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LATIMER ON THE GROWTH IN WESTCHESTER CORONAVIRUS CASES THIS WEEK— BAILEY ON THE WESTCHESTER INFECTION RATE–NASSAU-SUFFOLK LEADERS
TONIGHT ON WHITE PLAINS TV, CH. 45 FIOS COUNTYWIDE, AND CABLEVISION CH. 76 WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK USA AND www.wpcommunitymedia.org
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AMID ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, GOVERNOR CUOMO ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER TO MAKE SURE EVERY NEW YORKER AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVES A POSTAGE-PAID ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION
Governor Previously Issued Executive Order Allowing All New Yorkers to Vote Absentee in June 23 Primary Elections
New York State Revenues Estimated to Decline by $13.3 Billion from Executive Budget Forecast; $61 Billion Shortfall Over Financial Plan Period of FY 2021 to FY 2024 Due to COVID-19
Confirms 8,130 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to 271,590; New Cases in 46 Counties
WPCNR FRIDAY ANDREW CUOMO CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. April 24, 2020:
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced he will issue an Executive Order mandating that the New York State Board of Elections automatically mail every New Yorker a postage-paid application for an absentee ballot. Earlier this month, the Governor issued an Executive Order allowing all New Yorkers to vote absentee in the June 23rd primary election.
The Governor also outlined the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the state. New York State revenues are estimated to decline by $13.3 billion – or 14 percent – from the Executive Budget forecast. Additionally, the revenues are estimated to decline by $61 billion over the financial plan period of FY 2021 to FY 2024.
“We’re making great progress to flatten the curve and decrease the spread of infection, but we don’t know when this pandemic will end and we can’t put democracy on hold,” Governor Cuomo said. “I am issuing an Executive Order to ensure every New York voter automatically receives a postage-paid application for an absentee ballot because no New Yorker should have to choose between their health and their right to vote.”
Finally, the Governor confirmed 8,130 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 271,590 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 271,590 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows (NY METROPOLITAN COUNTIES HIGHLIGHTED IN BOLD FACE):
| County | Total Positive | New Positive |
| Albany | 805 | 47 |
| Allegany | 31 | 1 |
| Broome | 232 | 8 |
| Cattaraugus | 39 | 2 |
| Cayuga | 39 | 2 |
| Chautauqua | 27 | 1 |
| Chemung | 79 | 3 |
| Chenango | 84 | 2 |
| Clinton | 53 | 1 |
| Columbia | 129 | 6 |
| Cortland | 25 | 0 |
| Delaware | 51 | 1 |
| Dutchess | 2,517 | 57 |
| Erie | 2,603 | 153 |
| Essex | 22 | 0 |
| Franklin | 13 | 0 |
| Fulton | 29 | 1 |
| Genesee | 127 | 1 |
| Greene | 90 | 1 |
| Hamilton | 3 | 0 |
| Herkimer | 56 | 2 |
| Jefferson | 58 | 2 |
| Lewis | 9 | 0 |
| Livingston | 44 | 3 |
| Madison | 106 | 0 |
| Monroe | 1199 | 47 |
| Montgomery | 39 | 0 |
| Nassau | 32,765 | 641 |
| Niagara | 332 | 37 |
| NYC | 150,473 | 4,618 |
| Oneida | 323 | 6 |
| Onondaga | 639 | 39 |
| Ontario | 73 | 0 |
| Orange | 7,155 | 339 |
| Orleans | 60 | 1 |
| Oswego | 51 | 2 |
| Otsego | 50 | 0 |
| Putnam | 619 | 4 |
| Rensselaer | 198 | 7 |
| Rockland | 10,091 | 263 |
| Saratoga | 278 | 13 |
| Schenectady | 297 | 9 |
| Schoharie | 21 | 0 |
| Schuyler | 7 | 0 |
| Seneca | 18 | 0 |
| St. Lawrence | 144 | 5 |
| Steuben | 171 | 0 |
| Suffolk | 30,606 | 1,039 |
| Sullivan | 628 | 48 |
| Tioga | 40 | 0 |
| Tompkins | 121 | 2 |
| Ulster | 976 | 34 |
| Warren | 122 | 3 |
| Washington | 83 | 3 |
| Wayne | 53 | 0 |
| Westchester | 26,633 | 674 |
| Wyoming | 43 | 2 |
| Yates | 11 | 0 |
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WPCNR THURSDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO CORONAVIRUS REPORT. By John F. Bailey:
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s opening word in today’s Albany Coronavirus Report was “grim.”
He said the Hospitalization Rate was continuing down or flat averaging 1,300 patients a day the last three days. The “flat” nature of the Hospitalization Rate was hard to “read, “not great news.”
When pressed in the reporters’ “Q. & A.” (after the briefing) questioning the Governor on why three weeks of flattening the curve and a flattening Hospitalization rate, wasn’t that “enough,” the Governor said he did not have an “Infection Rate,” he did not have an certain “Hospitalization Rate” direction. When asked how much information he needed to reopen the state, the Governor said it depends on the numbers direction to make the reopen call.
The Governor reported he was launching a state investigation of nursing home performance to see how many homes violated the state regulations during the coronavirus infections affecting nursing homes across the state.
At today’s Briefing, a reporter query on nursing home complaints of equipment shortages, a member of the Cuomo team said the state had distributed to nursing homes alone as of two weeks ago, 417,000 surgical masks, 105,000 surgical gowns, 423,000 sets of gloves, among other items. The governor explained that there were shortages all over the country of this equipment.
The Director of the New York State Department of Health said he would get the figures on how many nursing home patients were transferred out of nursing homes to a hospital (since nursing homes are required to transfer residents whom they could not care appropriately for to do so.).
Asked what went “wrong” (with nursing homes) by another correspondent, the Governor said “Nothing went wrong,” attributing it to the suddenness of the situations, as he has said often, saying it was a stressful situation due to the unprecedented spread of the virus.
Mr. Cuomo reported the way forward again was heavy testing, and tracing before and after the reopening.
He reported the first results of such information gathering initiatives — the state effort to survey at random persons throughout the state beginning two days ago by health department personnel Monday in order to determine the “Infection rate” across the state.
The Governor early in the coronavirus growth, recalled that the only certainty was the Hospitalization Rate, which showed how fast the COVID-19 virus was spreading. “I said I needed to have the Infection Rate.”
Mr. Cuomo said the first “Infection Rate” rate statewide of persons so far, showed that those who had had virus and were no longer infected was 13.9%.
He noted the New York Metropolitan Area had a 12% Infection Rate in Westchester with New York Boroughs a 22% infection rate. The survey was of persons interviewed outside of their homes in grocery and box stores. Whites had the lowest incidents of infection (now cured), while minorities had the most due, the governor theorized because of their urban dense locations.
In the Q.A., with the Governor turning reporters loose on their own to follow the new protocol of one question at a time and no shouting simultaneously. The reporters did well. Questions were miked in the Red Room, and this seemed to bolster their confidence, as well as making the conference more informative and fast moving.
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MIKE BLOOMBERG TO FUND, ORGANIZE, TRAIN, DISPATCH, TRACING PROGRAM JURISDICTIONALLY COORDINATED IN NY-CT-NJ
HIRING 35,000 MEDICAL STUDENTS AS TRACERS TO THE HOT SPOTS.
CURVE CONTINUES ON A SLOW DESCENT.
THE TRUMP & CUOMO TEAM :
“VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING”. $1.3 BILLION FOR NY FOR TRACING, AGREEMENT ON FUNDING STATE REVENUE LOSSES. CONGRESS NEXT STOP
“NOT THE TIME FOR BABY STEPS,” CUOMO TELLS CONGRESS.
BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS, TRANSIT HAVE TO OPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY.
WPCNR WEDNESDAY GOVERNOR CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING By John F. Bailey, April 22, 2020:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo told his news conference on coronavirus this morning on Day 53 of the New York State coronavirus pandemic, “We are in a much better place. The downward curve is on descent, the Hospitalization Rate of new cases continues down.
Intubations of patients (to ventilators) lowest it has been. Now, the governor said it remains to be seen “how long” it will take to get to an acceptably low level of new hospitalizations to open, “3 weeks to 6 weeks?”
The Goveronor focused on the 474 new deaths reported yesterday. He said whether the curve continues down we will know by how people behave: “You will see the results in the number of hsopitalizations in just a few days… your effort is how we get out of this. Truth and facts that’s how we operate in New York.”
Though the curve of coronavirus infections is going down, the governor said, “Don’t be too cocky. I’m not going to make the decision to reopen on political pressure to reopen. We can’t make the wrong decision. Now is not the time to act stupid. More people will die if we are not smart. That is not who we are.”
He said he had a “productive meeting at the White House yesterday. We spoke truth and facts and made a plan going forward, meeting with The President and his political team. They don’t like me much politically, but when you’re in a foxhole, you may not care for the guy in the foxhole next to you, but you protect the person next to you and charge up the hill. That was the sense of the meeting.”
The Governor said the President agreed to the states doing the testing, and the government would fund the money for supplies to ramp up the testing, about 40,000 tests a week., and $1.3 Billlion to fund the tracing program that Governor Cuomo feels is essential to stopping coronavirus from reigniting before any opening of the New York State economy takes place. Agreement on reimbursing New York State for its lost revenues was also agreed on, and is up to congress.
Mr. Cuomo said the first two relief bills passed by Congress were great, “I get that.” But he pointed out again the revenue losses that left New York and other states facing massive cuts to education, health, and local municipalities Mr. Cuomo said the congress has to act on a third bill to make states solvent: “Now is not the time to take baby steps.”
The Governor announced plans to hire 35,000 medical students to act as tracers who would follow coronavirus positives from places of work to where they lived to trace what other populations they may have infected.
He said Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York, has volunteered to head up the Tracing Program, select and train the force of student “Tracers.” Governor Cuomo said that the Tracing Program would also trace in New Jersey, resources being split between the two states. Mr. Bloomberg is donating $20 Million to the Tracing Program.
In a news release at 2:15 PM from the Governor’s office more details:
“Mike Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies have committed organizational support and technical assistance to help build and execute this new program. The contact tracing program will be done in coordination with the downstate region as well as New Jersey and Connecticut and will serve as an important resource to gather best practices and as a model that can be replicated across the nation. There has never been a contact tracing program implemented at this scale either in New York or anywhere in the United States. The program will launch immediately.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed $10.5 million, along with organizational support and technical assistance, to help build and execute this new program.
“The numbers indicate we are past the apex of this pandemic, and while we start our work to re-open our economy we must ensure we are doing it in a way that does no harm and does not undo all of the work and sacrifice it has taken to get here,” Governor Cuomo said. “One of the most critical pieces of getting to a new normal is to ramp up testing, but states have a second big task – to put together an army of people to trace each person who tested positive, find out who they contacted and then isolate those people. This partnership with Mike Bloomberg to create an unprecedented, nation-leading contact tracing program will do just that and serve as a model for the rest of the nation.”
“We’re all eager to begin loosening restrictions on our daily lives and our economy. But in order to do that as safely as possible, we first have to put in place systems to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus and support them as they isolate,” said Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP, three-term mayor of New York City. “I’m honored to partner with Governor Cuomo and New York State to help do that, by creating a new contact tracing program on a widespread scale. Coupled with far more testing, it will help us drive the virus into a corner — saving lives and allowing more people to begin getting back to work.”
The Governor announced the coronavirus concentrations are three times higher coronavirus infections communities of minorities that have industrial plants contributing to air pollution that puts the neigborhood residents more at risk.
In the “Q. & A.” the Governor, when queried incessantly on why not reopen because so many people have no pay, have limited cash and needed to get back to work, the Governor said: “The illness is death. It is not about me, it is about we. Speak out as if it was you and your family. Nothing comes before the public health risk.”
On the issue of nursing homes losing licenses and providing care nursing homes were not providing, the governor said he would address this issue more fully Thursday. He patiently explained to reporters all over the nursing home problems, that the state regulated and licensed, but the nursing homes were private they were not state run. The governor did say if the nursing homes could not take care of coronavirus patients appropriately, the state could relieve the concerns of their licenses.
The governor said business, schools, and transit would all open simultaneously in any reopening and repeated his intention yesterday to open gradually across the state.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Department of Financial Services will direct health insurers to provide cash flow relief to, and ease administrative burdens on, New York State hospitals in response to COVID-19. Relief provided to hospitals during the pandemic includes insurers’ immediate payment of outstanding accounts receivables, suspension of preauthorization requirements for all hospital services, and prohibition of retrospective review of claims.
The Governor insisted on the protocol of one question at a time, not reacting to the tumult of questions until they all quieted. Then in the guilty diedown of random questions the governor reminded reporters in the “Q. & A,” who were cautioned once more that only one questioner at a time would be taken and he would go one-by-one, but did allow followup questions to the individual reporters in their first-call sequence.
It is unclear at this time the results of the medical tests on treatments that were promised Tuesday.
Finally, the Governor confirmed 5,526 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 257,216 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 257,216 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
| County | Total Positive | New Positive |
| Albany | 737 | 33 |
| Allegany | 30 | 0 |
| Broome | 219 | 14 |
| Cattaraugus | 37 | 2 |
| Cayuga | 36 | 0 |
| Chautauqua | 26 | 1 |
| Chemung | 75 | 0 |
| Chenango | 79 | 0 |
| Clinton | 51 | 0 |
| Columbia | 117 | 4 |
| Cortland | 25 | 0 |
| Delaware | 50 | 1 |
| Dutchess | 2,391 | 60 |
| Erie | 2,233 | 86 |
| Essex | 22 | 1 |
| Franklin | 13 | 0 |
| Fulton | 28 | 1 |
| Genesee | 122 | 1 |
| Greene | 87 | 0 |
| Hamilton | 3 | 0 |
| Herkimer | 53 | 3 |
| Jefferson | 54 | 0 |
| Lewis | 9 | 0 |
| Livingston | 39 | 0 |
| Madison | 106 | 0 |
| Monroe | 1112 | 42 |
| Montgomery | 38 | 1 |
| Nassau | 31,555 | 476 |
| Niagara | 268 | 8 |
| NYC | 142,432 | 3,107 |
| Oneida | 301 | 17 |
| Onondaga | 526 | 12 |
| Ontario | 73 | 1 |
| Orange | 6,690 | 129 |
| Orleans | 56 | 3 |
| Oswego | 49 | 0 |
| Otsego | 49 | 0 |
| Putnam | 611 | 6 |
| Rensselaer | 186 | 3 |
| Rockland | 9,699 | 131 |
| Saratoga | 264 | 7 |
| Schenectady | 280 | 7 |
| Schoharie | 20 | 0 |
| Schuyler | 7 | 0 |
| Seneca | 18 | 0 |
| St. Lawrence | 123 | 3 |
| Steuben | 171 | 1 |
| Suffolk | 28,854 | 700 |
| Sullivan | 561 | 6 |
| Tioga | 39 | 2 |
| Tompkins | 119 | 0 |
| Ulster | 913 | 20 |
| Warren | 108 | 6 |
| Washington | 73 | 5 |
| Wayne | 52 | 1 |
| Westchester | 25,276 | 620 |
| Wyoming | 40 | 4 |
| Yates | 11 | 1 |
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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. April 21, 2020. 10 PM EDT:
Following his meeting with President Trump earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a partnership with the federal government to double testing capacity in New York State.
VIDEO of the Governor’s remarks is available on YouTube here
We had a meeting at the White House this afternoon and it was very productive and it was positive and we got a lot done.
I’ve been talking for a number of days as have most governors about testing as the next phase that we have to enter into. We’re starting to talk about reopening and planning reopening.
Everyone is obviously concerned about how you reopen and if you reopen in a way that is too rushed and you’re not prepared you could actually see the infection rate go up which is the last thing that anybody wants. Testing is the best way to inform and educate yourself as you go through the reopening process so you can watch not just hospitalizations – which we’ll have that data – but also testing so you can look at the infection rate across the state and see how the infection rate is increasing.
Also, testing for employees who want to go back, employers who want to know whether or not the employees are actually negative of the virus. Testing has been a very big task to undertake. There’s also been a lot of back and forth between the states, my state included, and the federal government about who does what on testing and who is responsible.
I said this morning that I think in many ways people are just talking past each other because the federal government is helping on testing and states are responsible for testing but testing is a very complicated issue with a lot of levels. To have a real progress you have to sit down and go through the various steps of testing and actually decide who does what and that’s what we did this afternoon.
We agreed that the state government should be responsible for managing the actual tests in their own laboratories. We have about 300 laboratories in the State of New York. We regulate those laboratories. It’s up to a state to determine how many tests, where those tests should be done, New York City versus Buffalo versus Long Island, et cetera, the staff to do those tests, how often you do the tests – those should all be state decisions and state responsibilities.
The antibody test, which is one of the tests, how do you use those, when – that should all be up to the states.
The tracing function – that is the function after testing that actually traces people who are positive, who did they come in contact with, to isolate them – that’s all the state’s responsibility.
The problem with testing and bringing testing up to scale has been the national manufacturers of the equipment who make the testing kits that they have to send to the state labs so the state labs can actually perform them. Those are done by national manufacturers.
The national manufacturers have said they have a problem with the supply chain to quickly ramp up those tests. They need swabs, they need vials and they need chemicals, quote, unquote reagents.
That is where the federal government can help. States cannot do international supply chains. I guess they could, but not in this time frame and it’s not what we do. You shouldn’t have 50 states competing to do international supply chains.
One of my colleagues, Governor Hogan the Chairman of the National Governor’s Association who is the Governor of Maryland – Republican, good man – he was bringing tests in from South Korea. Very creative and proactive on his part, but that’s not what states normally do. Let the federal government take responsibility for that federal supply chain for the national manufacturers. That’s what we agreed in this meeting.
That is an intelligent division of labor, in my opinion. Let each level of government do what it does best and it ends this back and forth, what do the states do, what does Washington do, who’s responsible, et cetera.
To quantify that situation in the State of New York, we now do, on average, about 20,000 tests per day. Our goal, which is very aggressive and ambitious but set it high and then try, our goal is to double the 20,000 to get to 40,000 tests per day.
We need several weeks to ramp up to that, but it is a very aggressive goal.
That is our current system at maximum. Our current laboratory system, 7-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day. The maximum our system, as it exists, can do is that number. That’s our goal and it was a very productive conversation.
Again, that is the biggest single task we have to do that is identifiable from today. It ends the whole back and forth and the finger pointing in a very fair and smart way. It’s a smart resolution so I feel very good about that. If we could double our tests that would be a home run. That is a really, really big deal.
We also talked about funding to the states.
The legislation that the Congress passed did not have funding for the states. It passed additional money for small business and that’s great and we need that and that’s a positive, but it did not fund state governments, which to me is just a mistake, frankly. Fund small businesses, fund airlines, but you don’t fund police, you don’t fund fire, you don’t fund healthcare workers, you don’t fund teachers, you don’t fund schools, you cut the aid to schools in this state.
You know the state governments are broke, to use a very blunt term.
You know the state governments are now responsible for the reopening and the governors are going to do the reopening, and they have no funds to do it.
So, we talked about that, the President said he understood the issue and that he would work very hard to get funding for the states in the next piece of legislation that passes. And we hope there is another piece of legislation.
I also told the President, from my parochial point of view, we had a conversation with Secretary Mnuchin and the President, that there is a match.
What’s called a local match for FEMA funding. When the FEMA does something, the local government should match that funding by twenty five percent.
I said to the President there is no way New York can pay that match because we don’t have the funding period and it is disproportionate to New York, because we’ve had such a much larger number of cases than any other state in the United States. That it falls disproportionately on New York, which disproportionately is dealing with this crisis in the first place.
We get all the hardship and then we get a bill because we had the hardship. Makes absolutely no sense and as a practical matter we couldn’t pay it anyway.
The President said he understood and that he would work to waive the local match.
Secretary Mnuchin said he understood. Secretary Mnuchin was very supportive and I thank him for his support and the President said that he understood and that he would take care of it and I believe that he will, because he did understand it and that’s a big deal for the state of New York.
Again, the incongruity the state that had the most pain and death should get a bill because they endured pain and death. I mean it makes no sense. So, that was a lot and it was complicated, but vitally important and the resolution was good across the board.
We met not just with the President, but with members of his team because a lot of this is granular and detailed and if you don’t work out the details there is no conceptual agreement, right? It has to be on the details, so people actually know what we’re agreeing to and it was on that level.
So, I thank all the people on the President’s team who made themselves available and work this through with us in detail and it’s a really positive, positive resolution.
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WPCNR TUESDAY CORONAVIRUS CUOMO REPORT. By John F. Bailey. April 21, 2020:
Governor Andrew Cuomo visited Buffalo to deliver his Tuesday briefing where Buffalo is seeing a plateauing of new virus cases, in contrast to downstate in the New York metropolitan area which the governor said is in descent, with new hospitalizations continuing flat.
He said downstate counties are in Descent, Buffalo on Plateau. He now will open state economy by region. He will allow unstressed hospitals upstate to accept elective surgery except Dutchess, Westchester and Rockland. He names 2 to Make the Opening Economy Calls Upstate. Goes to Washington to Talk Tests . 481 New Deaths in NY. Total State Deaths: 14,828.
The Governor again called for the U.S. Government to expedite purchase of Reagents (chemicals required to increase output of coronavirus tests). The governor is traveling to Washington, D.C. today to talk with President Trump on the government taking over responsibility for expediting reagents for the manufacturers of the test machines which evaluate the test swabs for positive or negative presence of the coronavirus.
The governor announced he was lifting the ban on elective surgeries in select upstate hospitals as he promised yesterday, but not in Westchester, Rockland and Dutchess Counties.
He retreated from his stance that the entire New York State would have to reopen as a whole simultaneously, announcing a regional reopening pattern in the state. He appointed Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul to handle the northern tier of the state, and Robert Duffy, former Lieutenant Governor to make decisions on the Finger Lake region of the state.
This afternoon details were released by the press office on the elective surgery resumption which begins on April 28, 2020 if the hospital capacity is over 25 percent for the county and if there have been fewer than 10 new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in the county over the past 10 days.
If a hospital is located in a county eligible to resume elective outpatient treatments, but that hospital has a capacity under 25 percent or has had more than 10 new hospitalizations in the past 10 days, that hospital is not eligible to resume elective surgeries.
If a county or hospital that has resumed elective surgery experiences a decrease in hospital capacity below the 25 percent threshold or an increase of 10 or more new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients, elective surgeries must cease.
Further, patients must test negative for COVID-19 prior to any elective outpatient treatment. The State Department of Health will issue guidance on resuming elective surgeries.
Restrictions on elective surgery will remain in place in Bronx, Queens, Rockland, Nassau, Clinton, Yates, Westchester, Albany, Richmond, Schuyler, Kings, Suffolk, New York, Dutchess, Sullivan, Ulster, Erie, Orange and Rensselaer Counties as the state continues to monitor the rate of new COVID-19 infections in the region.
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Finally, the Governor confirmed 4,178 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 251,690 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 251,690 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows (Metropolitan NY in BOLD TYPEFACE):
| County | Total Positive | New Positive |
| Albany | 704 | 17 |
| Allegany | 30 | 0 |
| Broome | 205 | 6 |
| Cattaraugus | 35 | 1 |
| Cayuga | 36 | 0 |
| Chautauqua | 25 | 0 |
| Chemung | 75 | 2 |
| Chenango | 79 | 1 |
| Clinton | 51 | 0 |
| Columbia | 113 | 2 |
| Cortland | 25 | 0 |
| Delaware | 49 | 0 |
| Dutchess | 2,331 | 47 |
| Erie | 2,147 | 38 |
| Essex | 21 | 1 |
| Franklin | 13 | 0 |
| Fulton | 27 | 0 |
| Genesee | 121 | 2 |
| Greene | 87 | 1 |
| Hamilton | 3 | 0 |
| Herkimer | 50 | 1 |
| Jefferson | 54 | 0 |
| Lewis | 9 | 0 |
| Livingston | 39 | 0 |
| Madison | 106 | 0 |
| Monroe | 1,070 | 16 |
| Montgomery | 37 | 2 |
| Nassau | 31,079 | 402 |
| Niagara | 260 | 5 |
| NYC | 139,325 | 2,519 |
| Oneida | 284 | 5 |
| Onondaga | 514 | 5 |
| Ontario | 72 | 1 |
| Orange | 6,561 | 79 |
| Orleans | 53 | 7 |
| Oswego | 49 | 1 |
| Otsego | 49 | 0 |
| Putnam | 605 | 6 |
| Rensselaer | 183 | 6 |
| Rockland | 9,568 | 111 |
| Saratoga | 257 | 3 |
| Schenectady | 273 | 4 |
| Schoharie | 20 | 0 |
| Schuyler | 7 | 0 |
| Seneca | 18 | 0 |
| St. Lawrence | 120 | 10 |
| Steuben | 170 | 3 |
| Suffolk | 28,154 | 492 |
| Sullivan | 555 | 11 |
| Tioga | 37 | 0 |
| Tompkins | 119 | 0 |
| Ulster | 893 | 16 |
| Warren | 102 | 1 |
| Washington | 68 | 3 |
| Wayne | 51 | 1 |
| Westchester | 24,656 | 350 |
| Wyoming | 36 | 0 |
| Yates | 10 | 0 |
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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. APRIL 21, 2020;
A WPCNR CORRESPONDENT recommends the following article from “Smart Air” which surveys household materials on the relative ability of the materials to stop the .1 micron diameter coronavirus. The article may be read at
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WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. April 21, 2020:
Current Westchester Data
Westchester Cases: 24,306 (+503) (UPDATED 4:20 pm– NOW 24,656)
Westchester Tests: 73,340 (+1599)
Westchester Fatalities: 776 (+33)
New York State Cases: 247,512 (+4,726)
New York State Tests: 633,861 (+16,301)
New York State Fatalities: 14,347 (+478)
Unincorporated Greenburgh: 675 tested positive; Tarrytown: 168; Dobbs Ferry: 147; Elmsford: 106; Hastings: 73; Ardsley:60; Irvington: 52
Editor’s Note: MAYOR TOM ROACH OF WHITE PLAINS last night advised White Plains residents there were 1,010 coronavirus cases in White Plains and of Westchester 24,306 cases, 10,008 were active of whom 1,089 were hospitalized
Last night the Greenburgh Town Board met with all department heads and with the Hartsdale Fire Chief, Ray Maseda and with the Fairview Fire Chief, Howard Reiss for our weekly update -how departments are functioning during the Covid-19 crisis. The Greenville Fire department declined to participate. The meeting can be watched on the link below.
TOWN ANTICIPATES 7 MILLION DOLLARS IN LOST REVENUE:
The major topic discussed: the impact this crisis is having on local governments, like the town of Greenburgh.
Comptroller Roberta Romano estimates that unless the United States Congress passes another Stimulus package to help towns like Greenburgh – we could lose 7 million dollars.
We anticipate a 2.4 million dollar revenue shortfall in the A budget (town and villages) and a 4.6 million dollar shortfall in the B budget (unincorporated Greenburgh).
I participated in a conference call with United States Senator Chuck Schumer last week (with other town and county officials) and will participate in a conference call with US Senator Gillibrand tomorrow afternoon–we all are lobbying Washington to provide financial help to local governments. The Congress is considering but it’s not a done deal.
MAJOR CUTS HAVE TO BE MADE TO AVOID TAX HIKES
Members of the Town Board and I recognize that many residents are out of work and don’t have the incomes they used to. As a result -we are going to have to make difficult choices that no one will like: cuts in our budget.
The Board discussed deferring 2020 capital budget items that were previously approved to the future. Bulk pickups -which many enjoyed, has been suspended. DPW is considering either eliminating this service or charging residents for the service. All purchase orders will require Town Board approvals.
Discussing legislation from Albany to authorize early retirement packages which will make it easier to reduce our workforce. New hirings on hold. Other initiatives are also being considered and will be an announced when finalized.
DEFERRED- COURT HOUSE AND POLICE HQ
The Board discussed deferring plans for a new Court House and Police HQ but will appropriate funds for essential short term safety initiatives such as making space available for a women’s locker room so that the police can hire additional female officers. We need to address ADA compliance concerns. We need a new court house and police HQ but this is not the time for a significant new capital expenditure.
During the work session (which you can watch below) Jared Rosenberg, head of our EMS unit, gave a very depressing account – at least 33 Greenburgh residents are dead from this virus.
HELPING SENIORS WITH FOOD & VIRTUAL MARRIAGE LICENSES AND CEREMONIES
Gerry Byrne, Commissioner of Parks and Andre Early, Commissioner of Human Resources at the Theodore Young Community Center discussed our outreach efforts – helping local seniors obtain food. And Town Clerk Judith Beville mentioned that her office is preparing for virtual marriage licenses and ceremonies -authorized by NYS last week.
WAITING TO HEAR FROM COUNTY EXEC WHETHER LAW COUNTY LEGISLATURE APPROVED RE: REDUCED TAX PENALTIES WILL BE SIGNED INTO LAW
Receiver of Taxes Anne Povella inquired about the law approved by the Westchester County Board of Legislators last week authorizing towns to reduce penalties on the April taxes for late payments. If the law is signed by the County Executive penalties for paying your taxes in May will be a half of one percent. And 1% till July 15th. I contacted the Deputy County Executive last night who advised me that the County Executive has 10 days to sign or veto the legislation. No decision has been made as of last night.
LINK TO TOWN BOARD DISCUSSION WITH DEPARTMENT HEADS- UPDATE ON COVID 19 RESPONSES AND BUDGET MATTERShttps://greenburghny.swagit.com/play/04212020-510
Paul Feiner
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WPCNR RECOVERY REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. April 21, 2020:
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware Governor John Carney, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker Sunday announced their appointees to the multi-state council to restore the economy and get people back to work. The appointees include one health expert, one economic development expert and the respective Chief of Staff from each state.
The appointees from each state include:
New York
New Jersey
Connecticut
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
“We have been collaborating closely with our neighboring states to combat this pandemic through a uniform approach to social distancing and density reduction and it has been working well. Now it is time to start opening the valve slowly and carefully while watching the infection rate meter so we don’t trigger a second wave of new infections,” Governor Cuomo said. “This is not a light switch that we can just flick on and everything goes back to normal – we have to come up with a smart, consistent strategy to restart the systems we shut down and get people back to work, and to the extent possible we want to do that through a regional approach because we are a regional economy. New York is partnering with these five states to create a multi-state council that will come up with a framework based on science and data to gradually ease the stay at home restrictions and get our economy back up and running.”
Governor Phil Murphy said, “No one has given more thought or is more eager to restart our economy than I am, but if we don’t get the sequencing right, we put more lives at risk. The only path to a sustainable economic recovery is through a strong healthcare recovery. Then, and only then, do we position ourselves to fully ignite our economy and get the residents of our state back to work while minimizing the danger of this disease. A coordinated, regional approach, informed by a multi-state council of experts, will help us avoid a major setback with potentially disastrous consequences. I look forward to the day when the facts on the ground allow us to ease our restrictions and move our regional economy forward.”
Governor Ned Lamont said, “One thing that’s undeniable is that this virus does not stop at the border of any county, state, or country, but the impact is the same when it comes to our respective economies and healthcare systems. Working as a regional coalition to make the right decisions will lead to the best public health results for all of our residents. We must solve these problems together.”
Governor Tom Wolf said, “Our highest priority remains protecting the health and safety of Pennsylvanians. While my administration continues to take critical steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, I also recognize that we must look ahead and take a measured, careful approach to prepare for the future while ensuring that we don’t undo all of our efforts. Pennsylvania will work collaboratively with our partners both in state and in surrounding states to develop a comprehensive strategy that first focuses on health but also addresses the need to gradually restore our economy.”
Governor John Carney said, “We still have a situation in Delaware that is getting worse. Infections of COVID-19 and hospitalizations are rising. Delawareans should stay home. Don’t go out in public unnecessarily. Don’t visit Delaware unless you need to see a doctor, or care for a family member. You’ll only increase everyone’s risk. At the same time, we need to look forward. We need a consistent approach for moving our states out of this crisis, when that day comes. I’m grateful for the partnership of my fellow Governors in the region. They are all working around-the-clock to prevent surges in COVID-19 cases, protect hospital capacity for the most critically-ill patients, and save lives. We’ll get through this by working together.”
Governor Gina Raimondo said, “States are taking the lead as we fight to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives. I’m proud of the steps we’ve taken, and I’m constantly thinking about what it will take to safely reopen our economy. But we know that this virus does not recognize borders, and it’s clear we need a strong, coordinated regional approach to avoid a second wave of this disease. I’m grateful to my fellow governors for their leadership during this crisis and I’m confident that this new partnership will support our efforts to get Rhode Islanders — and all Americans — back to work safely.”
Governor Charlie Baker said, “The Baker-Polito Administration looks forward to participating in discussions with neighboring states and experts regarding the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Massachusetts also remains focused on efforts to expand testing, ensure hospital capacity and provide the necessary PPE to those on the front lines to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.”