THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR CORONAVIRUS MONITOR.  By John F. Bailey. February 26, 202 UPDATED 3:17 PM WITH GRAPHICS;

The Center for Disease Control  yesterday in its national color-coded map of the United States ranked the lower half of New York State “LOW” (Green) for covid risk.

Governor Kathy Hochul, in a statement wrote”

 “We are evaluating the CDC’s new guidance, and we will update New Yorkers on potential changes as we work through the details and coordinate with all stakeholders in our school communities across our state.

“I want to thank the 75 percent of all New Yorkers who have stepped up to get fully vaccinated. I know these past two years have been difficult, but because New Yorkers are doing the right thing to keep each other safe, our state this week had the highest share among large states of fully vaccinated individuals.

 New York also leads large states in fully vaccinated 12-17 year-olds, and second among large states in fully vaccinated 5-8 year-olds.”

TRIMMING DOWN POSITIVES WEEK BY WEEK–BELOW LAST FALL

In the last available figures this week, Westchester was averaging about 100 New cases of covid a day which when Thursday, Friday and Saturday positive test results are released , Westchester may be on track for approximately 700 new cases of covid for the week, down almost 300 from last week’s 973

Last week the total was 973 for the week (February 12-19). Five months ago on the week September 19 to 25, Westchester recorded 819 new positives 3 weeks after Labor Day when covid started its spread into the fall averaging 150 new cases a day ,1,000 a week.

The takeaway: Westchester is doing well with vaccinations, and citizens’ behavior lowering to a 2% infection rate and lower infections 100 a day, 700 a week, 300 less than the 819 positives in one week 5 months ago.

As Governor Hochul’s statement said, she is evaluating whether to relax procedures in schools. We all should be fully aware. We had covid totall under control last May, and the Albany leadership relaxed, the former Governor relaxed mandates for safety and infections began in July building to 1,000 a day by the end of August and started coming back two weeks after Labor Day.

Westchester now is where we were then.

However Covid is still widespread through out Westchester towns and villages and cities.

Here’s where the most cases are. The WPCNR COVID “WHERE MOST COVID CASES ARE IN WHESTCHESTER for Fed 21 and Feb 24 demonstrate infections are still happening. The number of daily cases is going down. When schools come back from vacation Monday, when NCAA Tournament parties and festivities go for the rest of the month, when St. Patricks Day celebrations happen, and you participate you should be careful out there.

The follwing definitions are the precautions the Center for Disease Control recommends for ares defined as LOW in Covid risk of infection. It is not specific saying whether you should mask or you should not and appears to leave it to your discretion whether to “mask up” and leaves the whole question of masking “up in the air” (where covid is). What do you think?

COVID-19 Community Levels
COVID-19 Community level	Individual- and household-level prevention behaviors	Community-level prevention strategies (as recommended by state or local authorities)
Low	Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters Maintain improved ventilation throughout indoor spaces when possible Follow CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine, including getting tested if you are exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms of COVID-19 If you are immunocompromised or high risk for severe disease Have a plan for rapid testing if needed (e.g., having home tests or access to testing) Talk to your healthcare provider about whether you are a candidate for treatments like oral antivirals, PrEP, and monoclonal antibodies	Distribute and administer vaccines to achieve high community vaccination coverage and ensure health equity Maintain improved ventilation in public indoor spaces Ensure access to testing, including through point-of-care and at-home tests for all people Communicate with organizations and places that serve people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease to ensure they know how to get rapid testing Ensure access and equity in vaccination, testing, treatment, community outreach, support services for disproportionately affected populations

WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. February 26, 2022:

Many are struggling this winter with increases in home heating costs.  I have received numerous e mails and phone calls from residents in recent days – complaining about their enormous Con Ed bills. The following info may be helpful to some people.  If you hear of any other programs that are worth sharing with Greenburgh residents, please advise me at [email protected]

You may be eligible for help paying heating and utility expenses to avoid potential service interruptions during the cold weather months through the federally funded Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) for low- and middle-income residents.

• HEAP is administered locally through the Westchester County Department of Social Services
   
• Information about the kind of help that is available, eligibility requirements, and how to apply, can be found on the DSS HEAP website at

Another available resource is New York’s Energy Affordability Policy (EAP) that requires the state’s major electric and natural gas utilities to provide monthly bill discounts to income eligible customers. 

To enroll in the utility bill discount program, customers should contact their individual utility:

• Con Edison customers can find information here:     Hope this info is helpful.  PAUL FEINER