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Doctor Advises Americans To Avoid All Gatherings To Stop COVID Spread

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Coronavirus cases have been spiking throughout the country over the past weeks, and some believe some states should not be moving as quickly as they are to get the economy running again.The New York Times reports much of the surge of new cases has been driven largely by states in the south and west that were among to first ease restrictions. At least six states set single-day records on Thursday for daily coronavirus cases – Albama, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Texas.As New York and New Jersey continue to see a significant drop in cases, there’s worry that travelers from surging states may lead to a spike in the Tri-State, but both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Phil Murphy have began easing restrictions to allow for some indoor and outdoor gatherings again.Currently, areas in Phase 4 in New York are allowed to hold gatherings of up to 50 people and indoor gatherings at 33% capacity. Meanwhile, New Jersey permits outdoor gatherings of up to 250 people and indoor gatherings of 25% capacity. WCBS 880’s Lynda Lopez spoke with Dr. Waleed Javaid, director of infection prevention and control and Mount Sinai Downtown, who cautions for more safety measures. He says with areas still experiencing a rise in cases, there’s a chance the virus has not peaked in certain areas and the death toll could continue to increase.“What we're seeing across the country if the spike,” he said. “Hospitals are getting overwhelmed. I was listening in to some reports from Florida and other places that, literally, they are running out of space. This is very much the same or similar to what we saw in New York a few months ago.” “The transmission of the virus takes time and when it does, it take about 10 to 14 days before we'd be the peak and then also mortalities falls a few weeks behind that as well,” Dr. Javaid explains. The doctor thinks gatherings should not even be permitted at this stage and Americans should consider the fact that the pandemic is no over and the virus remains a real threat.“I know it's very hard harsh statement to say something like that but we need to think beyond today and beyond tomorrow beyond next week and look into months from now,” he said. “All activities we do today impact what happens tomorrow, so overall my final statement would be avoid gatherings if at all possible.”He notes that while outdoor gatherings are better than indoor gatherings, that does not mean the virus still cannot be transmitted from person to person. Dr. Javaid says people still need to wear masks and need to practice social distancing. Meanwhile, he says while younger people may think the virus does not affect them, they are wrong. Many of the new cases in states with spikes are people from the younger generation and he believes the easing of restrictions may have contributed to that.“You and I both heard the reports of al lot of people mingling, a lot of outdoor activities in certain states. I’m not saying one is equal to the other, but there is some degree of link between the activities – going to the beaches for example and parties – and having a higher number of cases. Even though we might see a higher number of younger people going to the hospital, the severity of the illness is almost always worse as the age progresses,” he tells WCBS 880’s Lopez.Dr. Javaid says in a perfect world, he would ask everyone to avoid all gatherings until a proper treatment, vaccine or cure is found. Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 10, 2020

Cuomo Considers Writing Book About Coronavirus Pandemic

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is considering writing a book about the lessons he learned during the coronavirus pandemic. Other states have looked to how Cuomo has handled New York's response to the crisis, through the 42 days it took to reach the peak before coming back down "the other side of the mountain" — a phrase the governor has often used to describe the state's battle with the virus."Whatever happens this is going to be a period to learn from," Cuomo told WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock in an interview on Friday afternoon. "I am now thinking about writing a book about what we went through, lessons learned, the entire experience, because if we don't learn from this, then it will really compound the whole crisis that we've gone through."Cuomo noted that New York is now in a "bit of a lull," while other states across the country are seeing a spike in positive cases."Our numbers are good, we work very hard to keep them there. You have other parts of the country that are just going through what we went through a few months ago. It's a cruel tragedy that this nation learned nothing from what we did — all the lives lost, all the money spent," Cuomo said. "There's nothing that they're going through that we didn't go through three or four months ago. And that this federal government allowed this to happen is going to go down in the history books as one of the great blunders of government."During New York's fight with the virus, Cuomo emerged as one of the key faces of the pandemic as he held daily press briefings for 111 consecutive days, updating the public on the spread of the virus and what measures were being taken to flatten the curve. His handling of the situation raised his approval rating at one point to 87%.The governor has come under criticism over the state's high death toll in nursing homes and a state policy that had required nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients. This week, the state's health department released a report that claimed the large number of nursing home deaths from COVID-19 was not the fault of state policy, but staff who unknowingly infected residents.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 10, 2020

New York Sending Shipment Of COVID-19 Drug Remdesivir To Florida

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that New York State will send the COVID-19 medication Remdesivir to Florida to help with its surge of cases.Cuomo said Florida is waiting for a further supply from the federal government and New York will provide enough Remdesivir to help the state care for 280 COVID-19 patients until the federal shipment arrives."When New York was climbing the COVID mountain with no end in sight and resources were scarce, we were incredibly moved by the generosity of states around the country that stepped up to provide supplies and medical personnel in our time of need," Cuomo said. "We will stand by our fellow Americans every step of the way as our nation fights COVID-19 together." New York's shipment of the medication will arrive in the Sunshine State on Saturday.Early studies have shown Remdesivir shortens recovery time for severely ill coronavirus patients and is the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19.Late last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it had secured 500,000 treatment courses of the drug from Gilead Sciences for American hospitals through September. Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 10, 2020

COVID-19 Cases Top 400K In New York

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York has topped 400,000 coronavirus cases, which accounts for about 2 percent of the state's population.The state saw an additional 786 cases in the past day, bringing the total since the start of the outbreak to 400,299. There were eight coronavirus-related deaths in the state on Thursday. Nearly 25,000 people have died from COVID-19 in New York.Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the numbers continue to trend in the right direction and reminds people to wear masks and wash their hands."We know that wearing a mask, washing your hands and social distancing are effective tools for fighting this virus, and now is the time to redouble those efforts," Cuomo said. "Continue to be New York Tough this weekend and show this nation the path forward while keeping your loved ones safe." Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 10, 2020

DOH: NY Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care Facilities Without COVID Cases To Resume Limited Visits

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.ALBANY (WCBS 880) — The New York State Department of Health on Friday announced nursing homes and long-term care facilities will be allowed to resume limited visitations. Only facilities that have been without COVID-19 cases for at least 28 days will be allowed to resume visitations.The Health Department says residents in these facilities will be allowed two visitors at a time, and the visitors must undergo temperature checks, wear face coverings and socially distance during the visit. At least one of the two visitors must be at least 18 or older, state officials said.For each facility, only 10% of the residents can be allowed visitors at any time. For example, in a 100-bed facility, no more than 10 residents can have visitors per day.Nursing homes accepting visitors will be required to send their visitation plan to Department of Health and affirmatively attest that they are following state safety guidelines."With the knowledge we now have about how COVID-19 came into nursing homes – mainly through asymptomatic staff and visitors through no fault of their own – it is critical that as we resume visitations to these facilities we do it in a smart and cautious way to ensure the health and safety of residents and staff,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said. He notes that the agency will “closely monitor the situation in each facility, and make adjustments based on the facts and data moving forward.”Zucker says he understands people have been desperate to see their loved ones.“I know how painful it has been for residents of these facilities to endure such a long period of time without seeing family and loved ones, and my hope is that this adjustment to the visitation policy will provide some comfort to everyone,” he said.WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall had been covering calls to allow visitations again at nursing homes on Long Island. One 99-year-old woman told her she felt “like a prisoner” being unable to see her family. Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 10, 2020

Malls In Phase 4 Regions Begin Reopening In New York After COVID Shutdown

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Indoor shopping malls outside of New York City were set to reopen on Friday.Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for malls to reopen under Phase 4 so long as they have installed new “enhanced” HVAC filtration systems to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The new regulation is applicable to malls in areas that are in Phase 4, including all upstate regions and Long Island. New York City is still in Phase 3 of reopening.“The more we learn about COVID, the clearer it is that safe ventilation is crucial,” the governor said Wednesday. Though, Rockland County Executive Ed Day believes the air-circulation concerns were dramatized.“This whole distractive commentary about air filtration was unnecessary. I said so from the beginning. There were studies done that showed that this was not necessary,” he said.He says the Palisades Center Mall is gigantic with soaring ceilings and he's not worried about coronavirus inside. Day says he is worried about the economy.“There are 5,000 people employed. Obviously, the mall being closed had a major impact on our community,” Day said.The Palisades Mall generates more than $20 million in property taxes and more than $20 million in sales taxes annually. Day says shoppers have been crossing the border going to New Jersey to shop and now hopes the return of malls will help revamp the economy.On Long Island, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has been pushing for malls to reopen since before Phase 2 started. When she heard the governor's news, Curran said she got "goosebumps."Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 10, 2020

880 IN DEPTH: Saving The School Year

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — At a time when health officials across the country are racing to tamp down COVID-19 flare ups, here in New York the hot topic is how to open schools this fall.As you might imagine, the issue is complicated, and like everything else in this pandemic enviornment, it’s gotten political.President Donald Trump wants schools to reopen for in-person lessons. Health officials in many spots, including New York, are skeptical and New York's governor says it isn't up to the president. He reminded reporters this week that reopening schools was a state decision.This week, the 880 IN DEPTH podcast takes a look at one particular model for schools in the fall.We talked to the president of New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson University.FDU, as it is known, operates out of two campuses in Northern New Jersey and serves over 11,000 students. The school's president, Dr. Christopher Capuano, tells WCBS 880 “it will not be normal as we all had hoped.""It will be a new normal," he said.The school will open the fall semester on August 17th with three weeks of remote learning before opening up the campus for a hybrid of in-person and remote classes. Students will live on campus and dormitories will be the most difficult location to achieve social distancing.The new model will include testing during the semester, and when positive cases pop up during the year, quarantine and contact tracing. Masks and social distance rules will be employed. The measures are for the safety of students, staff and educators.Capuano believes the students will be up for the challenge. He tells WCBS 880 that “this is a wonderful life lesson.""All they need to do is do the right thing," he says, and if they do, “history will treat them right."The IN DEPTH podcast also tackles concerns about the impact of remote learning and concerns about an education gap that existed before the pandemic.Ian Rosenblum is executive director of The Education Trust - New York — a non-partisan education advocacy group. Rosenblum told reporter Peter Haskell that before the pandemic, “our education system was driven by extrordinary inequities” on a wide range of measures, including things like level of instruction and access to special course work.Too often, the inequities negatively impact students of color, and students from low income areas.Rosenblum says we are right to be concerned about the impact of another semester of remote learning, but he believes that we also need to be addressing the eduation equity issue at the same time we work to get kids back into the classroom.He tells WCBS 880 that we need to make sure we put programs in place, and use technology that allows for “all students” to find success in the system.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 10, 2020

Bronx Zoo, NYC Aquarium To Open July 24 After Virus Shutdown

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.NEW YORK (AP) — The Bronx Zoo and New York City's aquarium are set to reopen this month, but New York City is canceling street fairs, outdoor concerts, parades and other big events through September as local officials try to keep city blocks open for restaurants and the public.Large outdoor gatherings have been officially banned in New York since the spring, though thousands have taken to city streets to protest against police brutality. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that the city's ban will exempt “demonstrations, religious events and press conferences.”“Look this is always an area of real sensitivity here,” de Blasio said in a CNN appearance, in response to a question about whether protests would be allowed. “You're talking about health, we would always say, ‘Hey folks stay home if you can.' But we understand this moment in history, people are talking about the need for historic change.”The mayor said his city won't issue permits for events larger than one block, street fairs, park events that could “unreasonably diminish” public use, events that require speakers and any event in a location that interferes with the Open Streets or Open Restaurants program. He said the city will refund or defer fees paid in connection with denied permits.“It means like street fairs, it means big outdoor concerts, and it means things like parades, things that here in the city could mean not just thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people,” the mayor said. “It's just not time for that now.”He said New York's slowly reopened as the percentage of positive cases has appeared to decline from April peaks.“You also have to know when to call a time out,” de Blasio, a Democrat, said.The Bronx Zoo, the New York Aquarium, the Central Park Zoo, the Prospect Park Zoo and the Queens Zoo will open on July 24 after being closed since mid-March, the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the facilities, announced Thursday.“We are pleased that the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium and our other parks will again serve as retreats where guests can connect with animals and nature when we open on July 24 after being closed for 130 days,” Bronx Zoo director Jim Breheny said.Visitors will have to buy tickets online in advance, and masks will be required for everyone over 3 years old.Zoo officials said the planned openings are timed to coincide with New York City's entry into Phase 4 of the state's COVID-19 reopening process during the week of July 20.Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that another eight individuals with COVID-19 died in New York hospitals and nursing homes Wednesday.The number of hospitalizations has declined overall since spiking in mid-April, but 851 individuals with COVID-19 were hospitalized Wednesday. That's up from 817 Sunday, according to the Democrat's office.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 09, 2020

Putnam County Warns Of Possible COVID-19 Exposure At Supermarket

CARMEL, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Putnam County has issued a COVID-19 health alert.Health officials say anyone who went to the Tops Friendly Markets in Carmel on July 2 or July 5 may have been exposed to coronavirus.A person infected with the virus was at the supermarket on July 2 between 5:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and on July 5 between 5:30 a.m. and 8 a.m."Please watch for symptoms of COVID-19 which include fever, chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomitting, diarrhea," the county's health department said.Those who believe they may have been exposed are asked to contact their physician with any concerns.In a statement to WABC-TV, a spokesperson for the supermarket chain said, "We want all customers, vendors, and associates to know that the entire store has been deep cleaned and sanitized in response to this alert."Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Putnam had four new COVID-19 cases overnight. The total number of cases in the county is over 1,300 and there have been 63 deaths.Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 09, 2020

Long Island Officials Present Grim Economic Report In Wake Of Pandemic

Sign up for WCBS 880's daily newsletter for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Long Island officials on Thursday presented a grim economic report for Nassau and Suffolk counties. “This is the equivalent of if we got struck by a Category 5 hurricane, except, in this case the hurricane stayed for months,” says Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. He stressed that Suffolk County is facing a budget gap of more than $800 million. Bellone warns that gap could grow to as much as $1.5 billion in the next 15 months. Bellone, along with Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, says if the federal government does not step in to assist, there will be mass layoffs, schools budget cuts and possibly the elimination of vital community programs. They warn Long Island could lose up to 375,000 jobs because of the pandemic’s effect on the economy. “We’ve seens our tax revenues plummet 30% and these are the revenues that your local government relies on to provide services like a Health Department,” Curran said.Bellone and Curran are asking the federal government to send financial assistance in the form of disaster relief assistance. “This burden should not be placed on the shoulders of local taxpayers, essential workers and first responders,” Bellone says.WCBS 880’s Sophia Hall reports there are already signs of struggling industries across the county. The general manager of the Hilton hotel in Melville told Hall that normally around this time of year, they are booked solid, but this year they’ve only booked around 20% of their rooms. Stay informed, stay connected — follow WCBS 880 on Facebook and Twitter. Download the RADIO.COM app + favorite WCBS 880 for breaking news, traffic and weather alerts.

July 09, 2020