On March 23, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order barring pharmacists from filling prescriptions for chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, its next-generation derivative, for home treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by the cornavirus SARS-CoV-2. But doctors are using the drugs, which are effective for treating such diseases as malaria and lupus, in huge numbers.
As many as 4,000 people in New York are currently being treated with hydroxychloroquine, the <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/05/ny-coronavirus-patients-being-treated-with-anti-malarial-drug/">New York Post</a> reports:
<blockquote>A state Health Department official said the [Department of Health] has shipped doses of hydroxychloroquine to 56 hospitals across New York, distributing enough &#8220;to treat 4,000 patients to date.” Patients have received doses as part of four- or 10-day regimens, officials said. The University of Albany’s School of Public Health is observing the drug’s impact on the patients, and its preliminary study could come back in weeks instead of the usual months, officials said.</blockquote>
Cuomo has been criticized for prohibiting pharmacists from dispensing hydroxychloroquine outside a hospital.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Sunday told a story about an elderly man with a high fever arriving at Mount Sinai Hospital, “and the first thing they did before they even talked to him was give him hydroxychloroquine.”
“Why is the governor banning it?”  Guiliani said on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “Everything shows that it works.”
“There’s a dispute as to whether it treats symptoms or cures the disease. But it works. And we don’t have the luxury right now for a perfect solution,&#8221; President Trump&#8217;s personal lawyer said.
Fox News host Sean Hannity also questioned why New York doctors can&#8217;t prescribe the drugs outside of a hospital setting.
“I live on Long Island and many doctors are telling me that they want to prescribe this medication to their patients who test positive for COVID-19 – the disease caused by the coronavirus – but do NOT need the patient to come to a hospital,” Hannity said in a Saturday op-ed. “However, Cuomo’s executive order forbids pharmacies from filling the prescriptions.”
Cuomo, Hannity said, “is creating a much bigger crisis in his state’s hospital system by denying New Yorkers THE CHOICE (in consultation with their doctors) to take this potentially life-saving medication.”
Trump, who has twice tested negative for COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, told reporters gathered in the White House briefing room on Saturday that he may himself take hydroxychloroquine, which he has called a “game changer” for treating the virus.
“If it were me, in fact, I might do it anyway,” Trump said about the drug, normally used to treat malaria and lupus. “I may take it. OK? I may take it. And I’ll have to ask my doctors about that, but I may take it.”
Last Monday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the drug emergency-use authorization for the treatment of COVID-19.
Trump again on Sunday touted the drug. &#8220;We have stockpiled 29 million pills of the Hydroxychloroquine &#8230; And they&#8217;re not expensive,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;What do you have to lose?&#8221;
&#8220;We’re just hearing really positive stories, and we’re continuing to collect the data. But I’ll just speak for myself: It’s been out for a long time. It’s a malaria drug. It’s also a drug for lupus. And there’s a — there’s a study out that people with lupus aren’t catching this horrible virus. They’re not — they’re not affected so much by it. Now, maybe that’s correct; maybe it’s false,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;You’re going to have to check it out.&#8221;
Health experts have warned that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can have some serious side effects, and &#8220;may be deadly when combined with a common diabetes drug,&#8221; as reported by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/04/05/researchers-warn-that-covid-19-treatment-touted-by-trump-may-be-toxic-when-combined-with-diabetes-drug/#4795450f55f8">Forbes</a> Sunday.

Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate Medication Illustration

Thousands Of NY COVID Patients Being Treated With Anti-Malarial Drug Hydroxychloroquine

Andrew Cuomo

Donald Trump

hydroxychloroquine

New York

A tiger at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the coronavirus, and several other animals have reportedly developed symptoms of the disease, according to the zoo.
&#8220;Nadia, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo, has tested positive for COVID-19. She, her sister Azul, two Amur tigers, and three African lions had developed a dry cough and all are expected to recover,&#8221; the zoo said in a statement. &#8220;This positive COVID-19 test for the tiger was confirmed by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory, based in Ames, Iowa.&#8221;
&#8220;We tested the cat out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 will contribute to the world’s continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;Though they have experienced some decrease in appetite, the cats at the Bronx Zoo are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers. It is not known how this disease will develop in big cats since different species can react differently to novel infections, but we will continue to monitor them closely and anticipate full recoveries.&#8221;
The zoo said that the cats were infected by &#8220;a person caring for them who was asymptomatically infected with the virus or before that person developed symptoms.&#8221;
CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/health/cats-dogs-ferrets-coronavirus-wellness/index.html">highlighted</a> a recent study out of China on the ability of the coronavirus, which originated in China,  to infect house pets:
<blockquote>Our furry feline friends appear to be susceptible to catching Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Even worse, the cats in the study were able to infect each other, although they showed no signs of illness.
Ferrets were also able to &#8220;catch&#8221; the virus, although it didn&#8217;t appear to harm them. Dogs, on the other hand, were not susceptible, according to the study. The virus showed up in the feces of five dogs, but no infectious virus was found. Pigs, chickens and ducks were also not very hospitable places for the virus.
But there&#8217;s no need for cat or ferret lovers to panic, experts say. There&#8217;s no evidence their pets could get very sick or die from the novel coronavirus.</blockquote>
The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo noted that none of zoo’s snow leopards, cheetahs, clouded leopard, Amur leopard, puma or serval cats had shown any signs of the disease.
&#8220;We are grateful for the cooperation and support of the New York State Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, where the initial COVID-19 testing of samples from the tiger were performed; the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory where confirmatory testing was conducted; USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; and the New York and Illinois State Veterinarians and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for their assistance,&#8221; the statement concluded. &#8220;We will issue additional information as warranted. Our four zoos and aquarium have been temporarily closed since March 16.&#8221;
This report has been updated to include additional information.

Animals At The Bronx Zoo

Tiger At Bronx Zoo Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Other Animals Suspected Of Having Disease

animals

Coronavirus

COVID-19

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that deaths from the coronavirus have dropped for the first time in New York, but said the state&#8217;s health care system is still under extraordinary pressure.
The state had 594 deaths over the last 24 hours, down from 630 in the previous 24-hour period. But Cuomo warned the drop could just be a “blip.” A total of 4,159 New Yorkers have now died of SARS-CoV-2  out of 122,031 confirmed cases, said Cuomo, who said &#8220;the coronavirus is truly vicious and effective.”
“It’s an effective killer,&#8221; he said.
Still, the governor suggested that New York might be hitting the virus&#8217;s peak, which could mean a leveling off.
“The apex could be a plateau and we could be on that plateau now,” he said, adding the trajectory would become more clear in the coming days.
In another bit of good news, the number of new hospitalizations dropped by nearly half on Sunday to a level not seen in more than a week. A total of 574 new hospitalizations were reported Sunday, compared to 1,095 on Saturday. The Sunday number was just more than a third of admissions for the virus from Friday, when 1,427 were hospitalized.
The last time fewer than 600 people were hospitalized was March 22.
“That’s partially a function of more people being discharged,” Cuomo said. “And that’s great news.” Cuomo said 74% of those hospitalized have been discharged.
The governor also said hospitals need to come together and work as a single network, establishing a “rolling deployment” of medical resources around the country.
“This is war time,” he says. “This is a war.”
At his daily briefing, Cuomo also said it’s time for &#8220;the family of New York to come together.&#8221;
“We talk about the family of New York, right?” the governor said. “I must have said that one million times: family of New York. What does family of New York mean? Mutuality, cooperation, sharing benefits and burdens. This is the time the family needs to come together, not just out of spirit and love, but out of necessity. You cannot handle this without your brothers and sisters. You can’t.”
Cuomo also announced the federal government &#8220;is deploying approximately 1,000 personnel to New York State, including doctors, nurses, respiratory technicians and therapists, to help the state&#8217;s overwhelmed hospital systems. The first 325 personnel will be deployed to the New York City hospital system today,&#8221; his office said in a <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-federal-government-deploying">statement</a>.
And the governor was asked about President Trump&#8217;s hope that the NFL could open on time in September.
“I would love to see sports back,” Cuomo said. “It would help with cabin fever. But this is not about hopes and dreams and aspirations and what you would like to see. None of us like being here. Follow the data, follow the science. Let the doctors and health-care professionals tell you when it’s safe to reopen and that’s when you reopen.”
Cuomo said in order for sports to return, officials should &#8220;Follow the data. Follow the science. Let the … health-care professionals tell you when it’s safe to re-open, and that’s when you re-open.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo Press Conference in New York, US

Gov. Cuomo: New York Coronavirus Deaths Drop For First Time

On Saturday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced during his daily COVID-19 press briefing that, with assistance from multiple sources, the state had acquired 1,000 new ventilators from China.
“New York has been shopping in China &#8230; we went to the Asia Society to help us navigate China, I asked the White House to help us navigate China, I spoke to the ambassador, and we got really good news today,” Cuomo said.
<blockquote>The Chinese government is going to facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators that will come into JFK today – and I want to thank Joe Tsai and Clara Tsai and Jack Ma from Alibaba &#8230; for their donation. That’s going to be very helpful, and I want to thank Ambassador Huang very much for his help in making all of this happen because this is a big deal, and it’s gonna make a significant difference for us.</blockquote>
The governor added that the state of Oregon will be providing New York with 140 ventilators.
Prior to mentioning the 1,000 ventilators, Cuomo criticized the fact that China manufactures many of our medical supplies.
“China is, remarkably, the repository for all of these orders,” Cuomo said. “Ventilators, PPE, it all goes back to China, which, long-term, we have to figure out why we wound up in this situation where we don’t have the manufacturing capacity in this country.”
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The governor also went through the daily numbers for the state.
The daily hospitalization numbers on Friday dropped to 1,095 from the previous day’s record high of 1,427. Despite this tick downward, the overall trend of hospitalizations is still moving upward.
“Total number of hospitalized is down a blip, but we believe that’s not statistically meaningful,” Cuomo stated.
The daily Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions hit a record high of 395 on Friday. The previous high of 374 was set on March 26 and tied on April 1. The overall trajectory of ICU admissions is upward.
The number of daily intubations also broke the record with 351 on Friday. The previous record was 313, and it was set on April 1. The trajectory for daily intubations is upward.
Discharges are also up, with 1,592 COVID-19 patients discharged from New York hospitals on Friday. This is a record high as well, and the trajectory is moving upward.
“This is interesting. Two-thirds of the people who have been hospitalized have been discharged,” the governor said. “That’s what we’ve been saying all along. Most people won’t be hospitalized; people who are hospitalized will come in, be treated, and leave &#8230; one third of that number has a serious condition which will require continued hospitalization.”
Governor Cuomo then spoke about the apex, when “the number of infections on a daily basis is at the high point.” He stated that although New York isn’t at the apex yet, it will likely be arriving sometime in the next four to eight days based on the models being examined.
The governor also showed a slide in which case percentage numbers were shown based on area. While New York City has been very slowly declining as a share of total cases in the state since approximately March 22, cases in Long Island have been increasing. As of Friday, New York City had 65% of COVID-19 cases in the state, Long Island had 22% (up from 17% on March 26), Westchester and Rockland had 7%, and upstate had 5%.
Cuomo also lauded the fact that 85,000 volunteers have stepped up to help New York in this time of crisis.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/18-5-of-nypd-out-sick-as-of-saturday-nearly-4-5-tested-positive-for-covid-19">18.5% Of NYPD Out ‘Sick’ As Of Saturday; Nearly 4.5% ‘Tested Positive’ For COVID-19</a>

Ventilator

New York To Receive 1,000 Ventilators From China As COVID-19 ‘Apex’ Quickly Approaches

China

New York City

On Thursday, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh addressed the question of why California is not experiencing New York-like percentages of coronavirus cases and suggested that social distancing measures alone would not explain the significant disparity between the two states.
Dr. Deborah Birx, a leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force has seemingly <a href="https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30385249?utm_source=bottom_relate&amp;utm_medium=internal_referral">credited</a> early &#8220;social distancing&#8221; for the major discrepancy between California and hard-hit New York, but Limbaugh is skeptical that a state-wide <a href="https://apnews.com/52f7fc77cce85060ad1cf73297b7cd45">two-day head start</a> on &#8220;social distancing&#8221; measures did the trick.
As of Friday morning, there are <a href="https://www.bing.com/covid/local/california_unitedstates">215</a> coronavirus-associated deaths in California (population 40 million), and <a href="https://www.bing.com/covid/local/newyork_unitedstates">2,373</a> in New York (population 20 million).
&#8220;I have to get something off my chest here,&#8221; <a href="https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2020/04/02/what-i-think-really-happened-in-california/">Limbaugh</a> started. &#8220;For the past three days, I, El Rushbo, have been asking why California has not had more coronavirus cases and more coronavirus deaths. There are 40 million people.&#8221;
&#8220;This is the number of COVID-19 cases per million population. And West Virginia number one, 106,&#8221; the host detailed. &#8220;There are no Chinese there to speak of. Nebraska, ditto. California, 248 cases per million population. Forty million people in California. The number of cases is statistically tiny compared to the size of that state. New York City, 4,312 cases per million population. This is cases, not deaths.&#8221;
&#8220;Now, I’ve been asking why California hasn’t had more cases given the number of Chinese that come into that state, the large number of Chinese that live there,&#8221; he continued.
California officials are crediting their head start on social distancing measures, Limbaugh said. &#8220;Okay. Well, when did they start social distancing?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Are you ready to be a little surprised? California ordered social distancing only 13 days ago. They didn’t order social distancing in December. They didn’t order social distancing in January. California did not order social distancing in February. They ordered it 13 days ago.&#8221;
&#8220;Do you know when New York state ordered social distancing?&#8221; the conservative asked. &#8220;Eleven days ago.&#8221;
&#8220;We are supposed to believe that two days made all the difference in the number of cases between California and New York?&#8221; Limbaugh said skeptically. &#8220;California, again, 248 cases of COVID-19 per million population. New York, 4,312. California began social distancing two days before New York. De Blasio wouldn’t even shut down the schools until recently, you remember? I don’t know how two days of social distancing before New York started it, New York state started it, could have this big a difference. It just doesn’t jibe.&#8221;
Limbaugh continued: &#8220;This time of year in California is warmer than New York. Almost nobody uses public transportation in much of California, particularly compared to the population center of New York state, which is New York City. The number of people walking on the streets in Los Angeles is infinitesimally small compared to the number of people walking on the streets in New York. Los Angeles is in fact a big, gigantic suburb with a little hub of a downtown where very few people live. And yet we’re being told that two days, a two-day head start in social distancing is the difference?&#8221;
&#8220;It can’t be. There have to be other reasons,&#8221; the host emphasized. &#8220;Why won’t somebody be honest about what they are, what they possibly are?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, because we’re being governed right now by social models, which tell us that social distancing is the only thing we can do,&#8221; explained the 69-year-old. &#8220;And in order to effect social distancing, we have to shut down.&#8221;
Limbaugh, clearly unconvinced &#8220;social distancing&#8221; is the key factor in keeping the COVID-19 death toll low, posited a theory of herd immunity, suggesting the novel coronavirus has already built up significant immunity in the state:
<blockquote>Let me just tell you what I think it is. I’m a layman. I’m just telling you what I think. I’m not a medical guy. I’m not telling you with ontological certitude. I think it is herd immunity that took place in California in December. A lot of people had something; they didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t flu. They lived through it. They got past it. That’s what I think happened in California.</blockquote>
The same theory was floated by politico <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-california-herd-immunity/">Victor Davis Hanson</a> at National Review on Tuesday.
&#8220;One less-mentioned hypothesis is that California, as a front-line state, may have rather rapidly developed a greater level of herd immunity than other states, given that hints, anecdotes, and some official indications from both China and Italy that, again, the virus may well have been spreading abroad far earlier than the first recorded case in the U.S. —and likely from the coasts inward,&#8221; wrote Hanson. &#8220;So given the state’s unprecedented direct air access to China, and given its large expatriate and tourist Chinese communities, especially in its huge denser metropolitan corridors in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, it could be that what thousands of Californians experienced as an unusually &#8216;early&#8217; and &#8216;bad&#8217; flu season might have also reflected an early coronavirus epidemic, suggesting that many more Californians per capita than in other states may have acquired immunity to the virus.&#8221;
However, Akiko Iwasaki, a virologist at the Yale School of Medicine, is skeptical, noting that herd immunity is typically associated with vaccination. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-herd-immunity-uk-boris-johnson/608065/">The Atlantic</a> reported:
<blockquote>Herd immunity is typically generated through vaccination, and while it could arise through widespread infection, “you don’t rely on the very deadly infectious agent to create an immune population,” says <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/akiko_iwasaki/" data-omni-click="r'article',r'',d,r'intext',r'5',r'None'">Akiko Iwasaki</a>, a virologist at the Yale School of Medicine. </blockquote>
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Partial transcript via <a href="https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2020/04/02/what-i-think-really-happened-in-california/">RushLimbaugh.com</a> 
</div>

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh Offers Theory About Low Coronavirus Deaths In California

California

On Thursday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo provided the daily update for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
During the presser, the governor offered a sobering and grim warning that the state has only about six days until it runs out of ventilators if the “current burn rate” continues.
<blockquote>At the current burn rate, we have about six days of ventilators in our stockpile, meaning if the rate of usage, the rate of people coming into hospitals who need ventilators, if that rate continues, in our stockpile, we have about six days. Now, if the apex happens within that time frame, if the apex increases, if the apex is longer, we have an issue with ventilators.</blockquote>
Cuomo added that the numbers will be compiled nightly, and that there “is a difference of opinion” as to how many ventilators will be needed. Cuomo continued, saying that while he has no desire to purchase more ventilators than are necessary, “we need what we need.”
“If a person comes in and needs a ventilator, and you don&#8217;t have a ventilator, the person dies,” the governor stated. “That’s the blunt equation here – and right now we have a burn rate that would suggest we have about six days in the stockpile.”
Despite this, the governor noted that the state is “taking all sorts of extraordinary measures” to increase ventilator supplies, including setting up the means to move ventilators to various hospitals in need, splitting ventilators, using “anesthesia machine ventilators,” ending elective surgeries, and using BiPAP machines. The state is also actively looking for more ventilators for purchase.
<blockquote>So yes, the burn rate of ventilators is troubling, and six days of ventilators in the stockpile is troubling, but we have all these extraordinary measures that I believe if push comes to shove, will put us in fairly good shape.</blockquote>
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The governor also went over the numbers for the state.
The hospitalization rate has dropped for the third day in a row. At peak on Monday, there were 1,412 single-day hospitalizations in the state, while on Wednesday, there were 1,157. However, the overall trajectory is still upward.
While the number of ICU admissions has bobbed up and down, the overall trajectory is upward, with 374 admissions on Wednesday, tying the March 26 record. For comparison, on March 17, there were just 46 ICU admissions.
Despite two consecutive days of downward steps, the number of intubations on Wednesday ticked back up, setting a record with 313. On March 17, there were 43 intubations.
The number of discharged patients has continued to rise, with 1,292 on Wednesday.
The governor also spoke about the apex of COVID-19 in New York, when hospitals and medical workers are expected to be stretched the most, noting that various models have set the apex anywhere from 7 to 30 days from Wednesday, depending on variables such as how particular models value the impact of social distancing.
“We believe it is closer to the shorter end of the range with our in-house people looking at the professional modeling that’s being done,” Cuomo stated.
As for how prepared the state is for the apex, Cuomo said that there are currently 53,000 beds statewide, while they are anticipating a need for between 70,000 and 110,000 at peak. The governor then noted the ways in which the state is trying to account for the upcoming influx, including expanding existing hospital capacity and erecting additional facilities.
New York has also seen roughly 85,000 volunteers who will be sent where necessary.
As for death toll projections, Cuomo cited the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) <a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections">model</a>, which as of Thursday predicts that New York will see approximately 16,200 deaths from COVID-19.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-on-covid-19-were-never-going-to-be-the-same-again-how-do-we-learn-from-this">Cuomo On COVID-19: ‘We’re Never Going To Be The Same Again,’ ‘How Do We Learn From This?’</a>

Cuomo Says At ‘Current Burn Rate,’ New York Runs Out Of Ventilators In ‘About 6 Days’; Measures Being Taken To Expand Capacity

On Wednesday, Disney Parks released a <a href="https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/04/disney-parks-donates-supplies-to-hospitals-and-medical-professionals/">blog post</a> stating that the company has donated medical supplies, such as N95 masks, to several states, including New York, which has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United states.
The post, penned by Disney Parks Editorial Content Director Thomas Smith states in part:
<blockquote>In response to requests from hospitals that are in need of additional protective garments and medical-related supplies, Disney Parks has donated 150,000 rain ponchos to <a href="https://www.medshare.org/">MedShare</a>, a humanitarian aid organization, for distribution to hospitals in need. The idea was inspired by nurses across the country who inventively found that rain ponchos can be an excellent way to protect their clothing and prolong the use of PPE, while also freeing up gowns when needed &#8230; Disney Parks also recently donated more than 100,000 N95 masks to the states of New York, California and Florida, and is finding additional ways to give back.</blockquote>
The statement continues, noting that Disney parks from around the world have also donated “270 tons of food to local food banks,” and that “Disneyland Paris donated more than 100,000 medical supplies, including masks, hygiene caps and protective shoes to the French government for distribution to hospitals in France.”
MedShare CEO Charles Redding responded to Disney’s donations, stating in part: “We appreciate Disney partnering with us to support hospitals and healthcare workers on the frontlines.”
These donations come as New York has been hammered by COVID-19, with a peak resource usage predicted to take place sometime in the next <a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections">8 to 14 days</a>.
Over the last two weeks, New York has been preparing for the apex of the illness.
The Army Corps of Engineers has <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/army-helps-make-temporary-hospital-yorks-javits-center/story?id=69845568">erected</a> a 1,200-bed temporary field hospital in Manhattan’s Javits Convention Center with the capacity of expanding to as many as 2,910 beds.
Samaritan&#8217;s Purse, which has “partnered with New York’s Mount Sinai Health System,” according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/31/coronavirus-central-park-hospital-treat-new-york-city-patients/5094590002/">USA Today</a>, has set up a field hospital in Central Park with ten ventilators and a 68-bed capacity. The hospital “will prioritize moving overflow patients from the Brooklyn and Queens Mount Sinai branches so they can resume respiratory care treatment.”
On Monday, the Naval hospital ship USNS Comfort <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/30/823826987/hospital-ship-usns-comfort-arrives-in-new-york-to-ease-coronavirus-pressure">docked</a> in New York’s Pier 88. The ship has approximately 1,000 beds, and will take admissions of cases not related to COVID-19 in order to relieve pressure from New York City hospitals.
COVID-19, which originated in China’s Hubei province, has infected over 921,900 people worldwide, and led to more than 46,250 deaths, <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">according to data</a> from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. 192,964 people have recovered.
In the United States, there have been more than 206,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and over 4,500 deaths. As of publication, 8,413 individuals have recovered from the virus.
According to the New York State <a href="https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/county-county-breakdown-positive-cases">website</a>, there have been 83,712 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html">1,941 deaths</a>. In New York City alone, there have been over 44,900 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 1,139 deaths.
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Disney World

Over 100,000 N95 Masks, Other Supplies, Donated By Disney Parks To Help During Crisis

Disney

Federal law enforcement officials arrested a New York man this week for allegedly hoarding enough medical supplies to &#8220;outfit an entire hospital&#8221; as the U.S. faces a pandemic from the coronavirus, which originated in China.
The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/brooklyn-man-arrested-assaulting-fbi-agents-and-making-false-statements-about-his">announced</a> on Monday that the FBI arrested Baruch Feldheim, 43, &#8220;for allegedly coughing on FBI agents while claiming to have COVID-19, and with lying to them about his accumulation and sale of surgical masks, medical gowns, and other medical supplies.&#8221;
The Department of Health and Human Services issued an executive order last week that designated highly sought after medical supplies as being items that people could not hoard.
The DOJ highlighted several alleged examples, which were <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/press-release/file/1264316/download">included</a> in court documents, of what happened:
<blockquote>Feldheim allegedly sold certain designated materials, including N95 respirators, to doctors and nurses at inflated prices. In one instance, on March 18, 2020, a doctor in New Jersey contacted Feldheim via a WhatsApp chat group labeled “Virus2020!” Feldheim agreed to sell to the doctor approximately 1,000 N95 masks and other assorted materials for $12,000, an approximately 700 percent markup from the normal price charged for those materials. Feldheim directed the doctor to an auto repair shop in Irvington, New Jersey, to pick up the order. According to the doctor, the repair shop contained enough materials, including hand sanitizers, Clorox wipes, chemical cleaning supply agents, and surgical supplies, to outfit an entire hospital. Feldheim later told the doctor that he had been forced to move all of those supplies from Irvington to another location.
On March 23, 2020, Feldheim allegedly offered to sell a nurse a quantity of surgical gowns and directed the nurse to his residence in Brooklyn. Feldheim also received, on March 25, 2020, a shipment from Canada containing approximately eight pallets of medical facemasks. On March 27, 2020, FBI agents observed an empty box of N95 masks outside of Feldheim’s residence.
On March 29, 2020, FBI agents witnessed multiple instances during which individuals approached Feldheim’s residence and walked away with boxes or bags that appeared to contain medical supplies. On that date, FBI agents approached Feldheim outside of his residence. After identifying themselves as FBI agents, they told Feldheim that they wanted to stay a distance away from him given concerns over the spread of Coronavirus. When the agents were within four to five feet of him, Feldheim allegedly coughed in their direction without covering his mouth. The agents then told him that they were looking for certain PPE materials and that they had information that Feldheim was in possession of large quantities of such materials. At that point, Feldheim told the FBI agents that that he had the Coronavirus.</blockquote>
The DOJ added that Feldheim allegedly lied to law enforcement officers about the activities that he was engaged in and falsely claimed that he worked for a company that sold medical equipment.
Feldheim, if convicted, faces up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine.
On March 23, Attorney General William Barr <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ag-barr-announces-crackdown-on-hoarding-price-gouging-critical-medical-supplies">announced</a> that the DOJ was starting to crackdown on those who were hoarding essential medical supplies.
Barr said, “To ensure the availability of critical medical and health supplies from warding and price gouging. On March 18th, the president issued Executive Order 13909 with the Defense Production Act with the respect to the health and medical resources needed to respond to spread of COVID-19 including PPE and ventilators.”
“We have started to see some evidence of potential hoarding and price gouging,” Barr continued. “So earlier today the president signed a second Executive Order providing the authority to address if it becomes necessary, hoarding that threatens the supply of those necessary health and medical resources.”
“Under section 102 of the Defense Production Act, the president has authorized to prohibit the hoarding of needed resources by designating those materials as scarce or as materials who supply would be threatened by persons accumulating excessive amounts,” Barr continued. “Once specific materials are so designated, persons are prohibited from accumulating those items in excess of reasonable, personal or business needs, or for the purpose of selling them in excess of prevailing market prices.”

US-CRIME-shooting-SUSPECT

FBI Arrests New York Man For Hoarding Enough Medical Supplies ‘To Outfit An Entire Hospital,’ Report Says

As part of a statewide New York effort, fifty prisoners, including child sex offenders, were released in Monroe County due to apparent coronavirus concerns, though it&#8217;s unclear if the jail has had any confirmed positive COVID-19 tests.
&#8220;Eight registered sex offenders have been released from the Monroe County Jail as part of a statewide order coming from The Department of Corrections and Community Services– or DOCCS,&#8221; <a href="https://www.wivb.com/news/level-3-sex-offenders-among-inmates-released-from-monroe-county-jail/">WIVB</a> reported Sunday.
According to the Monroe County Sheriffs&#8217; Office, more than 50 inmates were released Saturday from the county jail, nine of whom were dumped at a local Holiday Inn Express in the town of Greece.
&#8220;Among the inmates known to be staying at the Holiday Inn Express are four registered sex offenders,&#8221; the WIVB report said. &#8220;Three of whom are registered as level 3 sex offenders and are deemed by New York courts as most likely to re-offend. All three of the level 3 sex offenders staying at the Holiday Inn Express have been convicted for the rape of minors.&#8221;
DOCCS apparently ordered a release of &#8220;low-level technical parole violators&#8221; over COVID-19 concerns, though, again, it remains unclear if there were even any confirmed cases within the jail.
Greece Chief of Police Patrick Phelan was bewildered over the move.
“It doesn’t make any sense,&#8221; the police chief said. &#8220;If you could present an argument to me that makes sense, I’m willing to listen. But this doesn’t make any sense.&#8221;
“So you have a violent criminal who’s done time in state prison who’s been given the chance of parole, and not followed the conditions of their parole,&#8221; Phelan explained. &#8220;That’s who you’re talking about right now.&#8221;
The police chief claims he was not even so much as notified in advance about the release, which clearly would have been useful information for law enforcement officers working to keep their community safe.
“We weren’t told by anyone,” he said. “I think good practice would be if you’re going to release convicted felons. Some of them very violent some of those level 3 sex offenders, You might want to give law enforcement the heads up.”
The DOCCS responded in a statement, defending their decision as necessary in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“This significant action is being taken in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases in local jails over the past few days and weeks,&#8221; the statement reads. &#8220;Our top priority remains the public health and safety of New Yorkers during this global public health emergency and this measure will further protect a vulnerable population from contracting and transmitting this infectious disease.”
Democrats in New York have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-bail-reform-woman-involved-in-anti-semitic-attack-arrested-released-for-3-crimes-in-5-days">criticized</a> this past year over their increasing soft stance on criminals, even by folks on the Left.
For example, so-called &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disaster-dems-consider-changes-to-ny-bail-reform-just-one-week-after-implementation">bail reform</a>&#8221; apparently led to a woman charged with an anti-Semitic attack to be arrested and released three times in five days. In another case, a man charged with second degree manslaughter in connection to the murder of a 29-year-old Albany woman was released from jail after the judge overseeing the case reportedly claimed Democrats’ new “bail reform” legislation no longer allows her to keep the charged party in custody.

Open door to prison cell

CORONAVIRUS JAILBREAK: NY Releases Child Sex Offenders, Dumps Them In Local Hotel

corona

Crime

On Sunday, during New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily press briefing regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor said that the Empire State cannot reasonably expect to come out on the other end of this without seeing deaths in the thousands.
According to data from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map, in New York City alone, which has become a national hotspot for the virus, there have been more than 32,300 confirmed cases, and 678 deaths as of publication.
Prior to speaking about projections related to the death toll, Cuomo noted the astonishing number of health care workers who have volunteered in the state:
<blockquote>In terms of finding staff, that’s going very well. The volunteerism of New Yorkers, God bless them. We&#8217;re up to 76,000 health care workers who have volunteered. 76,000 people who volunteered to go into these hospitals at this time. Just think about that.</blockquote>
The governor continued, speaking about how it’s important to observe the trend-lines in case numbers, hospitalizations, intubations, deaths, and recoveries.
“If you look early on, the hospitalization rate was doubling every two days; then it doubled every three days; then it doubled every four days; now it&#8217;s doubling every six days,” Cuomo stated. “So, you have almost a dichotomy. The doubling rate is slowing, and that is good news, but the number of cases are still going up &#8230; towards an apex, but the rate of the doubling is slowing, which is good news.”
According to slides shown during the briefing, the number of hospitalizations in New York has risen, from 91 in mid-March to 1,175 on Saturday. The numbers can bob up and down (there were 847 hospitalizations on Friday), but the overall trend is upward.
Another slide showing ICU admissions was a little more bumpy. Nevertheless, it showed that aside from a surge on Thursday of 374 ICU admissions, the trend has been slowly ticking up. There were 282 admissions on Saturday, as opposed to 46 on March 17.
The next slide showed that daily intubations were rising as well, but saw a drop-off on Friday and Saturday.
Another important trend-line is those who have been discharged from the hospital. According to the data shown on Cuomo’s slide, there has been a steep upward trajectory in discharged COVID-19 patients, from a low of 78 on March 19 to Saturday’s high of 846.
During a question and answer session following the main remarks, a reporter asked the governor about how social distancing guidelines will impact Easter and Passover, and what advise he would give to religious people during this time.
Cuomo replied:
<blockquote>It&#8217;s hard. But on the flip-side, I say, look at what happened in New Rochelle. Those gatherings [that] brought people together were religious gatherings, and brought hundreds of people together, which was beautiful – but it made many, many people ill. And density is the enemy here for this particular time. So, you worship the way you can, but the gatherings are just not a good idea.</blockquote>
One reporter asked about projections related to when New York will hit the apex, to which New York’s Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker said: “There [are] many different projections that we’re working at, and it does see that &#8230; already we&#8217;re at 965. So, we do see in the thousands, but again, these are models and we have to plan for what the model may show, but hopefully it will be less.”
When pressed again, Cuomo added his opinion, making sure to stress that it was not data, but opinion:
<blockquote>I don&#8217;t see how you look at those numbers and conclude anything less than thousands of people will pass away because remember who it&#8217;s attacking. It’s attacking the vulnerable, underlying illness, etc, and I don&#8217;t see how you get past that curve without seeing thousands of people pass away. I hope it&#8217;s wrong&#8230;</blockquote>
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COVID-19, which originated in China’s Hubei province, has infected nearly 713,000 people worldwide, and led to more than 33,590 deaths, <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">according to data</a> from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. 148,995 people have recovered.
According the the New York State <a href="https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/county-county-breakdown-positive-cases">website</a>, there have been 59,513 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, and 965 deaths.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-birx-says-full-mitigation-is-vital-because-no-metro-area-will-be-spared-of-covid-19">Dr. Birx Says ‘Full Mitigation’ Is Vital Because ‘No Metro Area Will Be Spared’ Of COVID-19</a>

Doctors

Gov. Cuomo Says Tens Of Thousands Of ‘Health Care Workers’ Have Volunteered In New York; Gives Other Updates

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D-RI) has expanded her state’s self-quarantine policy after Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) complained that New York was being unfairly singled out, and threatened to sue the nation&#8217;s smallest state in response.
In a press conference on Sunday, Raimondo told reporters that the self-quarantine mandate — which previously required travelers fleeing New York to self-quarantine for 14 days, and leveraged the police and National Guard to track down travelers and ask them to follow the policy — would now extend to travelers visiting from every state for non-work related reasons, reports <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/03/29/rhode-island-ends-restrictions-on-new-yorkers-1269535">Politico</a>. 
“As the data has changed, the situation has changed,” said Raimondo. “To keep all Rhode Islanders safe, I signed an executive order imposing a quarantine on all visitors from any state, by any mode of transportation, who are coming in Rhode Island for non-work purposes and plan to stay.”
The Rhode Island Democrat also revealed that she spoke to Cuomo after enacting the policy, but maintained that Cuomo’s threat to sue the state didn’t factor into her decision to change the policy, reports the news agency. 
“He’s welcome to sue if he likes. I think he would have a very hard time because I’m on firm legal ground,” said Raimondo. “I will say I think it’s odd that Governor Cuomo is focused on this sort of politics at a time that we’re fighting disasters.”
The Associated Press <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/rhode-island-to-stop-all-passenger-vehicles-at-southern-border/31970610#">reports</a> that the new policy will establish highway checkpoints where government officials will ask travelers planning to stay in the state for non-work reasons to self-quarantine for 14 days and provide contact information. 
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-decides-against-federal-quarantine-of-new-york-announces-upcoming-travel-advisory">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported, Cuomo threatened to sue Rhode Island on Saturday evening, arguing that “no state should be using police to limit interstate travel.” 
“There’s a point of absurdity, and I think what Rhode Island did is at that point of absurdity,” said Cuomo, reports <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/29/rhode-island-begins-door-to-door-checks-for-new-yorkers-fleeing-coronavirus/">The New York Post</a>. “We have to keep the ideas and the policies we implement positive rather than reactionary and emotional.”
Governor Cuomo also told CNN on Saturday evening that President Trump was engaging in war-like rhetoric for telling reporters that he was considering an unspecified federal quarantine of New York.
“I don’t believe it is legal. I think it would be economic chaos. I don’t think the American people would stand for it,” Governor Cuomo told CNN on Saturday evening. “This would be a declaration of war on states, a federal declaration of war, and wouldn’t just be New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, next week it would be Louisiana with New Orleans, and week after that Detroit, Michigan, and it would run across the nation.”
President Trump decided against the plan, and instead announced that the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html">Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention</a> would issue a rare domestic travel advisory to urge “residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.”
However, the advisory is not federally mandated and the Trump administration has given discretion to the governor’s of affected states to implement the policy.

Raimondo Gives Update on State Response

Rhode Island Expands Quarantine Policy After Cuomo Complains NY Was Singled Out

Rhode Island

Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) threatened Governor Gina Raimondo (D-RI) with a lawsuit over a new state quarantine policy, which would involve using the police and National Guard to track down people fleeing to Rhode Island from New York and forcing them to self-quarantine.
&#8220;We’re talking to Rhode Island now. If they don’t roll back that policy, I’m going to sue Rhode Island,&#8221; Cuomo said on CNN Saturday evening, reports the<a href="https://1010wins.radio.com/articles/ap-news/cuomo-threatens-to-sue-rhode-island-over-coronavirus-policy"> radio station</a> 101Wins. &#8220;No state should be using police to limit interstate travel.&#8221;
During a press conference announcing the policy, Raimondo noted that Rhode Island would be instructing anyone returning from outside the state to self-quarantine for 14 days, but elaborated that special measures would be taken to enforce the policy as it pertains to people leaving from New York, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rhode-island-gov-uses-national-guard-to-enforce-mandated-self-quarantine-for-new-yorkers-entering-state-it-comes-with-penalties">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported.
“Starting today at noon, state police are monitoring our highways, they’re at the base of the Newport Bridge, they are on the side roads in Westerly, and they will be pulling you over if they see that you have New York plates, and asking you for your contact information, and ordering you into quarantine if you plan to stay in Rhode Island,” said Raimondo.
“Starting tomorrow, the National Guard will be working with local law enforcement going door-to-door in our coastal communities, asking people if they’ve come from New York, and asking for their contact information,” said the governor.
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/rhode-island-governor-says-new-yorkers-will-be-quarantined-if-they-seek-refuge-in-state">The Washington Examiner</a>, Raimondo announced that she had “pinpointed” New York City as a specific risk to public health, and admitted that the quarantine policy was unorthodox: “I know it’s extreme, and I know some people disagree with it. If you want to seek refuge in Rhode Island, you must be quarantined.”
In a press release, Steven Brown, the executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU, criticized Raimondo’s move as an unconstitutional measure and violation of civil liberties, referring to it as a “blunderbuss approach.”
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html">The New York Times</a>, President Trump floated a similar-sounding proposal, informing White House reporters on Saturday that he was considering quarantine and travel-restriction measures for New York, and potentially New Jersey and portions of Connecticut.
“I’d rather not do it,” said the president, who maintained that it was possible, but did not provide details of what he was envisioning, reports the news agency.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rhode-island-gov-uses-national-guard-to-enforce-mandated-self-quarantine-for-new-yorkers-entering-state-it-comes-with-penalties">The Daily Wire</a> has previously reported, Cuomo implied the president’s suggestion wasn’t serious and compared the move to a declaration of war on the states.
“I don’t believe that he could be serious, that any federal administration could be serious about a physical lockdown of states or parts of states across this country,” said Cuomo. “I don’t believe it is legal. I think it would be economic chaos. I don’t think the American people would stand for it.”
“I’ve sued the federal government many times by the way over the past few years, we’ve had quite a number of policy decisions,” said Cuomo. “This would be a declaration of war on states, a federal declaration of war, and wouldn’t just be New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, next week it would be Louisiana with New Orleans, and [the] week after that Detroit, Michigan, and it would run across the nation.”

Governor Cuomo Threatens Rhode Island With Lawsuit Over NY Quarantine Policy

New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN on Saturday that if President Donald Trump put a quarantine on New York to stop the spread of the coronavirus that it would be a &#8220;federal declaration of war&#8221; on the state.
“Look, if the president was considering this, I guarantee he would have called me. I mean, we talk about relatively trivial matters when it comes to dealing with this situation,” Cuomo said. This is a civil war kind of — this is civil war kind of discussion.”
“I don’t believe that he could be serious, that any federal administration could be serious about a physical lockdown of states or parts of states across this country,” Cuomo continued. “I don’t believe it is legal. I think it would be economic chaos. I don’t think the American people would stand for it. It’s just a question of time before you see the numbers growing in hot spots across the nation. So, I think it makes absolutely no sense and I don’t believe any serious governmental personality or professional would support it.”
“I’ve sued the federal government many times by the way over the past few years, we’ve had quite a number of policy decisions,” Cuomo later added. “I do not believe it’s going to come to that on this. Again, I have been speaking to the president. This would be a declaration of war on states, a federal declaration of war, and wouldn’t just be New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, next week it would be Louisiana with New Orleans, and week after that Detroit, Michigan, and it would run across the nation. I don’t think the president is looking to start a lot of wars with states just about now for a lot of reasons.”
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Gov. Cuomo on possibility Trump will impose enforced quarantine on New York: &quot;This would be a declaration of war on states.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/7rCFHMWzTh">pic.twitter.com/7rCFHMWzTh</a>
&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1244020106658820097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Later in the interview, CNN’s Ana Cabrera asked Cuomo, “What’s the status when it comes to ventilators in New York state? Because I know that’s been one of the big issues of concern for you.”
Cuomo responded, “Well, the ventilators which by the way, before this situation nobody really gave a second thought to ventilators, what has happened, one of the peculiar situations with this disease it’s a respiratory disease, it effects the lungs very badly and people who are acutely ill with the virus they all need a ventilator and they’re on these ventilators much longer than most people are on ventilators with other diseases.&#8221;
&#8220;So you have more people needing ventilators, and they’re on them longer, which increases the need for the ventilators. And everybody is trying to get ventilators,&#8221; Cuomo continued. &#8220;You have 50 states bidding against each other for ventilators. You have 50 states competing with the federal government to buy ventilators. You have countries around the world trying to get ventilators. So we’re trying to do the best we can. We’re acquiring as many as we can. There’s a new technology that we’re using that splits, they call it splitting, where one ventilator can do two people. We are implementing that procedure across the state, and we’re doing the best we can to move people that need the ventilators to places that have the ventilators. But that’s one of the great logistical problems with this entire situation.&#8221;

Governor Cuomo: Trump Quarantining New York To Stop Coronavirus Is ‘Declaration Of War’ On New York

UPDATE: President Trump on Saturday night said  he would not issue a quarantine on New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
&#8220;A quarantine will not be necessary,&#8221; Trump wrote on Twitter, noting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would issue a &#8220;travel advisory&#8221; later in the evening.
&#8220;On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor’s of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov">@CDCgov</a> to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the Federal Government. A quarantine will not be necessary. Full details will be released by CDC tonight. Thank you!&#8221; he wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor’s of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CDCgov</a> to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the&#8230;.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1244056534583312384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Below is the original story.
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President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is considering an &#8220;enforceable&#8221; quarantine on New York state, as well as parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.
“We’d like to see New York quarantined because it’s a hot spot — New York, New Jersey, maybe one or two other places, certain parts of Connecticut quarantined. I’m thinking about that right now. We might not have to do it but there’s a possibility that sometime today we’ll do a quarantine — short term two weeks for New York, probably New Jersey and parts of Connecticut,&#8221; Trump said.
&#8220;This will be an enforceable quarantine, but hopefully we won’t need it,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;We&#8217;re looking at it and we&#8217;ll be making a decision,&#8221; the president said at Andrews Air Force Base before departing for Virginia to send off a hospital ship. &#8220;It will be for a short time if we do it at all.&#8221;
Asked if that quarantine would include shutting down New York City&#8217;s subway, the major mode of transport for many city dwellers, Trump said, “No we wouldn’t do that.&#8221;
The president also dismissed the notion that he would deploy the National Guard to enforce quarantine rules. &#8216;We&#8217;re not going to need that,&#8217; he said.
At a news conference Saturday afternoon, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he didn&#8217;t know about the president&#8217;s thoughts on quarantining the state.
“I didn’t speak to him about any quarantine,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don’t know how that could be legally enforceable, and from a medical point of view, I don’t know what you would be accomplishing,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Not even understanding what it is, I don’t like the sound of it.”
The governor said the number of confirmed cases in the state now stands at 52,318, including 29,766 in New York City. A total of 728 people in the state have died, Cuomo said.
Cuomo also announced that the best estimate for the peak number of COVID-19 cases in New York is still 14 to 21 days away.
The enforceable quarantine would apply for people leaving New York, Trump said. Over the last week, thousands of New Yorkers have left the state, the hottest spot in the country for the spread of SARS-CoV-2.  One photo making the rounds showed private planes stacked up to take off.
“Restrict travel because they are having problems down in Florida. A lot of New Yorkers going down, we don’t want that,&#8221; Trump told reporters.
On Friday, Trump supported the actions of governors to crack down on travelers from states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, like Washington and New York.
&#8220;We are very strong on people not leaving, especially certain states, and going to other states where they have less of a problem,&#8221; Trump said at his daily press conference. &#8220;You are hearing constantly about people leaving New York and going down to Florida, and New York is obviously a hotspot.&#8221;
On Friday, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo ordered state police to stop vehicles with New York license plates and to enforce a 14-day quarantine of anyone who entered the state from New York.

us-virus-health-politics-trump-DEPARTURE

UPDATE: Trump Issues ‘Travel Advisory’ For New York, Rejects ‘Enforceable’ Quarantine

New Jersey

With the help of the Food and Drug Administration, which has fast-tracked the effort, the state of New York is trying out potential treatments for people who have contracted COVID-19. Under the direction of Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state is testing out three medications — hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine and azithromycin — combinations of which have produced promising results for those infected by coronavirus, which President Trump has repeatedly highlighted in public statements.
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/26/trump-keeps-touting-an-unproven-coronavirus-treatment-its-now-being-tested-thousands-new-york/">The Washington Post</a>, which, like many other left-leaning mainstream outlets has criticized Trump for &#8220;overhyping&#8221; the medications as a potential treatment for the virus, reported Thursday on New York&#8217;s treatment effort, which the paper describes as a &#8220;human experiment&#8221; involving potentially thousands of patients that is &#8220;moving at unprecedented speed and scale.&#8221;
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&#8220;New York will use three medications — hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin — contributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Amneal Pharmaceuticals,&#8221; the paper reports, citing state officials. &#8220;The first wave of patients will receive hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.&#8221;
The study&#8217;s findings will contribute to a federally coordinated &#8220;observational&#8221; trial, which will compare the treatment method with a placebo. &#8220;In addition to mortality and overall recovery, the study will measure patients’ overall viral load, duration on a ventilator and number of days in the hospital,&#8221; the Times explains.
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The Food and Drug Administration has moved with &#8220;uncommon speed&#8221; to authorize New York’s distribution of the drugs through hospitals, the Post notes. While experts say such an effort would usually take up to nine months, the timeline &#8220;has been compressed into three days,&#8221; the paper reports.
The Post repeatedly underscores that the treatment has not yet been proven to be effective by officials and highlights &#8220;concerns&#8221; among health experts about the Trump and Cuomo-promoted medications, which sometimes have dangerous side effects, like &#8220;fatal heart arrhythmia and vision loss.&#8221; The Post&#8217;s editorial board has accused Trump of causing &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-editors-lash-out-at-trump-for-spreading-false-hope-about-curing-virus">damage</a>&#8221; by pointing to the treatment as a potential &#8220;cure.&#8221; The paper&#8217;s new report suggests Trump, and to a lesser extent Cuomo, may be guilty of &#8220;raising false hopes in the American public&#8221; and &#8220;contribut[ing] to runs on supply and hoarding&#8221; of the drugs.
But the Republican president and the Democratic governor appear to agree that the promise of the much-needed treatment trumps concerns about &#8220;overhyping.&#8221;
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While the Post appears to remain skeptical about the &#8220;human experiment,&#8221; some in the health industry are praising the rapidity of the federal and state-coordinated action.  “I have never seen anything like this. It is amazing how the country and everybody can pull together and come up with quick, innovative ways to try to attack it,” said Northwell Health Chief Pharmacy Officer Onisis Stefas, the paper reports. “Everybody’s questioning it, and that’s why these studies need to be done to confirm it. There aren’t a lot of other options out there.”
Along with the urgency of testing out the potential treatment, Trump and Cuomo also appear to be aligning on the question of how long to maintain mandated lockdowns, with the governor recently questioning the effectiveness of mass quarantines.
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“We closed everything down. That was our public health strategy,” Cuomo <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-questions-quarantine-probably-not-the-best-public-health-strategy">said</a> Thursday. “If you re-thought that or had time to analyze that public health strategy, I don’t know that you would say ‘Quarantine everyone.’”
“I don’t even know that that was the best public health policy,” he said. “Young people then quarantined with older people, [it] was probably not the best public health strategy. The younger people could have been exposing the older people to an infection.”
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-researchers-one-long-lockdown-is-not-the-right-approach">Harvard Researchers: One Long Lockdown Is Not The Right Approach</a>
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly cited the New York Times as the source of the new report rather than the Washington Post.
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‘Unprecedented’: NY Begins Use Of Potential COVID-19 Treatments Fast-Tracked By Trump

Washington Post

In the midst of the state becoming the nation&#8217;s coronavirus &#8220;epicenter,&#8221; there is finally some good news coming out of New York.
According to messages from Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), medical staffers have enough proactive gear for the immediate future and the rate of hospital admission in COVID-19 cases has decreased since Sunday.
During a Thursday press conference, Cuomo assured the public that there is enough personal protective equipment, or &#8220;PPE,&#8221; for medical health officials in the immediate future. The governor told reporters that his team has spoken to every hospital in the hard-hit coronavirus area and they confirmed their PPE needs are being met for at least the next couple days, which Cuomo stressed was the only realistic marker.
On Wednesday, Cuomo announced via Twitter that the state received a donation of 1.4 million masks, clearly helping to fill the PPE gap.
&#8220;NEW: [Soft Bank] donated 1.4 million critically needed N-95 masks to us. New York State thanks you,&#8221; the Democrat said. &#8220;We are so grateful for this PPE that protects our healthcare workers.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/SoftBank?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SoftBank</a> donated 1.4 million critically needed N-95 masks to us.
New York State thanks you.
We are so grateful for this PPE that protects our healthcare workers.
&mdash; Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1242964457216712711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Tech companies like Facebook and Apple have also stepped up, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/25/apple-and-facebook-face-masks-were-stockpiled-after-wildfires.html">donating</a> millions of masks to affected areas.
However, there was some noted disconnect, which Cuomo addressed during the Thursday press conference: a New York Post report published Wednesday highlighted a photo of nurses wearing garbage bags as protective gear due to an alleged shortage of supplies.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Holy freaking hell. A nursing manager at Mt Sinai Hospital in NYC just died from coronavirus. Nurses at the hospital have been wearing trash bags because of the lack of protective gear. <a href="https://t.co/DSkHKVECmE">https://t.co/DSkHKVECmE</a> <a href="https://t.co/gl3w7ksPog">pic.twitter.com/gl3w7ksPog</a>
&mdash; Mark Elliott (@markmobility) <a href="https://twitter.com/markmobility/status/1242976342427271169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Cuomo said there might have been some &#8220;distribution&#8221; issues over the past few days, but contended there is no shortage at the moment. One of his staffers, too, said their team specifically spoke to NYC-based Mt. Sinai Hospital, and confirmed they have enough PPE.
Another piece of good news out of NY is the drop in the hospitalization rate of COVID-19 cases since Sunday.
&#8220;Evidence suggests density control plan may be working,&#8221; said Cuomo via Twitter on Wednesday. &#8220;On Sun, hospitalizations doubling every 2 days. On [Monday], hospitalizations doubling ever 3.4 days. On [Tuesday], hospitalizations doubling every 4.7 days.&#8221;
&#8220;But the virus is STILL spreading quickly,&#8221; he added. &#8220;#StayAtHome.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Evidence suggests density control plan may be working:
On Sun, hospitalizations doubling every 2 days On Mon, hospitalizations doubling ever 3.4 days On Tues, hospitalizations doubling every 4.7 days
But the virus is STILL spreading quickly. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayAtHome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StayAtHome</a>
&mdash; Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1242836692534509568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Declining rates in hospitalisations is important because the state, as well as the rest of the country, is concerned with how the Covid-19 pandemic could impact the healthcare system as the novel virus continues to spread,&#8221; <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-new-york-hospital-cases-today-map-decrease-covid-19-a9425111.html">The Independent</a> underscored on Wednesday.
Moreover, Cuomo has agreed with President Donald Trump with regard to the use of drugs that have been used to treat malaria and have shown good responses in COVID-19 patients, allowing them to be used on suffering New Yorkers.
On Tuesday, Cuomo started clinical trials for promising drugs that were fast-tracked for FDA approval by the Trump administration.
&#8220;The state acquired 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of zithromax and 750,000 doses of chloroquine in the last few days, according to a <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-accepts-recommendation-army-corps-engineers-four" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">news release</a> by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office,&#8221; <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/clinical-trials-coronavirus-treatments-begin-york/story?id=69777957">ABC News</a> reported.
&#8220;We hope for optimistic results,&#8221; the governor said Tuesday. &#8220;The president and the FDA accelerated that drug coming to New York so the hospitals will start using that drug today.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epidemiologist-behind-highly-cited-coronavirus-model-admits-he-was-wrong-drastically-revises-model">Epidemiologist Behind Highly-Cited Coronavirus Model Admits He Was Wrong, Drastically Revises Model</a>

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

Cuomo: Two Pieces Of Good News Out Of NY: Hospitalization Rate Drops, PPE Need Filled

The Trump administration on Tuesday instructed anyone who has recently left New York to self-quarantine for 14 days because of the extreme number of coronavirus cases confirmed in New York City.
Dr. Deborah Birx said during a press conference, “56% of all the cases in the United States are coming out of that metro area and 60% of all the new cases are coming out of the metro New York area.&#8221;
&#8220;To everyone who has left New York over the last few days, because of the rate of the number of cases, you may have been exposed before you left New York,&#8221; Birx continued. &#8220;Everybody who was in New York should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days.”
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Dr. Deborah Birx on NYC/coronavirus: “56% of all the cases in the U.S. are coming out of that metro area… to everyone who has left NY over the last few days&#8230; you may have been exposed before you left … everybody who was in NY should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days” <a href="https://t.co/LzXT68mf5Q">pic.twitter.com/LzXT68mf5Q</a>
&mdash; Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1242577070338654208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Vice President Mike Pence also reiterated the point several minutes later during the press conference.
&#8220;As several have mentioned, we&#8217;re particularly focused on New York,&#8221; Pence said. &#8220;The reality is the New York metro area was 60% of the new cases in the country. The infection rates are roughly 1 in 1,000 in the New York City metro area.&#8221;
&#8220;It is the reason why today, the White House Coronavirus Task Force is calling on any American first and foremost in [New York City] to take the guidelines that we issued and avoid non-essential travel,&#8221; Pence continued. &#8220;But for anyone in the New York metropolitan area who has traveled, our task force is encouraging you to monitor your temperature, be sensitive to symptoms, and we are asking anyone who has traveled out of the New York City metropolitan area to anywhere else in the country to self-isolate for 14 days.&#8221;
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-apex-andrew-cuomo.html?action=click&amp;module=Spotlight&amp;pgtype=Homepage">reported</a>:
<blockquote>The White House warning came as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo offered a grim forecast for the outbreak in New York, saying that it would flood the state’s strained hospitals with as many as 140,000 stricken patients in the next few weeks.
Mr. Cuomo said that in New York City, new cases appeared to be doubling every three days. The crisis has already claimed the lives of more than 200 people statewide, and 131 in the city.
Despite the city’s efforts to slow the spread of the virus, Mr. Cuomo said the number of infections could reach its peak by mid-April, far outrunning earlier projections.</blockquote>
“We haven’t flattened the curve and the curve is actually increasing,” New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “The apex is higher than we thought and the apex is sooner than we thought. That is a bad combination of facts.”
Cuomo lashed out at the administration for only sending 400 ventilators when the state needs over 30,000.
“You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators? What are we going to do with 400 ventilators when we need 30,000?” Cuomo said. “I don’t, for the life of me, understand the reluctance to use the federal Defense Production Act.&#8221;
During an interview on Fox News, Trump responded to Cuomo&#8217;s statement, saying, “I’m not blaming him or anything else, but he shouldn’t be talking about us. He’s supposed to be buying his own ventilators.”
This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.

US-HEALTH-VIRUS-BRIEFING

Trump Admin Instructs People Who Have Recently Visited NYC To Self-Quarantine

Trump Administration

On Sunday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo offered an update on the state’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor began by addressing the elephant in the room – hospital capacity as it relates to the number of COVID-19 cases.
“As of now, the numbers are continuing to increase. What we’re working very hard to do is to keep the rate of increase of the spread of the disease to a level that we can manage it in our hospital system,” Cuomo said. “We have 53,000 hospital beds available right now. The curve suggests we could need 110,000 hospital beds, and that is an obvious problem, and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re dealing with.”
After expressing his disagreement with the way things are currently moving as it pertains to various states bidding for medical gear and equipment, and suggesting that the federal government take the lead in that area, Cuomo spoke about the construction of “temporary” hospitals.
“I&#8217;m requesting today from the federal government that the Army Corps immediately proceed to erect temporary hospitals. I went out yesterday, I surveyed the sites. There are several good options that give us regional coverage,” he stated.
Among the places that could potentially be used are SUNY Stony Brook and Old Westbury, which are on Long Island, as well as the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, and Westchester County Center.
Cuomo said that the state <a href="https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2020/03/cuomo-army-corps-looking-to-build-field-hospital-at-suny-stony-brook-masks-headed-to-li/">has asked</a> “FEMA to come in and erect four federal hospitals at the Javits Center.” He added that FEMA hospitals are different than the temporary setups from the Army Corps of Engineers because they “come with staff and with supplies.”
Cuomo then blasted New Yorkers who don’t appear to be taking the threat of COVID-19 seriously:
<blockquote>I was in New York City yesterday. It was a pretty day. There is a density level in New York City that is wholly inappropriate. You would think there was nothing going on in parts of New York City. You would think it was just a bright, sunny Saturday. I don&#8217;t know what I&#8217;m saying that people don&#8217;t get.
I&#8217;m normally accused of being overly blunt and direct – and I [take] that, it&#8217;s true. I don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re not understanding. This is not life as usual. None of this is life is usual. And this kind of density – we talk about social distancing – I was in these parks, you would not know that anything was going on. This is just a mistake. It&#8217;s a mistake. It&#8217;s insensitive, it’s arrogant, it’s self-destructive, it’s disrespectful to other people, and it has to stop, and it has to stop now. This is not a joke, and I am not kidding.</blockquote>
The governor then said that he has been in contact with city officials, including the mayor, and has told them that they need to develop a “plan to correct this situation.”
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COVID-19, which originated in China’s Hubei province, has infected nearly 330,000 people worldwide, and led to more than 14,300 deaths, <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">according to data</a> from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. 97,846 people have recovered.
New York, which has become a COVID-19 hotspot in the United States, has had 15,777 cases and 114 deaths as of publication, according to the CSSE data.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fda-greenlights-accelerated-covid-19-test-results-within-hours-rather-than-days">FDA Greenlights Accelerated COVID-19 Test: ‘Results Within Hours Rather Than Days’</a>

Gov Cuomo Blasts New Yorkers Not Taking COVID-19 Seriously: ‘It’s Insensitive, It’s Arrogant’

Democrats, unsatisfied with the two frontrunners for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination &#8212; one of whom has disappeared into the Senate and another who hasn&#8217;t been seen in public for more than a week &#8212; are trying to start a viral movement to replace Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Vice President Joe Biden with New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo has earned plenty of praise for his handling of the coronavirus, which seems to have made New York City its ground zero in the United States. He&#8217;s been complimentary to President Donald Trump, largely calm during the crisis, open in communication and, perhaps most importantly, more reliable for New Yorkers than NYC mayor Bill de Blasio who, last Monday, was still reticent to order a school closure and working out at a Brooklyn YMCA. De Blasio was finally motivated to action when his staff reportedly threatened to quit.
Now that Cuomo&#8217;s &#8220;star status&#8221; is rising, <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/presidentcuomo-trends-as-governors-star-status-rises-over-coronavirus-response/">the New York Post reports</a>, so are his chances at challenging Trump for the White House in 2020.
&#8220;Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s daily televised press briefings on the coronavirus have him looking presidential, according to some social media fans,&#8221; the Post reported Sunday, adding that many have begun using the #PresidentCuomo hashtag while the New York governor issues his daily press briefings.
“President Cuomo is really raising the bar for leadership [right now], and I’m here for it. #PresidentCuomo#CoronavirusPandemic,” one Twitter user said, echoing the trending topic.
Cuomo earned widespread praise for a commanding speech he gave Saturday, chastizing &#8220;Millennials&#8221; and &#8220;Gen Z&#8221; for continuing to go out to bars and restaurants during what is supposed to be a statewide lockdown, and lashing out at those defying orders to shelter in place to keep coronavirus from spreading further and taxing New York hospitals.
“There’s a significant amount of non-compliance, especially in New York City, especially in parks. I’m gonna go down there today, I want to see what the situation is myself,&#8221; Cuomo said, suggesting that he may go into Manhattan on Sunday to yell at people defying lockdown himself. “You are wrong.”
On Sunday, Cuomo urged President Donald Trump to &#8220;nationalize&#8221; the effort to collect and distribute much-needed medical and personal protective equipment for first responders and hospital staff who are on the front lines of the coronavirus response. States have complained that leaving the job of obtaining much-needed supplies to governors and state-level agencies forces states to compete with each other. The Trump Administration responded Sunday that even a nationalized response would not solve the shortage since its a global need, not a national one.
Cuomo may be able to fill a hole for needy Democrats who are concerned that neither of the two frontrunners, Sanders and Biden, are within striking distance of winning a majority of delegates and the Democratic nomination outright, particularly if states postpone or cancel upcoming primaries.
Democrats also seem concerned that neither Sanders nor Biden seems particularly presidential amid the coronavirus crisis. Biden says he&#8217;ll change that this week with a series of &#8220;shadow briefings&#8221; following President Donald Trump&#8217;s White House briefings, but it&#8217;s unlikely Biden, who must rely on former Obama Administration officials who have no insight into the Federal government response, will have much to say that is not a direct criticism of Trump, unhelpful in an emergency situation and potentially disasterous to a presidential bid.

andrew cuomo

#PresidentCuomo: Dems Now Demanding NY Governor Replace Sanders And Biden As Nominee

2020 Election

Bill de Blasio

Teachers in Brooklyn are blasting New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza for failing to close public schools early enough, which the teachers claim facilitated the spread of coronavirus at one particular school.
At least five teachers from Brooklyn Technical High School teachers have called their union chapter leader, Nate Bonheimer, to tell him they had tested positive for COVID-19, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/blood-on-their-hands-teachers-say-de-blasio-and-carranza-helped-spread-coronavirus/amp/">reported</a>. Even with the information, the Brooklyn Department of Education ordered staffers at BTHS to go to work last week, claiming the building had been cleaned.
“The DOE did not close the school for any of the cases,” Bonheimer told the Post, adding that the school’s demand that staffers still go to work may have exposed more people to the coronavirus.
On March 9, the New York Education Department directed schools to close for 24 hours “in order to begin an investigation to determine the contacts that the individual may have had within the school environment.” The Post reported that Brooklyn did not follow the directive, nor did its DOE try to figure out who may have had contacts with any individual that tested positive for COVID-19, according to Bonheimer.
“They did not alert the people who needed to know the most to protect themselves, their families and everyone else they came into contact with,” he said.
The outlet reported also that one infected teacher informed all his students that he had tested positive since the city was being so secretive.
The outrage among teachers has reached a point where some are calling the coronavirus the “Carranzavirus,” and criticizing Carranza and de Blasio for failing to close public schools.
“You say equity and excellence, but every other school district closed before you did. You had these kids like petri dishes spreading this to their families,” one administrator told the Post.
One DOE employee told the Post that some believe de Blasio and Carranza squashed information about the teachers testing positive for COVID-19, which put more people at risk, saying, “The blood is on their hands.”
More from the Post:
<blockquote>DOE staffers think the two city leaders tried to cover up the cases because they wanted to keep the 1.1-million-student system running despite <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/14/momentum-builds-for-nyc-teacher-sickout-mutiny-over-de-blasios-refusal-to-close-schools/">increasing pressure to shut it down</a>. Finally, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about to do it, the mayor relented and closed the schools for students on March 16. They will remain shut until at least April 20, after the spring break.
An expert agreed the failure to notify health officials was dangerous.
“The chancellor was not properly following state policy,” said Aaron Carroll, a health sciences researcher and pediatrician at Indiana University School of Medicine.</blockquote>
Carranza sent an email – obtained by the Post – on March 10 that told school administrators not to tell city health officials about any students or staff members who tested positive for COVID-19.
“At the moment, there is no reason for any school to call [the Health Department] to report potential or confirmed cases,” Carranza wrote in the email.
He said the Health Department would get the information via test results from labs.

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