N.Y. STATE OF CORONA EMERGENCY
With 89 coronavirus cases statewide, gov declares it is an emergency
Gov. Cuomo declared a state of emer“We gency Saturday as the New York coronavirus numbers continued to tick upward, with 89 cases now reported statewide — including nearly 60 linked to the New Rochelle resident at the center of the outbreak.
The number of New York City cases increased overnight to 11 from four, including an Uber driver in the Rockaways in Queens and two people exiting a cruise ship from Egypt. There are now a total of 70 infected people in Westchester County plus two more in neighboring Rockland County, all linked to a 50-year-old New Rochelle man.
The infected man was hospitalized Feb. 27 with the virus, followed by its steady spread through his family, friends and eventually the region as he struggled to recover.
have a situation in New Rochelle,” the governor said at his daily update on the virus. “You’re seeing those numbers in New Rochelle expand as you have seen in other clusters. One becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes 10, then 12. And then 12 people go out and touch 200, and 400, and 800.
“And that’s what we’re dealing with now.”
At least 10 of the 89 patients identified in the last week required hospitalization, officials said.
The New Rochelle virus carrier, who works as an attorney in Manhattan, attended services at the Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue on Feb. 21, and the house of worship hosted a funeral and a bat mitzvah the next day. Among those who came down with the coronavirus was Young Israel Rabbi Reuven Fink, and many in his congregation were asked to self-quaran
tine due to possible exposure to the virus.
The first two cases in upstate Saratoga County were also announced as the virus extended north of Albany for the first time. One was a 52year-old woman who contracted the illness from an infected Pennsylvania woman at a conference in Miami; the other was a 57-year-old male pharmacist. The pharmacist reportedly lived upstate with the 52-year-old and both remained under quarantine at their home.
Two Brooklyn women were also placed under quarantine after returning from a cruise to Egypt on a ship connected to a known cluster of cases. A Brooklyn man was hospitalized in serious condition with the coronavirus after a trip to Italy, said Mayor de Blasio, while the 30something male Uber driver in the Rockaways was hospistatus talized in stable condition with the same ailment.
“I urge New Yorkers to remain vigilant, not alarmed, and take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said the mayor.
The Long Island toll from the contagious virus remained steady at four.
The state of emergency declaration gives authorities “certain powers to help local health departments that are very stressed,” the governor said. “We have a more expedited protocol to get them all the tools they needs to control the virus spread.”
Cuomo said the change in allows expedited access to cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and other products to slow the virus’ spread, and permitted qualified medical professionals other than doctors and nurses to conduct testing for the illness.
The governor added that the state might also extend the quarantine period past the current date of March 14 for three schools linked to the outbreak: the Salanter Akiba Riverdale schools in the Bronx, the Westchester Day School, and the Westchester Torah Academy. The New Rochelle man’s daughter attends the Bronx school.
Nursing homes in the area of the New Rochelle synagogue will also suspend visitation, hoping to keep the virus from reaching the atrisk elderly residents, said Cuomo.
“West chester County is an obvious problem for us,” said Cuomo. “The clusters tends to infect more and more people.”
Cuomo also warned that state police were cracking down on reports of pricegouging, with reports of a single bottle of hand sanitizer selling for $80.
“You can lose your license for price-gouging,” he said. “In an emergency situation, here you are being exploitative of the public. For the few dollars you are going to make in this situation, it is not worth your while. Not only is it disrespectful, it’s also illegal. And you will be caught.”