3RD DEATH REPORTED
Total number of diagnosed New Yorkers reaches 729, most in the country
New York has reported its third death in the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that the latest victim was a 79-year-old woman who had “multiple, major underlying health issues.”
The woman died Sunday at a New York City hospital, officials said.
The death was announced as the total number of New Yorkers diagnosed with the virus rose to 729, the most in any U.S. state.
Cuomo has said he believes thousands of New Yorkers, possibly tens of thousands, already have the disease.
Federal aid sought
The Army Corps of Engineers should be mobilized to help fight the coronavirus by equipping facilities like military bases or college dorms to serve as temporary medical centers, Cuomo said Sunday.
In an opinion piece published in The New York Times, the Democrat called on President Donald Trump to authorize states to expand testing capabilities, set federal standards for shutting down commerce and schools, and mobilize the military to bolster medical treatment capabilities.
“States cannot build more hospitals, acquire ventilators
or modify facilities quickly enough,” Cuomo wrote, saying the expertise and equipment of the corps of engineers is “our best hope.”
In a news conference Sunday afternoon, Cuomo said his biggest worry is the limited number of intensive care unit beds statewide as more vulnerable coronavirus patients seek care in coming weeks.
Noting that the state has about 53,000 regular hospital beds and 3,000 intensive care ones, Cuomo said, “3,000 goes very quickly on any projection of these numbers.”
Cuomo said that 137 coronavirus patients are hospitalized and that 65 of them are in intensive care.
The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover.
Closing schools
New York City schools “should close and must close,” Cuomo said Sunday afternoon.
But he added: “I don’t think we should close the New York City schools until we have handled these two issues: child care and food. I think they could be handled expeditiously.”
Cuomo wants hospitals and unions representing health care workers and teachers to hash out the details of providing food to children who depend on school breakfasts and lunches and childcare for first responders and health care workers. “It shouldn’t take them 24 hours to figure out this plan,” Cuomo said.
But New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he’s still reluctant to shut down schools, as other major U.S. cities have, despite pressure from teachers to do so.
“My blunt fear is if the schools shut down, they will be done for the year, done for the school year, maybe even for calendar year,” de Blasio said on CNN Sunday morning. He said first responders and health care workers depend on schools so they can work.
De Blasio said contingency plans were being developed in case schools do need to shut down, but “they are far from perfect.”
De Blasio’s office announced Sunday that a safety agent at the Horace Harding School in Queens has tested positive for the virus. The agent hasn’t worked there since March 6, and the school was expected to be open Monday.
On Long Island, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced Sunday that all public and private schools in the county adjacent to New York City will close for two weeks beginning Monday. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone also ordered all schools in his county closed.
Curran said arrangements were being made to provide “grab-and-go” meals to youngsters who need them and to let teachers and administrators use the schools for “distancebased learning.”
Curran said the county of over 1.3 million residents has 90 confirmed cases, with 18 people hospitalized, including two in critical condition. More than 300 people are under mandatory quarantine, Curran added.
At the other end of the state, Erie County Executive Mark Polonzarz declared a state of emergency Sunday and said all schools in the county, including in Buffalo, would be closed Monday. He said three Erie County residents have tested positive for the virus and are in quarantine at home.
Lawmakers infected
The infected included two members of the New York Assembly, Helene Weinstein and Charles Barron, both Brooklyn Democrats.
Both lawmakers have been absent from Albany since the beginning of the month, but all legislators and staff who came into contact with them will be tested, Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement Saturday.
The Capitol is being cleaned and has been closed to visitors, they said.
Curfew imposed
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer called for a shutdown of bars, restaurants and movie theaters, as well as city schools. “We cannot go on with business as usual,” Stringer said.
Cuomo said he has asked businesses to “aggressively consider work from home and voluntary closing,” adding “we could take mandatory action later on.”
Cuomo said all nonessential state government personnel have been asked to stay home from Rockland County south. That’s about half the state workforce in that area, he said.
Seeking to calm nerves, the governor said there would not be restrictions that would keep people from leaving New York City.
Across the Hudson River from New York City, the mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, imposed a curfew that will require residents to be in their homes between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., starting Monday, and said restaurants and bars would have to stop serving food, except takeout or delivery.