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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. From the City Clerk. March 16, 2020 UPDATED 11:33 A.M. EDT WITH ORDINANCE TRANSCRIPT:
The City Clerk has noticed a Special Meeting Monday afternoon at 4:30 in the Mayor’s Conference Roomof the Common Council to consider the following legislation:
Communication from Corporation Counsel in relation to a non-disclosure agreement between the City and the County of Westchester related to Protected Health Information provided to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or the public.
Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of White Plains authorizing the Mayor and the Commissioner of Public Safety or the Chief of Police to enter into a non-disclosure agreement between the City of White Plains and the County of Westchester related to Protected Health Information provided to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or the public.
Editor’s Note: Examination of the ordinance to be considered gives this detail of the restriction(s):
“the County of Westchester has agreed to provide certain protected health information to the City of White Plains in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of the citizens and the public in White Plains provided the City agrees to execute a non-disclosure agreement which provides that its employees will protect and safeguard any Public Health Information received from the County and protect the privacy of any person subject to a Department of Health isolation order and which further provides that the City will indemnify the County for any and all administrative or legal actions that are based upon any unauthorized disclosure or dissemination of Public Health Information by the City or any of its employees.
“WHEREAS, the City finds that it would be in the best interests of the City of White Plains to obtain the Public Health Information to be provided by the County:
NOW THEREFORE, the Common Council of the City of White Plains hereby ordains and enacts as follows:
Section 1. The Mayor and the Commissioner of Public Safety or the Chief of Police are hereby authorized to execute a non-disclosure agreement between the City of White Plains and the County of Westchester authorizing the disclosure of certain Public Health Information by the County of Westchester upon the City agreeing to protect the privacy of individuals involved and the City agreeing to indemnify the County for any unauthorized disclosure or dissemination of Public Health Information by the City or its employees. Said agreement shall be in a form approved by the Corporation Counsel.
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. March 16, 2020:
Governor Andrew Cuomo, appearing on CNN this morning called for standard rules across statelines to control the spread of coronavirus across statelines. Here is the transcript of his remarks to CNN’S John Berman this morning:
Governor Cuomo: We’ve been behind handling this disease from day one. Right? We knew it was in China in November and then we look like we got caught by surprise and we’re always playing catch up. The only way to deal with it a situation like this is to get ahead of it. We need to see the federal government set up to the plate here and set up national rules.
It makes no sense, you look at your broadcast, all these states doing different things, cities doing different things. It doesn’t work that way.
In an emergency, someone has to take charge.
New York State, I’m in charge, that’s the law, because I can’t have one set of rules in New York City, a different rules in Nassau County, surrounding counties. If you close the bars in New York City but don’t close them in Nassau County all it means is everybody drives to Nassau County to a bar.
So you have to have consolidated, centralized authority. You can’t — it makes no sense for all these states to be doing different things. I make rules.
People can drive to New Jersey. They can drive to Connecticut. We need the federal government to stand up and say here are the rules.
And secondly, John, the coming crisis is we’re overwhelming our health care system. That is going to happen. That curve is a wave, and it’s going to break on the hospital system. We need additional beds and we need the army corps of engineers to come in here and retrofit state buildings, dormitories, et cetera for additional hospital beds. And that’s the federal government.
John Berman: We need more beds. We need more ventilators, which is why I want to know what you think of what the Secretary of HHS said over the weekend where he refused to disclose the number of ventilators for, he claims, national security reasons. Listen.
Secretary Azar: We don’t disclose concrete numbers on particular items for national security purposes. But we have many ventilators, thousands and thousands of ventilators in our system.
John Berman: What’s the national security imperative not to tell the American people how many ventilators they have available?
Governor Cuomo: National security imperative is people would get very nervous if they knew how few they had. Thousands and thousands, what does that mean?
We’re looking at an overrun in New York in the tens of thousands. That’s what I said.
We’ve been behind this all along.
The federal government has to step up. Nationwide rules, school closings, bars, whatever and then understand that we have an impending catastrophe when this wave of growth crashes on the hospital system and we don’t have the capacity.
Start now, bring in that Army Corps of engineers. This is what they do. They build. I’ll give them dormitories. Build temporary medical facilities, but they have to do it. I’m not shy, but a state doesn’t have the capacity to build that quickly to that level.
John Berman: True on both counts, you are not shy and a state does not have that capacity. Governor, you keep on saying we have been behind. We are behind, you say. So then how do you assess this proclamation from the President yesterday where he said this virus is under tremendous control? Listen.
President Trump: There’s a very contagious virus. It’s incredible, but it’s something we have tremendous control of.
John Berman: How does that describe the reality you see?
Governor Cuomo: Look, I think this is not the time to be hypercritical, right?
I think the generous view is the President is trying to keep people calm, which is a very legitimate function for leadership.
I’m trying to keep my people calm. I’m trying to say look at the facts because the fear is a bigger problem than the virus right now.
My way of keeping people calm is not telling them placebos. I tell them the facts. I tell them the truth. I tell them what we’re doing. I say we have the capacity to do it.
And I go through the numbers and the facts and I say it’s going to be okay.
I don’t think it’s enough just to say it’s going to be fine and tell people what they don’t believe. I don’t believe that makes people calm. I believe it makes them more nervous because they doubt what they’re hearing.
WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the Governor’s Press Office. March 15, 2020;
The Governor’s Press Office shared the following transcript of a radio interview today the Governor explained the decision to close schools in Westchester County, Nassau, Suffolk Counties and New York City.
Governor Cuomo: This is what we’re going to do and how we hit the balance. Closing the schools sounds great, but there are two caveats.
The caveats are A – you still have to provide child care for essential workers. We need essential workers to go to work. I need the police, the firefighters and especially the health care workers. Because remember, this is a health care crisis.
What’s going to happen here at the end of the day is the hospitals will be overwhelmed, so we can’t lose health care workers. When you close the schools, that’s day care, child care for many families. And I don’t want police officers or nurses calling up saying I can’t go to work because I have to stay home with my children.
The second issue was a lot of children get food programs in the schools. So we worked it out, the Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, New York Cityschools will close.
They will all close with a child care plan for essential workers in place. And food programs and a plan to make up the educational services at summer school, assuming we’re out of this during the summer months.
The child care will basically be provided by using some of the schools or portions of the schools and some teachers will remain to provide the child care. So, parents can go to work, they’ll know their child is being well cared for.
We will still have hospitals fully functional, first responders, et cetera. But the schools will be closed and will help us reduce the density, which is what fighting this virus is all about.
John Metaxas, WCBS 880: Now, Governor, I heard you mention Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties as you went through the list. Did you mention New York City schools as well?
Governor Cuomo:Yes.
John Metaxas:Okay, so when will that happen? This week?
Governor Cuomo: Nassau, Suffolk close Monday, tomorrow. Westchester in a couple of days (Wednesday). It hasn’t been determined exactly when (Westchester will) yet because they (Westchester) have to get their child care plan in place. New York City, I directed to have their child care plan and food plan and educational plan in place in 24 hours. And then in New York City schools will close early this week.
Editor’s Note: Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced at 6 PM EDT, New York City schools would close tomorrow and remain closed through April 20. If Westchester , (already closed Monday and Tuesday by the County Executive) gets their day care service together in “a couple days” it means Westchester Schools will be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and after that, a date to be determined).
The Mayor of New York City in a televised news conference just ended announced he was closing the New York City Schools with the hope of reopening them April 20 because of the rapid spread of the Coronavirus in the city .
Mayor Bill DeBlasio said he deeply regretted having to close the schools because he knows what a burden it puts on the parents.
He said the schools would begin the Monday after the scheduled spring vacation. He said there was no guarantee the school year could be resumed.
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT.From the Governor’s Press Office. March 15, 3 PM EDT:
In an open letter to President Trump, the Governor urged Trump to deploy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to leverage its expertise, equipment and people power to retrofit and equip existing facilities – such as military bases or college dormitories – to serve as temporary medical centers.
The Governor called on the President, through the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to authorize states to certify a wider array of testing labs and methods in an effort to maximize testing capacity to identify and isolate positive cases faster. The Governor also called for a uniform federal standard for when cities and states should shut down commerce and schools, or cancel events.
“Our goal is to slow the spread of the virus to a rate that the healthcare system can manage, and we’re doing that through aggressive testing and strong social distancing protocols. But the anticipated wave of new cases threatens to crash our healthcare system, and we need national action from the federal government to address the quickly-evolving situation now,” Governor Cuomo said.
“In short, the Trump administration needs to localize testing, federalize shutdowns and task the Army Corps of Engineers to expand hospital capacity. While again I want to remind people that the facts do not warrant the level of anxiety that is out there, we will continue working closely with every level of government to mitigate the impact of this virus and protect the public health.”
The Governor directed nonessential State employees in Rockland, Westchester, NYC, Suffolk, Nassau – current hotspot areas – to work from home for two weeks.
The Governor also directed DMV to move to appointment only to limit person to person contact and revert to regular hours rather than the extended hours the state implemented in recent weeks to help reduce lines.
Governor Cuomo asked Chief Judge Janet DiFiore to develop a plan to reduce density in the court system, including limiting nonessential proceedings, without disrupting criminal justice system.
The Governor also tasked SUNY Empire State College President Jim Malatras with working with counties to develop contingency plans in preparation for school closings, including how to provide meals to food insecure children and ensuring families have adequate access to childcare.
IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE CORONAVIRUS—This is the number to call in Westchester if you are concerned you may have COVID-19 (coronavirus): (914) 681-2900
They will ask for your symptoms,to determine If you fit any criteria, if you do they will refer you to Westchester Dept of Health with a special phone number, where they then take your info and text you with a date/time and address where you can get tested in a drive through-like experience
MUST SEE!VIDEO OF THE GOVERNOR’S NEWS CONFERENCE TODAY ON NEED FOR MORE HOSPITAL CAPACITY AND HOW TO DO IT.
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT.By John F. Bailey. March 15, 2020:
There are not enough New York State Intensive Care Units across New York State to handle the enormous expected projections of Coronavirus patients needing the most intensive treatment to keep them alive, Governor Cuomo said today in one of the most sober news conferences I have ever heard.
The governor estimated over 10,000 coronavirus victims projected to deterioate to a life threatening state would overwhelm the 3,000 intensive care units in New York State, which are already 85% occupied.
The governor said he’d be identifying existing buildings to be used to fill this massive care location gap, Locations, he said also needed to be selected to find beds for coronavirus victims needing isolation, monitoring and care– in buildings that have to be rapidly retrofitted.that could be retrofitted.
This information on the intensive care facility shortage was first revealed by the Governor last Thursday, and quanitified again in his news conference Saturday morning, but today he said New York State does not have the construction resources available to construct these needed last resort for life saving to keep coronavirus victims alive.
What the governor said is needed immediately from the federal government are plans to handle the intensive care facility gap in face of a New York State escalation in the rate of the spread of the virus. The number of cases in New York State is over 700 Up 20% over night from last night’s 613 number. At this rate if the state reached 50,000 coronavirus cases, It is estimated 20% would need intensive care, which works out to 10,000 I.C.U. beds
The governor said the statewide total is 729 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 729 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
Albany County: 8 (3 new)
Broome County: 1
Delaware County: 1
Dutchess County: 7 (3 new)
Erie County: 3
Greene County: 2 (2 new)
Herkimer County: 1
Monroe County: 2
Montgomery County: 1 (1 new)
Nassau County: 98 (5 new)
New York City: 329 (29 new)
Orange County: 6
Putnam County: 2 (2 new)
Rockland County: 13
Saratoga County: 3
Schenectady County: 2
Suffolk County: 47 (6 new)
Tioga County: 1
Tompkins County: 1
Ulster County: 5
Westchester County: 196 (18 new
The governor urged Mayor Bill DiBlasio of New York City not to close the New York City Schools despite the New York Federation of Teachers call to teachers to call in sick, if schools were not closed. The governor repeated that closing the New York City Schools would deplete the workforces needed to keep the city functioning and also put children more at risk of getting the corona virus.
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Press Office. March15, 2020:
The following Op-Ed appeared in The New York Times this morning, written by Governor Andrew Cuomo and was shared with WPCNR
Dear Mr. President,
The coronavirus pandemic is now upon us, and data from other countries shows us clearly where we are headed.
Every country affected by this crisis has handled it on a national basis. The United States has not. State and local governments alone simply do not have the capacity or resources to do what is necessary, and we don’t want a patchwork quilt of policies.
There is now only one question your team must answer for you: Can we slow the spread of the disease to a rate that our state health care systems can handle? The answer increasingly looks like no.
But that does not mean we should not try. There are fewer options available at this late date, but the federal government should move to implement them swiftly. There are three clear imperatives we need to address:
Testing
Slowing the spread of coronavirus is a function of testing and reducing the density of public gatherings. So first, Mr. President, you must stop the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from overregulating the testing process, and authorize states to certify a wider array of testing labs and methods.
On Friday, you said that your administration had agreed to allow New York State’s public health department to authorize local labs to perform the state’s approved coronavirus test — a good first step. Your administration also approved high-volume automated testing by the Swiss diagnostics maker Roche.
But these moves are insufficient. Because of the high demand for testing kits nationwide, many labs with Roche machines will be unable to obtain enough of the company’s testing kits for weeks or even months. There are other labs that can do high-volume coronavirus tests that do not use Roche kits. But these machines cannot be used without further F.D.A. approvals, of the sort Roche received on Friday.
That means that while New York is conducting thousands of tests a day, we are still below our full testing capacity because many labs still rely on low-volume manual testing.
Mr. Trump, don’t let bureaucracy get in the way of fighting this virus. Break the logjam, let states fully take over testing so they can unleash hundreds of labs tomorrow and bring testing to scale. It is the only way we will have a chance of keeping up with the rapid spread of this contagion.
Closings
Second, the closing of schools and businesses has federal implications, even if these are state or local decisions. When one state unilaterally closes businesses, people typically cross state lines to look for open businesses elsewhere. If the purpose is to keep our citizens home and out of crowded spaces, such inconsistency in state policies is counterproductive. There should be a uniform federal standard for when cities and states should shut down commerce and schools, or cancel events.
All of this disruption will have immense financial and economic impact, and federal assistance will be needed to soften the blow. When schools close, localities will need help to provide meal programs to students and child-care programs to parents. Unemployment will skyrocket, as will insurance, health care and education costs.
The federal government must not only make aid available, it must also ensure that its assistance is distributed in clear, uniform ways. No state should be penalized for doing the right thing in trying to protect its residents during this crisis.
Risks to hospitals
Third, you must anticipate that, without immediate action, the imminent failure of hospital systems is all but certain. According to one projection, as many as 214 million people in our country could be infected over the course of the epidemic. Of those, as many as 21 million people could require hospitalization.
This would crush the nation’s medical system. New York State has just 53,470 hospital beds, only 3,186 of which are intensive-care beds. Our country as a whole has fewer than one million staffed hospital beds, fewer proportionately than China, South Korea or Italy. Manual pdf
Ask your experts, how many intensive-care beds do we need for our vulnerable populations, and how many do we have now? The scarcity portends a greater failing and a worse situation than what we are seeing in Italy, where lives are being lost because the country doesn’t have the health care capacity.
States cannot build more hospitals, acquire ventilators or modify facilities quickly enough. At this point, our best hope is to utilize the Army Corps of Engineers to leverage its expertise, equipment and people power to retrofit and equip existing facilities — like military bases or college dormitories — to serve as temporary medical centers. Then we can designate existing hospital beds for the acutely ill.
We believe the use of active duty Army Corps personnel would not violate federal law because this is a national disaster. Doing so still won’t provide enough intensive care beds, but it is our best hope.
In short: Localize testing, federalize shutdowns and task the Army Corps of Engineers to expand hospital capacity.
I make these suggestions not as a Democrat but as one of the nation’s most senior governors and a former cabinet secretary who knows the capacity of the federal government.
We have had disagreements about your actions against New York, which we can pursue at another time. Today, let’s work together as Americans. Time is short.
WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Governor’s Press Office. March 14, 2020:
“It has come to our attention that two of our Assembly colleagues – Helene Weinstein and Charles Barron – have been diagnosed with COVID-19. It is important to note that both members have not been in Albany since early March for separate reasons. Speaker Heastie has been in contact with both members and we are taking swift action to address this situation.
“We have spoken with the Senate and are undertaking an intensive cleaning of the Capital and the Legislative Office Building. All legislators and staff that have come in contact with these members will be tested to ensure the safety of everyone.
“Additionally, out of an abundance of caution we are closing the Capitol to visitors effective tomorrow.
“We are working hand in glove to contain and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 in New York but we will continue to act aggressively to protect the public health.”
WPCNR ALBANY BULLETIN. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the total of positive cases had once again gone up tonight after 8 PM Saturday.
New York State now has 613 positive tests for COVID-19, up from 524 announced this morning, the governor announced. There have been a total of 4,700 tests conducted, with 736 taking place since the governor last spoke Saturday afternoon.
