The End of the Beginning
With numbers starting to plateau, and talk of incremental reopening as soon as a succinct testing structure can be put in place, many people in New York are taking the chance to exhale.
Still, Mayor Bill de Blasio has canceled all permitted events in June, which includes the Puerto Rican Day Parade, The Celebrate Israel Parade, and The 50th anniversary of PRIDE. READ MORE in the NY POST. Normal life will resume…eventually.
Testing, testing, 1,2,3
- Over the weekend, Governor Andrew Cuomo gave an illustrative monologue about where and what the bottleneck is when it comes to testing.
- Companies that make the test each have proprietary kits and chemical agents that work with their process only.
- Governor Cuomo mentioned around 30 manufacturing companies, all with their distinct testing protocol.
- Governor Cuomo said that, in most cases, the manufacturers of the test were having problems getting the “chemical agents” necessary to process the test.
- Many of these chemical agents come from China, and as Cuomo is fond of saying, he alone “can’t set up an international supply chain,” implying that the President can and should.
- Both Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio are saying that the virus is “stable.”
- The “Beast is under control,” but “could rise again.” – Cuomo
- READ MORE in Gothamist
- De Blasio implored the president in his Monday morning address to supply adequate testing and recovery funds to New York City. READ MORE in NEWSDAY
I’m asking of the President and the Senate Majority Leader. Just try to be as good as the people of New York City and help them out in their hour of need as we all fight through this crisis together.
Mayor Bill de Blasio
- The President has stated, by press conference and by tweet, that testing and testing infrastructure should be the responsibility of the States. Cuomo and many other Governors disagree. On Tuesday, Trump is to host Cuomo at the White House to talk about supplies.
- We wait with baited breath to see what vaudeville the two men from Queens will perform.
- READ MORE in Politico.
Protests in New York
Small groups showed up in Albany and Buffalo to protest the New York State P.A.U.S.E order in a coordinated exercise called “operation gridlock,” mirroring those that took place around the country this weekend. READ MORE in The New York Daily News
Homeless
A crowdfunding campaign is underway to provide hotel rooms for the City’s homeless population. READ MORE in The City
Hospitals
Nurses are suing the health department for inadequate PPE and personnel protection. These opening cases will be setting important precedents for what looks like the next several years of Medical Personnel v. Hospitals cases. READ MORE at Gothamist
Disparate Effects
On Friday the CDC released data that showed that African Americans were disproportionately affected by the Virus. READ MORE AT NY DAILY NEWS.
Office of the NYC Attorney General
- Attorney General Letitia James put together a guide to navigate changes in burial, health insurance, and student loan systems, and to help protect against several common scams related to COVID-19.
- The March 16 deferral of student and medical debt issued by the OAG is coming up for possible renewal on April 15. If it’s not renewed, the OAG will resume normal collections.
COVID-19, in Data
Data Visualizations for the COVID-19 virus and its effect on the NY population.
| Friday 4/17, 1pm | Monday 4/20, 2:30pm | |
| Total Cases | 122148 | 132467 |
| – Manhattan | 15952 | 16987 |
| – Brooklyn | 32499 | 35203 |
| – Queens | 37447 | 40714 |
| – The Bronx | 27014 | 29505 |
| – Staten Island | 9166 | 9986 |
| Hospitalization Rate | 26.8% | 26.2% |
| ICU Rate | ?? | ?? |
| Confirmed Deaths | 7890(NYC) / 8893(NYS) | 9101(NYC) / 10022(NYS) |
| Probable Deaths | 4309 | 4582 |
This weekend: 1200+ deaths
