Daily Coronavirus News Update: New York State Declared Disaster Area

Photo by Ryan Lahiff

It’s day six of our coronavirus daily news digest and the first Saturday. There is some big news on the disease front, so here goes:

Latest Numbers

Mayor de Blasio announced last night that New York City has 5,638 positive cases and 43 fatalities. Brooklyn remains the borough with the highest numbers with 1,740 cases. There are 1,514 cases in Queens, 1,402 in Manhattan, 736 in the Bronx, and 285 on Staten Island. Cuomo said today there are more than 10,300 positive cases in New York State, with over 6,200 in New York City.

New York State Declared Disaster Area

President Trump declared New York State a major disaster area, which means federal funds can be deployed to combat coronavirus. According to the declaration, Trump has “ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing. The President’s action makes Federal funding available for Crisis Counseling for affected individuals in all areas in the State of New York. Federal funding is also available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, for all areas in the State of New York impacted by COVID-19.” FEMA has announced that as a result aid has been made available for New York State.

New York State Goes on PAUSE Sunday Night

Still short of terming it shelter-in-place of quarantine, Governor Cuomo announces that New York State will be on PAUSE starting 8 PM Sunday by executive order. PAUSE stands for “Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone.” According to Cuomo’s statement, PAUSE is a “a 10-point policy to assure uniform safety for everyone. It includes a new directive that all non-essential businesses statewide must close in-office personnel functions effective at 8PM on Sunday, March 22, and temporarily bans all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason.” Here is a link to what is considered an essential business. And yes that includes liquor stores. 100% of all workers now must work from home.

Social Distancing and Self-Isolation Essential

Don’t be these people and gather in close proximity in McCarren Park. An urgent care physician in Palo Alto (Yale Medical School graduate, Harvard Undergraduate, and Harvard Business School graduate) working on the front lines in a drive through respiratory care clinic estimates that the actual number of coronavirus positive people in America is 90x the current number, or 1.25 million people. He writes, “Acceptance and practice of social distancing still do not seem universal.”

State Facing Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). How you can help:

Amid a shortage of personal protective equipment — or PPE — products in the state, including gloves, masks and gowns, Governor Cuomo is asking all PPE product providers to sell to the state any products that are not essential or not currently being used. Businesses interested in selling products to the state should contact Simonida Subotic at 646-522-8477 or [email protected].