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AMID ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES FIFTH REGION HITS BENCHMARK TO BEGIN REOPENING MAY 15TH

Central New York Joins North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening After NYS on Pause Orders Expire on May 15th

Business Guidance for Phase One of the State’s Reopening Plan is Available Here

Initial $3 Million in Grants Available to Businesses to Manufacture Emergency Medical Supplies and Equipment

Announces President Trump has Expedited $3.9 Billion in Funding for the MTA at the Request of the Governor

Confirms 2,390 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to 343,051; New Cases in 45 Counties

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that as of today, Central New York has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state’s regional phased reopening plan when NYS on PAUSE orders expire on May 15th, joining the North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions.

If the trend continues, these five regions can begin opening businesses for phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Business guidance for phase one of the state’s reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state’s “NY Forward Reopening” Plan is available here. The state’s regional monitoring dashboard is available here.

The Governor also announced an initial $3 million in grants are available to businesses to manufacture emergency medical supplies and equipment. Companies interested in growing or starting a medical supply business should go to www.esd.ny.gov.

Governor Cuomo also announced that President Trump has expedited $3.9 billion in funding for the MTA at the request of the Governor.

“All the arrows are pointed in the right direction and now the question becomes focused on reopening – people have to get back to work and the state needs an economy – but we have to make sure we don’t reopen too soon,” Governor Cuomo said. “We are doing this in a calibrated way and monitoring the data, facts and metrics every single day and using the lessons we’ve learned from others who have already gone through this. And right now, based on our criteria we have five regions that are poised to reopen beginning tomorrow, and as they start to reopen certain businesses we will continue to monitor the level of activity and make sure it doesn’t create a second wave of this virus.”

Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,390 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 343,051 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 343,051 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows (MIDHUDSON REGION COUNTIES IN BOLD FACE):

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	1,509	15
Allegany	44	0
Broome	383	1
Cattaraugus	64	3
Cayuga	60	0
Chautauqua	44	1
Chemung	132	0
Chenango	112	0
Clinton	81	3
Columbia	327	9
Cortland	33	2
Delaware	67	1
Dutchess	3,474	45
Erie	4,671	65
Essex	32	0
Franklin	17	0
Fulton	144	4
Genesee	175	1
Greene	207	1
Hamilton	5	0
Herkimer	86	2
Jefferson	69	1
Lewis	12	1
Livingston	106	3
Madison	255	2
Monroe	2,019	60
Montgomery	69	1
Nassau	38,743	156
Niagara	710	20
NYC	188,545	1,295
Oneida	698	12
Onondaga	1,423	28
Ontario	129	20
Orange	9,771	78
Orleans	145	3
Oswego	78	2
Otsego	67	0
Putnam	1,115	7
Rensselaer	423	3
Rockland	12,596	53
Saratoga	415	5
Schenectady	597	10
Schoharie	47	0
Schuyler	8	0
Seneca	49	0
St. Lawrence	192	0
Steuben	230	0
Suffolk	37,544	239
Sullivan	1,168	33
Tioga	108	0
Tompkins	136	0
Ulster	1,495	14
Warren	227	4
Washington	215	1
Wayne	89	5
Westchester	31,792	181
Wyoming	77	0
Yates	22	0

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New York State now has over 340,661 positive cases. The total number tested in Westchester is 115,572; the number of people who have tested positive in the county is 31,611. The county currently estimates the number of active cases in the county to be 2,985. There are currently 498 Westchester Residents hospitalized in Westchester County. The cumulative number of positive cases in White Plains is 1671 with 147 of those estimated to be active- 4 of which are new cases today (Wednesday).

Today it was announced that on Friday 4 of the 10 New York State economic development regions will be permitted to enter phase 1 of reopening. The regions impacted are North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley. We are in the Mid Hudson region which is currently meeting 5 of the 7 metrics required to begin the reopening process. The two metrics we are not meeting are moving in the right direction.

As a reminder, individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 which include fever, cough and congestion can walk in to be tested at White Plains Hospital Emergency Department. Testing is also available at urgent care facilities such as City MD at the corner of Maple and Mamaroneck and Forme on Broadway near Main St. or contact your health care provider.

There will be food distributions in White Plains on Friday, one at George Washington Elementary School from 11am until noon,sponsored by the GWPTA, and two city run distributions at Delfino Park and Battle Hill Firehouse both at 2pm. If you are in need of food assistance please email feedingwp@whiteplainsny.gov. If you are in need of a mask please email maskwp@whiteplainsny.gov. If you would like to help please email volunteer@whiteplainsny.gov. Our next call will be Friday until then..

Remember we are standing together by staying apart!

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WPCNR WEDNESDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. By John F. Bailey:

Governor Andrew Cuomo reported Department of Health  Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker briefed  Health Commissioners across the country Tuesday night on what New York State has found out about the Inflamed Blood Vessel disease that the state has discovered in 102 children of ages 1 to 18.

Dr. Zucker will also go online in a webinar with healthcare providers to discuss the disease tomorrow.

The Governor said in the video that 60% of the 102 tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and 40% for the COVID anti bodies, and 14% of the 60% were positive for both covid-19 and the antibodies.

Of the 60%, 71% were admitted to ICUs. 19% were put on ventilators, and 43% were still hospitalized as of yesterday, demonstrating the serious nature of how this derivation from coronavirus has been affecting young persons, all of whom have tested positive for the corona virus, and some of whom have been found to have antibodies. As I understand the meaning of this is that the antibodies may or may not make corona virus positive children (who did not contract the COVID virus) immune to getting the new condition , the inflammation of the blood vessels condition.  

There is no indication of how many children across the state have tested positive for coronavirus in various locations, though infection rate of children was estimated at 1% on testing results.

The Governor reported 14 other states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Washington, D.C. have reported cases of this new affliction. The Inflammation of Blood Vessels condition has been reported in Spain, France, England, Italy and Switzerland. The Governor said the Department of Health is discussing the new condition with these countries.

 The governor said in the video sequence at the top of this page that the new infection may be being contracted by children as a side effect of being corona positive, but not actually coming down with coronavirus  (within two weeks or at all). The upshot is that the Governor has directed hospitals to test all children with these systems for corona virus positive condition.

He is having hospitals identify previous corona virus positive children who have not gotten the corona virus (but may get the new infection 5 to 6 weeks after quarantined), to screen for the blood vessel affliction that has infected children of all ages and ethnicity in the first 102 reported cases of the new threat.

The Governor said it was important for parents to have any child exposed to a COVID-19 positive  patient, relative or friend to be tested for the corona virus., if they are seeing any of the symptoms  the governor goes over in the video, to see a physician as soon as possible.

New York continues steady on the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations.

The Governor said the new cases of hospitalizations were “a little bit up” but not so much that they broke the average rate of new  infection streak of lowering new cases.

The Governor stated there were 166 deaths from the Coronavirus Tuesday, 122 in hospitals, 44 in Nursing Homes.

He announced 12 new counties hospitals were cleared to begin scheduling  elective surgery again.

The Governor said antibody testing of all essential workers had been completed and all transit, police/fire, EMS, medial personnel, and Department of Corrections employees had been tested and all  corona virus cases were virtually half the infection rate of the general public. Again, the governor held up a mask, and said “PPE’s work.”

He announced the North Country Region was opening up..

In discussing his call for government reimbursement to states, he noted that Representative Nita Lowey had introduced a bill to repeat the State & Local Tax law point out how much revenue New York and Massachusetts  had lost in revenues by this legislation enacted by the Trump Administration.

In the “Q. & A” with reporters from the North County region at Jefferson College, the governor said he could not put a handle on how many employees would be cut from the prisons, until he saw the Washington “in process” relief bill.

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GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCES LEGISLATION TO INVEST $4 BILLION TO CLOSE GROWING EDUCATION GAP AMIDST CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced legislation to invest $4 billion in educational funding in the next relief package to ensure students have access to technology and broadband in order to continue their education during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Research shows the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the “homework gap” experienced by an estimated 12 million students who lack reliable internet access at home. This problem particularly affects students in rural and urban areas, as well as lower-income students and students of color.

Before the pandemic, roughly 70 percent of educators assigned schoolwork that required internet access but, as schools have closed, remote learning is now required for the majority of students.

The Senate’s Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020 would provide $4 billion in funding to ensure that all K-12 students have adequate home internet connectivity in order to continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This funding is critical to closing the learning gap and ensuring that every student can succeed during this crisis,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The coronavirus pandemic has forced students to continue their education from home, yet millions across the country lack reliable internet access and are unable to complete their homework. Far too often these are the students already at risk of falling behind. We must fight to close the pervasive digital gap in our country so that every student – no matter their socioeconomic status or zip code – can receive a quality education. I’m proud to work with my colleagues on this bill and will continue fighting for this critical funding in the next relief package.”

Research shows the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the “homework gap” experienced by the estimated 12 million students who lack reliable internet access at home.

A recent poll from the Education Trust of New York found that about 40 percent of families in New York State do not have access to an internet connected device or do not have access to reliable high speed internet at home.

And, at the start of the pandemic in New York City, there were at least 300,000 students in need of an internet-connected device in order to continue learning from home. 

With schools expected to remain closed beyond the current school year, the Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020 would address these inequalities and prevent students from falling further behind by ensuring they are connected. 

• Provide $4 billion in federal support for elementary and secondary schools and libraries, including tribal schools and libraries, to provide Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and internet-enabled devices (as well as internet service through such equipment) to students, staff, and patrons;
• Allow schools and libraries to continue to use the equipment after the emergency period; and
• Ensure schools and libraries prioritize support for those most in need, following the guidelines of the E-Rate program.

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WPCNR GOVERNOR CUOMO TUESDAY CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. By John F. Bailey. May 12, 2020 UPDATED 11 PM EDT:

Governor Andrew Cuomo, speaking from Binghampton University today lead off his briefing today, urging parents whose children experience any of the symptoms above, should have their child or children (especially if they have been previously diagnosed as Covid-19 Positive .

All 100 cases of this new disease that inflames the blood vessels have occurred in children who have been diagnosed Covid-19 positive without getting the corona virus disease, but have developed this new condition. The Governor said there were approximately 100 cases. There were 93 yesterday. There have been 3 deaths, including two boys, 5 and 7 years of age, and an 18 year old girl yesterday.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in a news release late Tuesday afternoon, directed hospitals statewide to prioritize COVID-19 testing for children displaying symptoms similar to an atypical Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome. The State is currently investigating approximately 100 reported cases in New York where children – predominantly school-aged – are experiencing these symptoms possibly due to COVID-19.

 Health care providers, including hospitals, are required to report to the Department of Health all cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with COVID-19 in those under 21 years of age.

The Governor said the New York congressional delegation has agreed to sponsor his Americans First Bill calling for massive state aid to avoid states having to fire workers, and not provide “bailouts for greedy businesses.”

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that members of New York’s Congressional Delegation – Representative Nydia Velázquez, Representative Thomas Suozzi, Representative Carolyn Maloney, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Representative Gregory Meeks, Representative Grace Meng, Representative Eliot Engel, Representative Paul Tonko, Representative José Serrano, Representative Joe Morelle, Representative Adriano Espaillat and Representative Yvette Clarke – will propose the ‘Americans First Law’ to help prevent corporate bailouts following the COVID-19 pandemic. First proposed by the Governor on May 10th, the law states that a corporation cannot be eligible to receive government funding if it doesn’t maintain the same number of employees that the corporation had before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his talk he said that New York alone needs $61 Billion to fund testing and tracing programs, and avoid cutting education, counties and cities and towns, and Hospitals 20% across the board. The $61 Billion is up from the $35 Million the governor stated Sunday.

Governor Cuomo clarifed in the “Q. & A.” with the press, that it was up to the local health departments in regions that are preparing to reopen after May 15 to enforce social distancing in business settings allowed to reopen, because as that is what the law says.

The Governor declined to answer directly if the hospitalization rate or community infection rate exceeds 1 person infecting more than 1.1 other persons would have to shutdown and retart the opening immediately. He said that was up to the Region Control Boards.

He said if Control Boards were monitoring the numbers correctly they should be able to correct the community spread before it got out of control.

The Governor named the Capitol Region as having met 7 of 7 metrics overnight and could choose to reopen after May 15

The Governor said, “The way you stop a community spread is with community unity.”