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

WPCNR WEDNESDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. By John F. Bailey:

Governor Andrew Cuomo reported Department of Health  Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker briefed  Health Commissioners across the country Tuesday night on what New York State has found out about the Inflamed Blood Vessel disease that the state has discovered in 102 children of ages 1 to 18.

Dr. Zucker will also go online in a webinar with healthcare providers to discuss the disease tomorrow.

The Governor said in the video that 60% of the 102 tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and 40% for the COVID anti bodies, and 14% of the 60% were positive for both covid-19 and the antibodies.

Of the 60%, 71% were admitted to ICUs. 19% were put on ventilators, and 43% were still hospitalized as of yesterday, demonstrating the serious nature of how this derivation from coronavirus has been affecting young persons, all of whom have tested positive for the corona virus, and some of whom have been found to have antibodies. As I understand the meaning of this is that the antibodies may or may not make corona virus positive children (who did not contract the COVID virus) immune to getting the new condition , the inflammation of the blood vessels condition.  

There is no indication of how many children across the state have tested positive for coronavirus in various locations, though infection rate of children was estimated at 1% on testing results.

The Governor reported 14 other states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Washington, D.C. have reported cases of this new affliction. The Inflammation of Blood Vessels condition has been reported in Spain, France, England, Italy and Switzerland. The Governor said the Department of Health is discussing the new condition with these countries.

 The governor said in the video sequence at the top of this page that the new infection may be being contracted by children as a side effect of being corona positive, but not actually coming down with coronavirus  (within two weeks or at all). The upshot is that the Governor has directed hospitals to test all children with these systems for corona virus positive condition.

He is having hospitals identify previous corona virus positive children who have not gotten the corona virus (but may get the new infection 5 to 6 weeks after quarantined), to screen for the blood vessel affliction that has infected children of all ages and ethnicity in the first 102 reported cases of the new threat.

The Governor said it was important for parents to have any child exposed to a COVID-19 positive  patient, relative or friend to be tested for the corona virus., if they are seeing any of the symptoms  the governor goes over in the video, to see a physician as soon as possible.

New York continues steady on the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations.

The Governor said the new cases of hospitalizations were “a little bit up” but not so much that they broke the average rate of new  infection streak of lowering new cases.

The Governor stated there were 166 deaths from the Coronavirus Tuesday, 122 in hospitals, 44 in Nursing Homes.

He announced 12 new counties hospitals were cleared to begin scheduling  elective surgery again.

The Governor said antibody testing of all essential workers had been completed and all transit, police/fire, EMS, medial personnel, and Department of Corrections employees had been tested and all  corona virus cases were virtually half the infection rate of the general public. Again, the governor held up a mask, and said “PPE’s work.”

He announced the North Country Region was opening up..

In discussing his call for government reimbursement to states, he noted that Representative Nita Lowey had introduced a bill to repeat the State & Local Tax law point out how much revenue New York and Massachusetts  had lost in revenues by this legislation enacted by the Trump Administration.

In the “Q. & A” with reporters from the North County region at Jefferson College, the governor said he could not put a handle on how many employees would be cut from the prisons, until he saw the Washington “in process” relief bill.

GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCES LEGISLATION TO INVEST $4 BILLION TO CLOSE GROWING EDUCATION GAP AMIDST CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced legislation to invest $4 billion in educational funding in the next relief package to ensure students have access to technology and broadband in order to continue their education during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Research shows the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the “homework gap” experienced by an estimated 12 million students who lack reliable internet access at home. This problem particularly affects students in rural and urban areas, as well as lower-income students and students of color.

Before the pandemic, roughly 70 percent of educators assigned schoolwork that required internet access but, as schools have closed, remote learning is now required for the majority of students.

The Senate’s Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020 would provide $4 billion in funding to ensure that all K-12 students have adequate home internet connectivity in order to continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This funding is critical to closing the learning gap and ensuring that every student can succeed during this crisis,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The coronavirus pandemic has forced students to continue their education from home, yet millions across the country lack reliable internet access and are unable to complete their homework. Far too often these are the students already at risk of falling behind. We must fight to close the pervasive digital gap in our country so that every student – no matter their socioeconomic status or zip code – can receive a quality education. I’m proud to work with my colleagues on this bill and will continue fighting for this critical funding in the next relief package.”

Research shows the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the “homework gap” experienced by the estimated 12 million students who lack reliable internet access at home.

A recent poll from the Education Trust of New York found that about 40 percent of families in New York State do not have access to an internet connected device or do not have access to reliable high speed internet at home.

And, at the start of the pandemic in New York City, there were at least 300,000 students in need of an internet-connected device in order to continue learning from home. 

With schools expected to remain closed beyond the current school year, the Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020 would address these inequalities and prevent students from falling further behind by ensuring they are connected. 

• Provide $4 billion in federal support for elementary and secondary schools and libraries, including tribal schools and libraries, to provide Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and internet-enabled devices (as well as internet service through such equipment) to students, staff, and patrons;
• Allow schools and libraries to continue to use the equipment after the emergency period; and
• Ensure schools and libraries prioritize support for those most in need, following the guidelines of the E-Rate program.