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

WPCNR WESTCHESTER CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From New York State Department of Health. December 5, 2020:

The New York State WorkBook Covid Tracker reported Friday Westchester County had 768 persons test positive for coronavirus on Thursday. December 3 of 11,541 persons tested in the County.

The one-day positive infection rate was 6.7% of those those tested, the highest rate of infection since May. In the 8 days from November 25 through Thursday December 3, the average infection rate in the County is 5.9% almost 5 times the 1.1 infection rate needed to sustain no growth in the number of covid cases.

In the 8 days since November 25, Westchester County has seen 4, 594 persons test positive for the virus. Westchester County Executive yesterday in his news conference on Covid, stated county “Tracing” efforts were being stretched to their maximum. The tracing system is the contact phone operation where health workers contact persons who may have been exposed by the virus.

The County Executive said there were “no tools,” the county could use to enforce restrictions on small social gatherings, or persons’failure to wear a mask out in public.

Friday evening the New York State Health Department detailed the following new status of the effort to control the Coronavirus wave of infections engulfing the state:

• NYS expects to receive an initial delivery of 170,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and we anticipate the possibility of starting to inoculate the first group of New Yorkers by December 15, if all safety and efficacy approvals are granted.
• A new Micro-Cluster Strategyis addressing COVID-19 hot spots that have cropped up across the state.
  • Look up an address to see if falls into a Red, Orange, or Yellow Zone
  • See the restrictions that correspond to each color-coded level of cluster zone
• Bars, restaurants and gyms, as well as any State Liquor Authority-licensed establishment, must close in-person service from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.
• Indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences are limited to no more than 10 people. 
• Read New York’s COVID-19 Winter Plan to mitigate the spread of the virus and bolster New York’s hospital’s preparedness. 
• New travel guidelines are in effect that allow out-of-state travelers to “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. 
• Read New York State’s draft COVID-19 Vaccination Administration Program.
• Go to New York’s COVID Report Card to find COVID-19 positive case data for every school district in the state.
• To report violations of health and safety restrictions and requirements for businesses, gatherings and individuals, please choose the appropriate link below:
  • File a complaint about a business, location or incident in your community.
  • File a complaint against your employer or place of work.
• Go to forward.ny.gov to find: guidance and maps for the Micro-Cluster Initiative; regional dashboards for monitoring how the virus is being contained; and information on loans for small businesses.
• New Yorkers without health insurance can apply through NY State of Health through December 31, 2020; must apply within 60 days of losing coverage.
• Health care workers can text NYFRONTLINE to 741-741 to access 24/7 emotional support services. Any New Yorker can call the COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling.

WPCNR CUOMO CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. December 3, 2020:

Hospitalizations due to COVID continue to increase throughout the State. The total number of hospital beds in NY is about 53,000—currently 35,000 of those beds are occupied by patients, about 4,000 of whom are COVID patients. For context, at the height of the pandemic in the spring, we had about 19,000 people hospitalized with COVID. (Editor’s Note: 80% More than the present level of hospitalizations). The next stage of the battle with COVID is going to be vaccine distribution and vaccine acceptance. The vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to get there, and we have to get there with as little loss of life as possible. We must do our best to keep the virus from spreading any further. Wear a mask, avoid gatherings (both indoor AND outdoor), social distance and wash your hands.  Here’s what else you need to know tonight: 1. The statewide positivity rate ticked up to 4.84 percent yesterday. There were 9,855 positive cases from 203,440 tests reported yesterday. The positivity rate in the micro-cluster focus areas was 5.91 percent. Excluding these areas, it was 4.49 percent.  2. Total hospitalizations rose to 4,063. There were 783 patients in ICU yesterday, up 41 from the previous day. Of them, 377 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 61 New Yorkers to the virus.   3. The State is launching 150 new rapid testing sites in partnership with Prescryptive Health. The partnership will help expand testing capacity in areas across the State where testing access is limited. Residents can find participating sites, schedule a test, receive results and follow-up with licenses clinicians directly from their mobile device. All testing sites will be searchable on the State’s COVID test website and appointments for these sites will also be available at www.prescryptive.com.  4. I will sign an Executive Order expanding eligibility for New York State’s COVID Rent Relief Program and reopening the application window. This Executive Order will expand the program’s eligibility so more rent relief can be provided to New Yorkers and additional details will be available in the coming days.   Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: Celebrity Chef David Chang, owner of the Momofuku restaurant group, became the first celebrity to win $1 million on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”. The prize money will be donated to the Southern Smoke Foundation, an emergency relief fund for restaurant industry workers impacted by the pandemic.   If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here.  Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo