Dear Community,
I am hopeful as we head into the new
week – today New York State saw an increase in the number of COVID-19
patients discharged from the hospital, and a decrease in the number of new
hospitalizations. Additionally, today was the first day since the
outbreak began that New York’s daily COVID-19 death toll was lower than the day
before. This wonderful news indicates that New Yorkers are taking this
pandemic seriously. Every person who stays home, practices social distancing,
and uses a facial covering in public, is protecting their entire community as
well as themselves. While it is too early to determine if these trends will
continue, it is clear that your commitment to following important safety
protocols and health guidelines is making an impact – keep up the good work!
Today Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the federal government is
deploying approximately 1,000 personnel to New York State, including doctors, nurses, respiratory technicians, and
therapists. Today 104 doctors, 174 nurses, and 13 respiratory therapists were deployed to New York City’s public hospitals.
In accordance with the plan to
coordinate hospitals statewide, New York State is working to create a “surge and flex” system to balance the patient
load. If one hospital starts to have a projected high intake of cases, the
state will work to shift that patient load to other hospitals with more
capacity. This means that patients may go to the hospital closest to them, and
be asked if they are comfortable being transferred to another hospital with
more available resources.
Today New York City Mayor Bill de
Blasio announced that an additional 2,865 full service
ventilators and 1,790 BiPAP machines have been distributed to New York City
hospitals. The city has 135 ventilators on
reserve for rapid deployment as needed, and will continue to procure
ventilators from the state and federal government to meet the rising demand.
Mayor de Blasio also announced that
the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Hospital for Special
Surgery have agreed to take on non-COVID-19 patients from NYC
Health + Hospitals in need in order to expand bed capacity for public
hospitals providing care for patients with the coronavirus.
It was also announced today that the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA are preparing a 200-bed field hospital across twelve acres in Van Cortlandt
Park to treat COVID-19 patients. Our office will provide further
information as it is made available to us.
Important Cancellation Notice: Our Virtual Town Hall with NYC Comptroller Scott
Stringer originally scheduled for tomorrow, April 6th is postponed until
further notice, due to the sudden passing of the Comptroller’s mother from
COVID-19. I ask that you join me in sending your condolences to him and his
family during this time. We will let constituents know when the event is
rescheduled.
NYC Department of Education
Updates:
- Remote Learning: In order to meet the security needs of New York City Public School students, the Department of Education (DOE) announced that it will be phasing out the use of the tele-conferencing software “Zoom” for remote learning, and transition to a more secure software format to protect the information of its students. Further details will be announced.
- Reminder for Parents & Teachers: The DOE announced it will continue remote learning during the time originally scheduled for Spring Recess, Thursday, April 9th through Friday, April 17th. Any students or school staff who wish to celebrate holidays during this time may do so, however these days will not be considered “days off” for the school system, and remote learning will continue for students who are not observing the holidays.
- The Board of Education is also soliciting Spring Remote Learning ideas from parents –activity recommendations can be emailed to educationcouncils@gmail.com by tomorrow, April 6th, 2020.
Food Resource Reminder: The NYC Department of Education has expanded its free “grab
and go” meals – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – to ALL New Yorkers at its 435
sites across the five boroughs. Kids
and families will be able to pick up meals from 7:30AM - 11:30AM, and adults
will be welcome to pick up meals from 11:30AM - 1:30PM. No one will be
turned away. You can locate the closest meal site to you online, or by
texting “food” or “comida” to 877-877.
Unemployment Resources: The week of March 23-29, the Department of Labor (DOL)
received 8.2 million calls and the online system received 3.4 million visits.
DOL typically receives 50,000 calls and 350,000 online visits. I know that many
people are frustrated and have experienced long wait times, and technical
issues with the website. To address the surge in applications, DOL is doing the
following:
- Asking filers to call or visit the website on staggered days based on their last name:
- A-F on Monday
- G-N on Tuesday
- O-Z on Wednesday
- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will be for those that miss their days;
- Automating portions of the claim process so fewer people need to call the hotline;
- Increasing personnel capacity by 700 for the hotline;
- Expanding Call Center Hours: to Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Friday’s 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m;
- Adding 20 servers to support website capacity.
Please note, that even if you are
delayed in receiving your application, you will still receive all the
benefits you are entitled to.
The DOL has created an updated FAQ fact sheet regarding unemployment insurance
benefits, as well as a chart to help New Yorkers navigate
unemployment benefits under the federal CARES Act. The DOL has also
released further guidance for self-employed New Yorkers.
Small Business Resources:
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): The PPP is part of the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion federal stimulus package passed on March 27th. The PPP provides loans of up to $10 million to support small businesses and other eligible entities to pay workers, interest on mortgage obligations, rent, insurance, paid sick or medical leave, utilities, and payroll related costs incurred from Feb. 15, 2020 – June 30, 2020. The program is now open for small businesses and nonprofits with under 500 employees to apply – the program is first come, first serve with a limited pool of money so it is encouraged that small businesses apply as soon as possible.
- Disaster Loan Assistance: All businesses and nonprofits in New York State are now eligible to apply for federal low-interest disaster relief loans if they have suffered significant economic injury due to COVID-19. You can find more information and apply online.
Ways to Lend a Helping
Hand:
- Passover Meal Delivery Workers Needed: The Bayit Hebrew Institute is looking for volunteers with access to a car to help deliver Passover meals to seniors and at-risk individuals on April 8th. Sign-up to volunteer.
- If you are an oral or plastic surgeon or veterinarian and can donate a ventilator, please donate at nyc.gov/helpnow.
- Manufacture PPE: Businesses interested in receiving state funding to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) products should contact Eric Gertler at 212-803-3100 or COVID19supplies@esd.ny.gov.
- Donate or Sell Supplies: EDC launched a new website this weekend for local businesses that want to support the COVID-19 emergency response effort by providing or manufacturing supplies. Learn more at the new website: COVID-19 Emergency Supply Sourcing & Manufacturing.
- Donate Food & Beverages to Healthcare Workers: We Will Provide is giving New Yorkers the opportunity to treat healthcare workers in Westchester to hot meals, chocolates, and coffees from local businesses. Visit their GoFundMe page to learn how to participate.
- Donate to Feeding Westchester: Feeding Westchester is an organization working to ensure that all residents of Westchester County have access to food. You can find out more about Feeding Westchester and support them here.
- Support the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA): NDWA is an alliance of nannies, in-home care workers and house cleaners. Learn how you can support them by clicking here.
- Support Restaurant Workers: On the Line is working to employ restaurant workers who have lost their jobs to bring meals to our food-insecure neighborhoods. To learn more about their work and how to support them click here.
- Support the Westchester Community Opportunity Program (WESTCOP): WESTCOP is a social service organization helping residents across Westchester County. To learn more about their work and how to support them, click here.
- Donate Space: New York City is still identifying new hospital capacity. They are particularly interested in private spaces that may not be yet on their radar. If you have space to offer, please fill out this space survey here: NYC Share Your Space Survey.
- If you are a tailor, seamstress, stitcher or more: You can lend your expertise to the Skilled Laborers Brigade and make PPE for our state and city. To join, click here. You can also connect with SewForNY by clicking here.
- To see how you can get involved for New York State, click here.
- For how to help in New York City, click here.
- Remember, New York is recruiting help from around the country, not just the state.
This is a difficult time
for all of us – and I know many are experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety.
Please know that you are not alone. I urge you to call 1-844-863-9314, for
free online mental health assistance related to COVID-19. For general mental
health assistance, please call 1-888-692-9355 or visit the NYC WELL website.
As of today, April 5th, 2020, there
are 122,031 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York State. To date, New York has conducted 302,280 tests statewide. 74% of patients who
have been hospitalized have been discharged. 12,187 patients have been
discharged in total, including 1,709 New Yorkers discharged yesterday alone. There
were 574 new hospitalizations yesterday compared to 1,095 hospitalizations
the day before. We have now lost 4,159 New Yorkers
to the virus.
Of the confirmed cases:
- 67,551 are located in New York City
- 13,723 are located in Westchester County
- 14,398 are located in Nassau County
- 12,405 are located in Suffolk County
- 5,326 are located in Rockland County
You can find the geographic breakdown of coronavirus cases by County here.
As of April 4th, the Westchester
County breakdown is as follows:
- 34 are located in the Village of Pelham
- 29 are located in the Village of Pelham Manor
- 501 are located in Mount Vernon
As of April 5th, the New York
City borough breakdown is as follows:
- 12,738 in The Bronx
- 17,520 in Brooklyn
- 21,781 in Queens
- 9,251 in Manhattan
- 3,628 on Staten Island
Note, that the New York City numbers do not align with state-wide
numbers due to different release times.
Update on COVID-19 Data: The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has
added various breakdowns of the available data to their website in an effort to
be as transparent as possible.
Case counts (including age, gender and borough
breakdown)
Deaths (including age, gender and borough
breakdown along with pre-existing conditions)
Hospitalizations (including age, gender, and
borough breakdown)
This is an evolving situation. For
updated information on COVID-19 (in multiple languages) from trusted sources
for your designated area, please visit:
You can also always call the New
York State Novel Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 or the New York
City Hotline at 1-844-NYC-4NYC with any questions.
While you are at home, don’t
forget to fill out the Census! Only 28% of Bronxites, and 16% of Mount Vernon
residents have responded. Let’s make our communities count! For more
information, and to complete
the census, you can click here.
As we begin a new week, remember to
make space to take care of yourself.
Stay hydrated, go outside for a walk (while maintaining social distancing, and
covering your mouth and nose), and stay virtually connected with loved
ones.
If you were forwarded this email,
you can subscribe to our newsletter here.
Stay strong.
With Gratitude,
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi
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