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

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT 3 PM E.D.T. From the Governor’s Press Office. March 22, 2020 2:15 P.M.:

Calls on Federal Government to Immediately Implement Defense Production Act — Nationalize Medical Supply Chain

Acquires 70,000 Doses of Hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of Zithromax and 750,000 Doses of Chloroquine to Implement Drug Trials – Trials Will Start Tuesday

Urges FDA to Immediately Approve Serological Testing for COVID-19 Antibodies which if present in the individual will enable the state to determine if those tested can return to work .

Announces Department of Health Emergency Order for All Hospitals to Come Up with a Plan to Expand Capacity by a Minimum of 50 Percent with a Goal of 100 Percent

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today accepted the recommendation of the Army Corps of Engineers for four temporary hospital sites in New York State in an effort to address imminent capacity issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor visited the four sites – the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and locations at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old Westbury and the Westchester Convention Center — yesterday, and New York State is ready for the Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction immediately.

Hospitals at the SUNY campus sites will be constructed indoors with outdoor tent support and the dormitories on the campuses will be used for healthcare staff to stay while working at the sites.

Governor Cuomo also announced that FEMA will erect four additional federal hospital facilities within the Javits Center, in addition to the temporary hospital to be constructed by the Army Corps. Each of the four federal hospitals will have 250 beds and come fully equipped and fully staffed by the federal government.

The Governor also announced that the state is continuing to quickly identify sites to repurpose existing healthcare facilities to be used as temporary hospitals. The state on Saturday leased the Brooklyn Health Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare to serve as a temporary hospital with capacity up to 600 beds.

Additionally, Governor Cuomo called on the federal government to immediately implement the Defense Production Act and nationalize the contracting and acquisition of medical supplies.

New York State is already seeing a shortage in medical supplies and personal protective equipment – or PPE – including masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators. This shortage is also impacting other states, leading to price gouging by companies, hospitals competing with one another and states competing with other states and even other countries for supplies. Implementing the Defense Production Act would give the federal government legal authority to mandate private companies to manufacture these critical supplies for all states.

The Governor also called on the federal government to prioritize sending stimulus funding to individuals, state and local governments and businesses. As part of his call, the Governor made it clear that funding to corporations should not be a gift at the expense of taxpayers, and that taxpayers must share in the success of corporations.

The Governor also announced that the state will begin to implement drug trials and has acquired 70,000 doses of Hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of Zithromax and 750,000 doses of Chloroquine. The trials will start Tuesday.

Governor Cuomo also urged the FDA to immediately approve serological testing for COVID-19 antibodies, which will help determine which individuals already had the virus and resolved. This will allow more individuals to return to work, including healthcare workers to help address the shortage of medical staff in hospitals.

Governor Cuomo also announced a new State Department of Health Emergency Order requiring all hospitals to develop plans to expand capacity within hospitals. The plan must expand capacity by a minimum of 50 percent with a goal of expanding capacity by 100 percent.

The Governor also announced that the state will mandate that all hospitals must cancel all elective, non-critical surgeries to help expand hospital capacity – effective Wednesday, March 25th.

After visiting New York City yesterday, and seeing “people were all over the place” the Governor is also directing New York City to come up with a plan for review by the state in the next 24 hours to address the lack of adherence to social distancing protocols in the area, including at parks and other public spaces. 

“To get through this crisis we need to be sure our hospitals and healthcare system have the equipment, facilities and staff they need to treat patients and save lives, and we also need to make sure that New Yorkers whose lives have been turned upside down by the virus are getting financial relief to help cope with this crisis,” Governor Cuomo said. “In New York we have a plan in place to increase our hospital capacity and supplies and lessen the financial burden on New Yorkers. We are doing everything we possibly can as a state, but we can’t do it alone — we need the help of the federal government.

I am asking the President for expeditious approval and execution of these hospital facilities, to nationalize the acquisition of medical supplies and to prioritize sending stimulus money to individuals. Time matters and minutes count because there are lives at stake. We are a nation capable of overcoming any challenge — we will overcome this challenge and America will be greater for it, and my hope is that New York will lead the way forward.” 

Finally, the Governor confirmed 4,812 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 15,168 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 15,168 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	123	35
Allegany	2	0
Broome	3	1
Chenango	3	1
Clinton	4	0
Columbia	5	3
Cortland	1	1
Delaware	3	2
Dutchess	82	33
Erie	54	16
Essex	3	1
Fulton	1	0
Genesee	1	0
Greene	2	0
Hamilton	2	0
Herkimer	4	1
Jefferson	1	0
Livingston	2	0
Madison	1	1
Monroe	57	15
Montgomery	3	0
Nassau	1,900	667
Niagara	6	2
New York City	9,045	2,832
Oneida	5	1
Onondaga	29	12
Ontario	6	2
Orange	247	84
Putnam	37	15
Rensselaer	26	6
Rockland	455	193
Saratoga	41	6
Schenectady	39	7
Schoharie	1	0
St. Lawrence	1	1
Steuben	3	1
Suffolk	1,034	373
Sullivan	16	4
Tioga	1	0
Tompkins	13	2
Ulster	26	8
Warren	1	0
Washington	1	0
Wayne	3	0
Westchester	1,873	486
Wyoming	2	0

Editor’s note: In the first edition of this article, the top cost of a mask, the Governor was reported as saying was erroneously reported as $70 a mask. This was incorrect, the Governor said Monday it is $7 a mask

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. (Edited) MARCH 21, 2020. 4 P.M. E.D.T.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced late this afternoon that the total number of positive cases in New York State now is up to 10,000, number of new cases has increased by 3,000: 6,000 New York City, 1,300 Westchester, 1,200 in Nassau. He said:

“You see the Westchester number is slowing. We did a New Rochelle containment area. The numbers would suggest that that has been helpful.

So I feel good about that. You see Nassau increasing, you see Suffolk increasing. So that’s just the wide spread increase that we have been anticipating.

But our hotspot of Westchester is now slowing, and that’s very good news.

New York City, it is the most dense environment. This virus spreads in density, right. And that’s what you’re seeing in New York City, obviously, has many more people than any other specific location in the state.

Number of counties are increasing. You see the blue. I said to you early on that blue is going to take over the whole state, just the way every state in the United States has now been covered. Most impacted states, you look at the cases in New York is 10,000, Washington, California, 1,000 each.

Does that mean that we have ten times the number of cases as California or Washington? Or does that mean we’re doing more tests than California or Washington? The truth is somewhere in the middle, and nobody can tell you.

Total number of people tested, we’re up to 45,000. Number of new tests. This is a rate that we watch. What is the rate of hospitalization?

Again, because this is all about hospital capacity, right, 1,500 out of 10,000, it’s roughly 15 percent of the cases. It’s been running about 14, 15. It’s gone as high as 20 percent, 21 percent. So actually 15 percent rate of hospitalization is not a bad number.

Hospitalization is actually down from where it was.

The more refined number is, of those who are hospitalized, how many require the ventilators, because the ventilators are the piece of equipment that is most scarce. That’s the next refinement of these numbers that we have to do.

And again, the context on the numbers is important. We’re talking 10,000 et cetera. You look at any world health organization or the NIH, or what any of the other countries are saying. You have to expect that at the end of the day, 40 percent to 80 percent of the population is going to be infected.

So the only question is, how fast is the rate to that 40 percent, 80 percent, and can you slow that rate so your hospital system can deal with it?

That is all we’re talking about here. If you look at the 40 to 80 percent, that means between 7.8 million and 15 million New Yorkers will be affected at the end of the day. We’re just trying to postpone the end of the day.

Again, perspective, Johns Hopkins, this is not a science fiction movie. You don’t have to wait to the end of the movie to find out what happens.

Johns Hopkins has studied every case since it started, 284,000, 11,000 deaths, almost 90,000 recoveries, 183,000 still pending. Which tracks everything we know in the State of New York.

Our first case, first case, healthcare worker, 39-year-old female who was in Iran. She went home, she never went to a hospital, she recovered, she’s now negative. You get sick, you get symptoms, you recover.

That is true for the overwhelming number of people.

Again, context, people who died in the flu, from the flu, in 2018-2019: 34,000 Americans. 34,000, so when you hear these numbers of deaths, keep it in perspective. 34,000 people died of the flu. Over 65, 74 percent of the people were over 65. 25 percent were under 65. So, if you have an underlying illness, you catch the flu, you can die. More likely if you have an underlying illness, senior citizens, et cetera, but not necessarily. You have 25 percent under 65 years old die from the flu.

Also, in terms of context, perspective.

Don’t listen to rumors. I mean, you have such wild rumors out there, and people call me with the craziest theories. Just, I understand there’s anxiety and stress, but let’s remember some basic context and facts. Society functions. Everything works. There’s going to be food in the grocery stores. There’s no reason to buy a hundred rolls of toilet paper. There really isn’t.

And by the way, where do you even put a hundred rolls of toilet paper? The transportation system functions. The pharmacy system functions. These things are all going to work. Nonessential workers, stay home, but the essential workers are not staying home, especially the healthcare workers.

There is not going to be any roadblock when you wake up in the morning that says you can’t leave this place, you can’t leave that place, right? So if you have a real question, because you think there’s a real concern from a credible source, contact my team.

We have a special website: coronavirus.health.ny.gov, and ask the question and you will get a real, truthful, factual response.

I have not hidden anything from the people of this state. I have not tilted facts. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the American people deserve the truth, they can handle the truth, give them the truth.

When they don’t get the truth and if you don’t get the facts, that’s when people should get anxious. If I think I’m being deceived or there’s something you’re not telling me, or you’re shading the truth, now I’m anxious. Everything I know, I’ve told you, and I will continue to tell you, and these are facts, and you hear a rumor, and you want to check it out, go to that website, these are people who work for me directly, and you will have the truth. 

We do have an issue with younger people who are not complying, and I’ve mentioned it before but it’s not getting better. You know, you can have your own opinion. You cannot have your own facts – you want to have an opinion, have an opinion, but you can’t have your own facts.

“Well young people don’t get this disease.” You are wrong – that is not a fact.

18-49 years old are 54 percent of the cases in New York State. 54 percent. 18-49 years old. So you’re not Superman, and you’re not Superwoman, you can get this virus and you can transfer the virus and you can wind up hurting someone who you love or hurting someone wholly inadvertently.

Social distancing works and you need social distancing everywhere.

There’s a significant amount of non-compliance, especially in New York City, especially in the parks – I’m going to go down there today, I want to see what situation is myself, but it has to be stopped because you are endangering people and if it’s because of misinformation, if it’s because of noncompliance, I don’t care frankly – this is a public health issue and you cannot endanger other people’s health. You shouldn’t be endangering your own.

But you certainly have no right to endanger someone else’s.

This is my personal opinion, this is not a fact, you know to me it’s very important in a situation like this, tell me the facts and then tell me your opinion – this is my opinion.

We talk about social responsibility, especially young people talk about social responsibility and they should – we pass a lot of legislation in this building, groundbreaking legislation, national firsts, on economic rights, highest minimum wage in the United States of America, human rights, first state to pass marriage equality, which I believe was a human rights issue, we talk about environmental responsibility and this state has the most aggressive environmental laws in the United States of America and I am proud of it, but I also want people to think about the social responsibility when it comes to public health.

We haven’t talked about it before, not really a field, it’s not really an issue, it’s not really a hashtag, but social responsibility applies to public health just as it applies to human rights, and economic rights and environmental rights – public health, especially in a moment like this, is probably most critical.

So let’s think about that and let’s act on that. In this crisis, think of yourselves, we are all first responders – your actions can either save or endanger a life, so we are all first responders.

What’s going to happen? We’re going to get through this. We don’t know how long it’s going to take us to get through this. Fact is we’re trying to slow the spread of the virus to a number of months so the healthcare system can deal with it, so therefore by definition it’s going to be a number of months.

I know people want to hear, “It’s only going to be a matter of weeks and then it’s going to be fine.” I don’t believe it’s going to be a matter of weeks. I believe it is going to be a matter of months, but we are going to get through it, and how long and how well it takes us to get through it is up to us. It depends on what we do – you know when you’re sick and you say to the doctor, “Well how long until I get better?” And the doctor says, “It depends on what you do. If you follow the advice, you’ll get healthy faster, but it depends on what you do.” This depends on what we do. China is now reporting no news cases. Let’s assume that’s true – look at that trajectory, look at that turnaround, look at what they did, we do have data we can follow. So how long is it going to take? It depends on how smart and how we responsible are and how diligent we are. You tell me the percentage of compliance and intelligence and discipline on social disciplining et cetera? I’ll tell you how long it takes for us to get through it.

Also something that people aren’t really talking about but I think we should start talking about – we talk about the economic consequences of this situation and they are going to be significant, and we are going to have to deal with it and New York will be right on top of it and as aggressive as we are with everything else. But economic consequences come second – first, is dealing with this crisis. We talk about the economic consequences but we also need to talk about the social consequences. There is no Dow Jones index that we can watch on the screen that is measuring the social consequences and the social decline. But the stress, the anxiety, the emotions that are provoked by this crisis are truly significant, and people are struggling with the emotions as much as they are struggling with the economics. And this state wants to start to address that. I’m asking psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists who are willing to volunteer their time to contact the state and if this works out I would like to set up a voluntary network where people can go for mental health assistance where they can contact a professional to talk through how they are feeling about this. They are nervous, they are anxious, they are isolated. It can bring all sorts of emotions and feelings to the surface. When you are isolated you do not have people to talk to.

So I am asking the professional mental health establishment to contact us. Let us know that you are willing to volunteer time. It would obviously be all electronic. It would not be in person. It would be telephone, it would be Skype, etc. But I would ask you to seriously consider this.

Mental Health Center- being set up— We Need Volunteers

Many people are doing extraordinary things during this public health crisis. I ask the mental health community, many of them are looking for a way to participate, this is a way to participate. And if we get enough mental health professionals willing to volunteer their time, we will set up a mental health electronic help center. And we will talk more about that the next few days.

What happens besides how long? What happens? The bigger question to me is what do we learn about ourselves through this? As a society, we have never gone through this. We have never gone through a world war. We have not gone through any great social crisis.

Here in New York, we went through 9/11 which I think is relevant in terms of some feelings that people are now experiencing. 9/11 transformed society. I was there. I was part of it. You were never the same after 9/11. You had a sense of vulnerability that you never had before which I feel to this day. There was a trauma to 9/11. But as a society, as a country, we have been blessed in that we have not gone through something as disruptive as this.

So what do we learn about ourselves? I think what we are saying already is a crisis really brings out the truth about ourselves first of all and about others. And your see people’s strengths and you see people’s weaknesses. You see society’s strengths and you see society’s weaknesses. You see both the beauty and the vulnerability. You see the best in people and you see the worst in people. You see people rise to the occasion and you see people fall from the burden of the emotion. So, I think – You take a step back.

First, there are people doing extraordinary work who deserve our thanks. And when you see a healthcare worker on the way to work, when you see a grocer who has been working a double shift, trying to deal with the demand in these stores. When you see a pharmacist who is overwhelmed with a long line, when you see a police officer or firefighter who are out there doing their job. They are opening doors. They don’t know who is on the other side of the door. They are walking up to car windows. These are just extraordinary heroes. Heroes, ask yourself, would you do that. I mean what kind of selflessness and courage. You talk about public service. What does public service mean? This is public service. This is public service in stereo and on steroids. These are people really stepping up. When you see them say thank you. The bus drivers, the subway drivers, the public transit workers, these are people showing up, leaving their family, as nervous as you are. But they are doing their jobs. Healthcare workers and people who are watching healthcare worker’s children so they can go work in a hospital. They deserve our thanks. And I think understanding what they do in some ways gives us perspective on how beautiful people can be and how courageous people can be, and how great Americans can be.

My last point is practice humanity. We don’t talk about practicing humanity, but now if ever there is a time to practice humanity the time is now. The time is now to show some kindness, to show some compassion to people, show some gentility – even as a New Yorker. Yes, we can be tough. Yes, this is a dense environment. It can be a difficult environment. It can also be the most supportive, courageous community that you have ever seen. And this is a time for a little gentility. It is a time for a smile when you are walking past someone. It is a time for a nod. It is a time to say hello. It is a time for patience and don’t let the little things get you annoyed. That’s New York at its best. That was New York after 9/11.

Yes, we have a problem. Yes, we will deal with it. Yes, we will overcome it. But let’s find our better selves in doing it, and let New York lead the way in finding their better selves and demonstrating their better selves. That is the New York destiny and that is the New York legacy. And that is why I am proud to be a New Yorker and to be Governor of this great state. And we are going to do it like we have always done it before.

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. March 21, 2020:

MANY PEOPLE ARE NOT TAKING CORONAVIRUS SERIOUSLY…

KIDS STILL USING FIELDS-Although many residents are staying at home, there are still a lot of people (including students) who aren’t taking the coronavirus crisis seriously enough.

I received some complaints from residents on Friday  that the Edgemont HS field was crowded with students playing touch soccer. How irresponsible! And dangerous. I believe that all fields should be closed until the virus ends.

SUPERMARKETS/ BIG BOX STORES— Most supermarkets/big box stores still do not give customers wipes to wipe carts, masks or gloves.  Somebody told me earlier today that they waited for 45 minutes to pay for merchandise at Costco.

People are packed like sardines at some of the stores -over buying. They won’t run out of food but could get infected because they are so close to other customers.

I believe that supermarkets/big box stores should make sure that people waiting on lines are not close to each other and also believe that they could do a better job keeping people germ free–giving them masks, gloves, wipes, rationing supplies and limiting number of people who can be in the stores at any given time.

THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND CONGRESS SHOULD SKYPE OR USE VIDEO CONFERENCING (zoom) — Our lawmakers in Washington are infecting each other by holding meetings in legislative chambers. Already, some members of the State Legislature and Congress have tested positive.

Why can’t they change their rules and use video conferencing for their meetings? The next meeting of the Greenburgh Town Board will be held Wednesday evening –all members will be participating in their meetings, listening to the public and voting using video conferencing.

SLOW MOTION SHUTDOWN – WE SHOULD DO WHAT CALIFORNIA IS DOING—I think there are many mixed messages and exceptions to current rules. We tell people to stay at home but they can golf, take public transportation, play soccer on school fields, shop in overcrowded big box stores–stand inches away from each other..

We’re told that the only way of winning the war against coronavirus is if we stay away from others. I think we should go cold turkey –be inconvenienced for a few weeks if it could save lives. If someone sneezes at an overcrowded big box store it’s just as bad as a sneeze at Broadway show.

PAUL FEINER

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach. 8 PM MARCH 20,2020:

The numbers released by NY State today indicate Westchester County now has 1091 cases of which 293 are new. (Editor’s Note: There were 200 Westchester cases Monday.)

39 people are currently hospitalized in the county, none in critical condition.

The numbers reflect the increase in numbers of people who are being tested and the spread of the contagion reinforcing the importance of social distancing. We have no White Plains specific numbers as the county is working to improve the provision of these numbers. They are not providing community specific numbers until Monday. When we receive them we will share them with you.

As has been widely reported Governor Cuomo announced new pandemic response policies today, among them are the following:

Effective tomorrow night, Saturday, at 8pm, the Governor Cuomo has ordered all hair and nail salons, tattoo and piercing parlors and related personal care salons to close.

100% of the non-essential business workforce must stay home. This is a state-wide, executive order that mandates the closure of all non-essential businesses.

This provision, and a ban on non-essential travel will go into effect Sunday evening. Purchasing food, medicine, or to obtain medical care qualifies as essential travel.

Essential workers include those working in food stores, pharmacies, public safety, and the medical professions.

I have issued an executive order closing

• Playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts and platform tennis courts

Parks will remain open only for solitary recreation, such as walking and hiking. But starting tomorrow Saturday morning playgrounds will be closed and fields will remain closed for group sports and activities.

The Childcare Council of Westchester is assessing the need to provide temporary or backup FREE childcare for essential workers. Please call the Council at 914-761-3456 x 140 and leave a message or visit https://www.childcarewestchester.org/

Local grocers have adjusted their hours for vulnerable shoppers, including the elderly. These are times when just vulnerable shoppers will be able to shop.

Stop & Shop – 154 Westchester Avenue: 6:00am – 7:30am

Shoprite – City Center: 6:00am – 7:00am

Whole Foods – 110 Bloomingdale Road: 8:00am-9:00am and 8:00pm -9:00pm an hour on each side of their regular hours.

Today the Governor indicated that as new restrictions have been applied it has been like the tightening of a valve. The restrictions announced today represent the closing of that valve.

A message for our young people. The schools were closed for a reason. Should you choose to gather on your own you are defeating the purpose of that closure.

There has never been a generation better equipped to communicate with each other without being physically together. Don’t stop now! We need everyone, of every age to commit to social distancing, for your benefit and the benefit of the community. By doing so you will be saving lives and helping to bring this pandemic to a close.

Remember we are standing together by staying apart!

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COMMON COUNCIL APPROVES AGREEMENT THAT COUNTY APPROVES ALL INFORMATION THE CITY CAN PUBLISH ON THE CORONAVIRUS PRESENCE

COUNTY COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH DR.SHERLITA AMLER ON THE NEED TO KEEP DISTANCE FROM OTHERS AND WASH HANDS FREQUENTLY

COUNTY EXECUTIVE GEORGE LATIMER ON THE SEARCH FOR NEW HOSPITAL CONVERSION SITES to provide more beds

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