.

3.12 million square feet of sublease space came on the market from April to September boosted sublets’ share of total availability to 23.2% from 22.1%.

A decline in Manhattan’s asking office rent average was relatively small in the second and third quarters this year 3%, partly because landlords took a “wait and see” approach during the second-quarter lockdown. In the third and fourth quarters of 2008, the average asking price dropped by 15.3%.

Although the current downturn has largely been marked by a lack of leasing, downward pressure on pricing could still intensify if more businesses downsize.

Among Manhattan’s 18 submarkets, the Plaza District’s average asking rent was mostly unchanged from April to September, but the other 17 submarkets experienced declines.

A 16.5% drop in the Penn Plaza/Garment district was mostly caused by the removal of the high-priced space at the Farley Post Office development leased to Facebook in August. The 13.7% dip in Hudson Square was primarily driven by low-priced sublet space listed at 1 Hudson Square.

One of the reasons for a steeper price decline in Midtown South was because the area was booming and the price was rising before the pandemic, creating room for the price to come down. But the Midtown market, whose older inventory was losing tenants even before the pandemic, didn’t have as much to lose from asking prices. Midtown has new construction, such as One Vanderbilt and 390 Madison Avenue, along with 1271 Avenue of Americas, which is undergoing a major renovation.

Manhattan’s office availability rate hit a high not seen in a decade.

The amount of available office space rose to 12.9%, the highest since 2004.

The glut of available space persisted even as leasing volume rose. It was up by 57.1% to 1.76 million square feet compared to the month prior. It is still less than a half of what it was a year ago.

The Midtown South market accounted for more than half of Manhattan’s overall lease activity. But even in that submarket, the availability rate rose to a record high of 12.1%, up by nearly 49% from a year ago.

The average asking price is down to $72.26 per square foot, a 10% decline from last year. The sharp decline in price was due because Midtown South has become a popular office location, which has led to a spike in pricing.

In Midtown East, subleases account for 23% of the total office availability and some spaces can be had for more than 50% below asking rents.

With only 10% of Manhattan workers back in their offices, companies are rethinking their footprint, leading to a surge of spaces available for sublease. As of October, more than 16 million square feet of office space was available for sublease.

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CUOMO PROGRESS REPORT ON VACCINE DISTRIBUTION PLANS

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Chart of the Day: Current COVID hospitalizations by region (COVID patients as percent of region population) Here’s what else you need to know today: 
The Westchester County Chart of New Infections of Covid Reported in Westchester County as of Friday December 11. The New Cases are reported in the “box of cities and towns” in the “New Cases” column a far right.
The Westchester County average Infection Rate of New Cases from all tests is 6% positive a day from December 1 through December 9 . Source: NY State Covid Tracker, analyzed by WPCNR as shown on WPTV December 11 White Plains Week program.
IN 18 Days from Saturday, November 21 before the Thanksgiving 4 Day holiday began November 26, the number of Westchester Infections of Coronavirus has grown by 10,526 Persons, an average of 585 new persons found infected with Covid a day. The hospitalization rate reported is an average 4% of all infections. Citizens should take wearing masks in public seriously at all times considering how fast the disease has spread in 18 days from November 21 to December 9.
Dec. 10 and 11 figures should be out Saturday at 2 PM.
Source compiled by WPCNR from the NY State Covid-19 Tracker and shown on the December 11 White Plains TV program White Plans Week

WPCNR GOVERNOR’S CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. December 12, 2020:

Thursday night, New York’s independent COVID-19 Clinical Advisory Task Force unanimously approved the FDA vaccine panel’s decision to recommend the Pfizer vaccine. The Task Force, which is chaired by Nobel laureate Dr. Charles Rice, was able to review data on the vaccine concurrently with the FDA, allowing for a thorough review for New Yorkers.  This added level of approval should give New Yorkers additional confidence in the vaccine.

As we prepare for the great task of administering the vaccine, we simultaneously continue to act to slow the spread of the virus and to ensure hospital capacity. We are constantly calibrating our strategy with the goal of maintaining as much economic activity as possible, while protecting public health.

Today we took several new measures to that end.  

1. To protect hospital capacity, New York will implement new metrics to determine micro-cluster zones. Under these updated metrics, Red, Orange and Yellow Zones will now be determined as follows:

A Red Zone will be implemented when a region reaches a critical hospital capacity—that is, when 90 percent of beds are full (after measures to increase capacity have been taken).

An Orange Zone will be implemented if an area has a 4 percent positivity rate over the past 10 days (on a 7-day average) and is located in a region that has reached 85 percent hospital capacity.

A Yellow Zone will be implemented if an area has a 3 percent positivity rate over the past 10 days (on a 7-day average) and is in the top 10 percent in the state for hospital admissions per capita over the past week and is experiencing week-over-week growth in daily admissions. It sounds complicated—but the basic idea behind these metrics is to ensure that hospital systems are not overloaded. 

2. Starting Monday, December 14th, indoor dining in New York City will be suspended. This is in response to the continued increase in positive cases and hospitalizations, in addition to recently issued CDC guidance emphasizing the high risk of indoor dining. Outdoor dining, delivery and takeout will remain in place. This suspension will continue to be re-evaluated based on updated data over the coming weeks.  

3. The State Department of Health is directing New York hospitals to take additional steps to help keep capacity below 85 percent. Under the directive, hospitals must either add additional capacity, reduce elective surgeries, or a combination of both, in order to remain under 85 percent. This measure expands on the previously announced “Surge and Flex” protocol.  

4. I will sign an Executive Order extending the State’s moratorium on commercial evictions. This moratorium will provide support to small businesses and other tenants during these difficult times. These businesses need help now more than ever, and Congress must include support for bars and restaurants in the next stimulus package.  

5. Total COVID hospitalizations rose to 5,321. Of the 212,672 tests reported yesterday, 10,595, or 4.98 percent, were positive. There were 1,007 patients in ICU yesterday, up 13 from the previous day. Of them, 546 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 87 New Yorkers to the virus.  

6. Gyms and personal care services will be permitted to open in Orange Zones with limited capacity. Starting Monday, December 14th, gyms, fitness centers, salons and barber shops—which are currently closed in Orange Zones—will be allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity. Employees must be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis. This is good news for establishments in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, among other Orange Zone locations—and a testament to the success these industries have had across the state in keeping patrons safe. 

Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: The Northern Lights, or the aurora borealis, are one of the most incredible natural wonders of the world. Every year, travel and photography blog “Capture the Atlas” hosts an annual Northern Lights Photographer of the Year competition to showcase stunning photos of the aurora borealis. The blog recently shared 25 of the best photographs of the Northern Lights from around the world. Unfortunately, an initially promising forecast that parts of Upstate New York might glimpse the lights earlier this week failed to come to pass after the forecast changed—maybe next time!  (“Heavenly Dance,” by Sergey Korolev) 

If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here. 

Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 
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