
Coronavirus on Long Island: Updates May 8-10

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone gives an update on the county's response to coronavirus.
Newsday is providing all readers with access to this breaking news blog on important developments about the coronavirus and our community.
Sunday updates
Watch Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's Sunday update
Bellone: Majority of new positives are antibody tests
In Suffolk, the majority of new positives as of Saturday night were from antibody tests rather than diagnostic tests, county officials said Sunday. Of 669 new positives in the county as of 10 p.m. Saturday, 446 were from antibody tests, County Executive Steve Bellone said. That brought the total number of positives to 42,022. When asked if more antibody results than diagnostic test results could mean fewer people are symptomatic, health commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said people are typically “not as symptomatic” when they take an antibody test instead of a diagnostic test. -RACHELLE BLIDNER

Twins Brianna (l) and Madison Daniels 4 of West Hempstead get a ride in a wagon from dad as they head home with flowers and balloons for mom on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10, 2020. Credit: Jeff Bachner
De Blasio: Homeless to shelters, hospitals after subways close
Mayor Bill De Blasio said hundreds of homeless people agreed to go to shelters or hospitals after the subway system shut down Friday and Saturday night for nighttime cleaning.
City Homeless Outreach workers and NYPD officers were stationed outside subway stations after the system shut down. The outreach workers and cops engaged with 416 homeless people and 183 agreed to go to shelters and 29 transported to hospitals, de Blasio said.
On Saturday night, the outreach workers and police officers engaged with 384 homeless people, according to the mayor, with 175 agreeing to move into shelters and 23 going to hospitals.
“Now we will be able to get them the mental health support ... now we will really be able to change the lives of so many of them for good,” the mayor said.
-Michael O'Keeffe
Watch Gov. Cuomo's live press briefing
'Tremendously concerned' over inflammatory syndrome
New York City’s public health officials are “tremendously concerned” about pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his daily briefing Sunday, and he urged parents to seek medical attention if their children are suffering from a persistent fever, rash, abdominal pains or vomiting.
De Blasio said 38 cases of the disease have been diagnosed in the city and nine more are under review. One child has died, according to the mayor.
“What it does is, basically in a child’s body, triggers intensive, almost overwhelming immune system response and that actually causes harm to the body,” de Blasio said.
The mayor said 47 percent of the 38 children diagnosed with pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome have tested positive for the coronavirus while 81 percent tested positive for other antibodies.
-MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
Saturday updates
New COVID-19 numbers not available in Suffolk
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said he did not have new hospitalization and death numbers for the past 24 hours because the system was down, but the county was able to gather numbers from Thursday.
He said 29 more people had died of the virus on that day, bringing the county total to 1,597.
He also said 65 more people had been discharged from Suffolk hospitals.
“This is a number we love to report,” Bellone said. “We continue to wish them a speedy recovery.”
Also reporting on figures from Thursday, Bellone noted that the number of hospitalizations has decreased by 16, to a total of 703.
The number of people in ICUs saw a big decrease of 43, from 301 to 258, he said.
Bellone said that a total of 41,353 people have been diagnosed with the virus in the county, an increase of 870.
He noted that these numbers now include people who tested positive for the antibodies, who had not been diagnosed before.
A total of 4,798 people have tested positive for the antibodies, he said. – CRAIG SCHNEIDER
Watch Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's Saturday update
Curran calls for return to a “new normal”
With unemployment growing and businesses struggling to stay afloat, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said Saturday, “We need to begin to come back to a new normal.”
Villages have been brainstorming ideas like using food trucks, which can operate with one person, and closing down main streets to allow for socially-distant dining, she said. Drive-in movies and appointment retail are other possibilities, and Curran called for a greater expansion in the kinds of construction allowed.
“There will always be a risk…but we can mitigate that risk. We can protect the vulnerable and get life cranking up again,” Curran said.
Testing will be key to this effort, Curran said, and she urged residents to get tested.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Saturday that 24 coronavirus testing sites would be opened in churches in predominantly minority neighborhoods. Curran said testing would be offered at First Baptist Cathedral of Westbury and Union Baptist Church in Hempstead. – NEWSDAY STAFF
Watch Nassau County Executive Laura Curran's Saturday update
Suffolk County teen has died from coronavirus-linked illness
Three children - including a Suffolk County teen - have died of an inflammatory disease believed to be linked to the coronavirus, according to a release from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office.
Hospitals in New York have reported 73 cases of the illness, Cuomo said at his daily briefing Saturday. More than two dozen children have been treated in Long Island hospitals.
“This is new and this is developing,” Cuomo said.
On Friday, the governor had reported the first known death in the state of a child from the disease. A 5-year-old boy died Thursday in New York City.
Cuomo said Saturday that the state is helping to develop national criteria for identifying and responding to the syndrome at the request of the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The New York State Department of Health is also partnering with the New York Genome Center and Rockefeller University on a genome and RNA sequencing study to better understand the disease.
Cuomo also announced that 24 coronavirus testing sites would be opened in churches in predominantly-minority communities. – NEWSDAY STAFF
Watch Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's Saturday update
Friday afternoon updates
Bellone reports 21 new COVID-19 deaths, more than 40,000 cases in Suffolk
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone reported 21 new coronavirus deaths Friday for a total of 1,568 in the county since the outset of the pandemic.
There were 694 new cases of the virus in Suffolk, Bellone said, bringing the total to 40,483.
No daily update was available on the number of new patients hospitalized, he said.
On a positive note, he congratulated the 178th graduating class of the Suffolk County Police Academy, which hosted a livestreamed ceremony earlier Friday featuring socially-distanced recruits.
He noted that footage of the ceremony had been seen by more than 25,000 people as of Friday afternoon.
“You had family members from across the country watch,” he said. – NEWSDAY STAFF
Watch Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's press briefing:
LIA executive: Long Island has to wait longer
Kevin Law, chief executive of the Long Island Association, said Friday he does not expect Long Island to get a “green light” to reopen the economy until June.
Law, a member of the governor’s advisory board on reopening the economy, said the governor’s phased reopening of regions upstate beginning May 15 will be a “test case” for Long Island and other areas at the “epicenter” of the virus outbreak.
“The governor has set a bunch of health care metrics that we need to meet,” he said.
Cuomo’s four-phase plan calls for select regions to gradually relaunch industry sectors, with the final step including education, arts, entertainment and recreation.
Still, Law said some businesses closed by the state’s lockdown, including agricultural industries, solar installation and residential construction, should be reclassified immediately and allowed to resume operations.
Joining Law on the reopening task force, whose first meeting was Wednesday, are fellow Long Islanders Scott Rechler, CEO and chairman of RXR Realty, and Theresa Sanders, president of the Urban League of Long Island. — KEN SCHACHTER
Curran: County watching for illness in kids that could be linked to coronavirus
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said the county is on the lookout for cases of illness in children that could be linked to the coronavirus.
She said at her briefing Friday that she has directed the county health department to track reports of children with persistent fever, toxic shock or similar features associated with Kawasaki disease – a pediatric, multisystem inflammatory disease potentially associated with the coronavirus.
She said some hospitals in Nassau County have seen cases, but she didn’t elaborate.
Nassau County Health Commissioner Lawrence Eisenstein said that so far, “well over 99% of children do very well with COVID-19 ,” but parents should be observant, especially if the coronavirus has been in the household. “This shouldn’t be a panic. We want parents to be vigilant about watching their kids,” he said.
If children start to develop high fever, abdominal pain or a rash, “That’s something they should immediately get medical care for,” Eisentein said.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said earlier Friday that the state is investigating evidence that the coronavirus can cause severe illness in children – a group thought to be spared the worst effects of the virus – and that 73 of those reported cases are in New York.
Overall, Curran reported 219 new coronavirus cases in Nassau County, bringing the total to 37,812 since early March. There were 14 new COVID-19 deaths reported in the county for a total of 1,918. — NEWSDAY STAFF
Watch Nassau County Executive Laura Curran's press briefing:
Cuomo: State Child Victims Act extended
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that amid that pandemic the state is extending the deadline of the Child Victims Act, which allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to have a path to justice. The extension gives victims an additional five months, until Jan. 14, to file their claims.
Cuomo said that while the window was not to close until August, the pandemic has limited survivors’ ability to file claims and effectively argue their case.
Cuomo, speaking at Marist College in Poughkeepsie on Friday, also said the total numbers of hospitalizations and intubations have gone down in New York, which he says has “the virus on the run.”
The number of deaths was 216 Thursday, down from 231 Wednesday. – NEWSDAY STAFF
Cuomo: State probing COVID-19 link to children
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the state is investigating evidence that the coronavirus can cause severe illness in children – a group thought to be spared the worst effects of the virus – and that 73 of those reported cases are in New York. He also said a 5-year-old boy died in New York City on Thursday from COVID-19 complications. He added that the state is investigating several other child deaths.
“This is every parent’s nightmare that your child may be affected by this virus,” he said at his briefing Friday at Marist College.
He also said the state continues to sharpen its focus on new COVID-19 hospitalizations and cited a link there to minority communities. Of the 21 ZIP codes with the most new COVID-19 hospitalizations, 20 have greater than average black and/or Latino populations, he said. — NEWSDAY STAFF
Watch Gov. Andrew Cuomo's press briefing:
Friday morning updates
Suffolk police holds virtual graduation for 70 recruits
The Suffolk County Police Department livestreamed a socially distanced virtual graduation ceremony Friday for 70 new officers because of the coronavirus.
Missing the traditional pomp and circumstance of a police academy graduation ceremony, there was no pipes band playing, no officers striding across a stage and shaking the hands of top police officials and no cheering crowd of family and friends for the department’s 178th recruit class. Instead of gathering in a packed auditorium, the new officers stood at attention in their dress blues, wearing medical-grade face masks, and standing feet away from one another in small groups in eight empty classrooms at the police academy in Brentwood. Deputy Inspector John Hanley, the commanding officer of the academy, stood at a lectern as master of ceremonies in another area of the academy.
Miles away, at county government headquarters in Hauppauge, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart swapped spots at a lectern – removing their face masks before speaking -- to address the graduates and the more than 700 live viewers. — NICOLE FULLER
Stony Brook redeploying health care workers
Stony Brook University’s ER Field Satellite at the South P Lot will be closing to patients, after seeing about 2,600 people. Equipment will remain inside the tents should the need for the service arise in the future, Stony Brook officials said.
Stony Brook Medicine health care workers staffing the ER Field Satellite will be redeployed to Stony Brook University Hospital. The decision comes as the number of patients visiting the ER Field Satellite has continued to decline.
The state’s drive-through testing site, also located in Stony Brook University’s South P Lot off Stony Brook Road, will remain open. To date, 27,515 patients have been tested for the coronavirus on-site. Those looking to be tested must make advance appointments by calling 888-364-3065. The site is open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. – OLIVIA WINSLOW
De Blasio: Capacity will be limited at Manhattan, Brooklyn parks
Capacity will be restricted at certain New York City parks, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.
On Manhattan's West Side, the NYPD will begin limiting how many people can be in Hudson River Park at Piers 45 and 46 at any given time.
De Blasio said capacity would also be monitored at Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. – MATTHEW CHAYES
Trump to be tested for coronavirus antibodies
In a 50-minute interview Friday morning on "Fox & Friends," President Donald Trump credited his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, highlighting a record 300,000 tests conducted nationally on Thursday.
Trump said he would soon get tested to see if he has antibodies for the virus and noted that a valet, who recently tested positive for the virus, had relatively little interaction with him. Trump said that White House staff who cook his meals will now be required to wear masks.
Trump called new job numbers showing 14.7% unemployment — the highest since the Great Depression —“no surprise. They were fully expected ... But what I can do is bring it back.”
He added that “those jobs will all be back. And they will be back very soon. And next year we will have a phenomenal year. People are ready to go.” – ROBERT BRODSKY
Northwell: COVID-19 patients down 64% month over month
Northwell Health on Friday said it had 1,203 COVID-19 patients at its hospitals, a drop of more than 64% from a month ago, when the health system reported 3,360 patients at its 19 hospitals.
The 3,360 patients on April 8 represented the most patients Northwell reported any morning. It had 3,425 patients the evening of April 7, which was the peak number for the system.
The New Hyde Park-based health system said the current COVID-19 patient count represents a 26% drop from the same time a week ago.
On Long Island, Northwell has 841 patients, a 25% fall in the last week. Separately, Northwell said it was prepared to release its 10,000th COVID-19 patient. – DAVID REICH-HALE