Cuomo tightens workplace limits; relief for homeowners; NYC could run out of medical supplies in weeks

New York is ordering businesses to send 75% of their workers home, further increasing restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, while offering a break to people falling behind on financial obligations because of related disruptions.

The measures came Thursday as the number tested in New York soared past 22,000 and the state continued to rank at the top for cases in the United States.

Statewide, COVID-19 infections rose to 4,152, with 1,769 new cases over Wednesday's total, according to state figures issued Thursday morning.

Nassau County had 372 coronavirus cases, with 189 new positives, the state said. In Suffolk, which released its numbers later in the day, there were 239 cases, up from 152 on Wednesday, County Executive Steve Bellone said.

The continued climb in cases came on a day when Nassau County reported its third death from coronavirus — a 76-year-old woman from the Town of Hempstead.

The number of cases in New York City, also released separately, more than doubled from Wednesday to Thursday, from 1,871 to 3,954, Mayor Bill de Blasio's office said Thursday night. State and local numbers sometimes differ based on the timing of lab reports and when they're made public.

De Blasio said that in about two weeks city hospitals would run out of crucial supplies like masks, coveralls, ventilators, surgical gowns and gloves, and he said he's pleading with President Donald Trump to release those supplies, order their production as necessary and involve the military in distributing them.

"It's abundantly clear to say he's betraying his hometown, and he unfortunately is letting down his entire nation," de Blasio said, adding: "Wake up! We actually are really running out of time."

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo also suggested that the federal government order companies to produce critical materials like ventilators, as well as masks and other protective equipment for health care workers.

Trump, who Cuomo said he spoke with again Wednesday night, has deployed a 1,000-room hospital ship to New York Harbor, and the governor has discussed converting sites such as college dormitories to temporary medical facilities.

But, Cuomo said, “The beds do me very little good without the ventilator because almost all these COVID cases require the ventilator.”

Trump, speaking at the White House’s daily COVID-19 briefing, said Carnival Cruise Lines has offered ships to provide "lots of rooms" for hospital patients and that New York would be a likely location.

' … A bold action'

As a result of the growing outbreak, Cuomo announced at his daily briefing from Albany that he is ordering businesses to keep no more than 25% of their staff at their workplaces, a significant reduction after mandating a 50% cut in employees on Wednesday.

The governor's latest edict means that 75% of workers in New York are to be sent home. "Essential services" such as grocery stores, food production, pharmacies, health care providers, banks, warehousing "and other industries critical to the supply chain" are exempted.

Cuomo also announced what he called "a bold action, but a necessary action" to offer temporary relief to homeowners facing difficulty paying their mortgages and others falling behind on their bills because of the health crisis.

He said people not working or only working part time, as a result, will be offered a 90-day relief period "waiving mortgage payments based on financial hardship" with no negative reporting to credit bureaus.

"That will be a real-life economic benefit," he said. "It also will be stress reliever for many families.”

There will be a grace period for loan modifications, no late-payment or online-payment fees and a postponement or suspension of foreclosures.

In addition, fees from state-chartered banks for ATMs, overdrafts, late payments and credit cards will be waived, the governor’s office said.

Also Thursday, the governor’s office said the Department of Financial Services will issue a directive to health insurers stating that insurer preapproval won't be necessary for hospital inpatient and emergency services, discharge into nursing homes and rehabilitation centers, and scheduled surgeries and admissions. The order, in effect for 90 days, is designed to speed up the admission and discharge process and free up hospital staff for COVID-19 cases, the governor's office said in a statement.

Why are numbers going up?

Cuomo said New York State had processed about 8,000 coronavirus tests overnight and expects the number of COVID-19 positives to jump "astronomically" in coming days and weeks.

“Why are you seeing the numbers go up?" he asked. "Because you are taking more tests. People see those numbers go up, they get nervous, they panic: 'Look at how many more people have the virus.' That's not how many more people have the virus. You’re just taking more tests so you’re finding more positives." 

The governor reiterated the state’s need for more ventilators to help hospitalized people with COVID-19, which is a respiratory illness. The state sent people to China to shop for ventilators, but he said other states and countries also are looking for those machines, and the shortage in New York is dire. There are only 5,000 to 6,000 statewide, and the estimated need is for about 30,000.

Suffolk County is looking at spaces in facilities such as Suffolk County Community College and pods near the county jail in Yaphank to house hospital beds, Bellone said.

Cuomo expressed frustration that many Americans are not abiding by “social distancing” and staying at least 6 feet away from each other.

He was especially disturbed by the images of crowded beaches at college spring break gatherings in Florida. Young people can contract the virus, “and young people can transfer and you can wind up infecting someone and possibly killing someone if you’re exposed to it,” he said, referring especially to the most vulnerable populations, including seniors and people with underlying health conditions.

In Nassau, Health Commissioner Lawrence Eisenstein echoed the governor, saying that “this is absolutely a lifesaving measure, right now, to stay alone on a nice day. It’s OK to take a walk, but it’s not OK for kids to be congregating and having playdates, even outside.”

Long Island legislator tests positive

An assemblywoman from Suffolk County has become the third state legislator to test positive for COVID-19.

Assemb. Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D-Wheatley Heights) was at the state Capitol on Wednesday to vote on an emergency bill to deal with paid sick leave in the wake of novel coronavirus, “although she did not have any contact with other members or staff,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) announced Thursday morning.

She tested positive Wednesday after a family member became ill, he said.

“I have spoken to Kimberly and she has told me that she is back home in her district, self-quarantining and doing well,” Heastie said.

Jean-Pierre, first elected in 2014, represents a district covering the southwest-most corner of Suffolk County.

COVID-19-related protocols meant that only about 10 Assembly members at a time were brought in to vote, Heastie said. “I have ordered a deep cleaning of her offices in addition to the regular cleaning of the Assembly chamber and any other areas she may have visited in order to ensure the safety of everyone," he said.

Getting tested 

In Nassau, the number of people tested for COVID-19 continues to rise dramatically. 

At Long Island’s first state drive-thru testing site, Jones Beach State Park, 979 people showed up Wednesday, up from Tuesday’s total of 468, the state reported. There also is a site at Stony Brook University that opened Wednesday. 

Eisenstein said that, despite the increased number of people whose respiratory samples are being taken, only limited groups of people can get tested.

“If somebody is a close contact, but is not sick, they’re not being offered testing right now,” he said. “It is for people who are close contacts but are sick.”

Tests at both sites are by appointment only, obtained by calling 888-364-3065.

In addition, the lab at Northwell Health is now capable of running about 1,000 COVID-19 tests daily, said Terry Lynam, a spokesman at the New Hyde Park-based health system.

Northwell is testing about 3,000 patients daily, but sends about two-thirds of those tests to other labs.

A Nassau County spokesman said two people in Nassau hospitalized with COVID-19 are in critical condition.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said the county has released a map, indicating the number of people who have contracted the virus, and where they live.

In Suffolk, 27 of the 239 people who tested positive for COVID-19 are hospitalized, and seven are in intensive care units, officials said.

The most cases again are in Huntington Town, which has 64. Health Commissioner Gregson Pigott said the cases are spread throughout the town, and he doesn't believe there is a hot spot there.

Every other Suffolk town has at least one case: Southold has 45, Islip 39, Babylon 28, Brookhaven 27, Smithtown eight, Riverhead and Southampton, each four, East Hampton two, and Shelter Island one. In 17 cases, the location was unavailable.

Bellone said there were more than 250 tests at Stony Brook on Wednesday, and, overall, the county has tested about 1,500 people.

Bellone, who is in a mandatory quarantine because the deputy county executive is COVID-19-positive, said he wanted to be tested but was told he couldn't because he has no symptoms. 

Law enforcement and transportation

A Nassau County police officer and jail inmate are among those who have tested positive for the virus, authorities said Thursday.

Lt. Det. Richard LeBrun declined to identify the officer but said the cop was in self-isolation.

Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the department has issued masks, goggles, gloves and other personal protective equipment to officers. Police buildings and vehicles have been repeatedly scrubbed.

Ryder asked residents who need police services to tell 911 operators if they are sick and describe their symptoms, and to say if they have traveled recently to China, Italy or other countries severely impacted by the pandemic.

Nearly two dozen officers had contact with the COVID-19-positive inmate at Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, according to Nassau Sheriff James Dzurenda.

Those 23 officers are in self-isolation and were told to return to work after seven days as long as they are asymptomatic and not showing any signs of the flu, he said.

Six inmates who had contact with the ill prisoner also were placed in isolation. Officials said the inmates are seven days into a 14-day quarantine. 

The inmate, who has not been identified, was diagnosed Sunday with COVID-19, according to jail officials. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center.

No cases of the highly infectious disease have been reported in Suffolk County jails in Riverhead and Yaphank, a spokeswoman for Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. said.

Public health experts say correctional facilities are especially vulnerable because inmates share tiny cells with toilets, travel together to court in crowded buses and wait for appearances before a judge in cramped holding rooms. Soap and other hygienic products are not always available, although officials said they have been increasing medical screenings, scrubbing facilities and distributing hand sanitizer.

In the New York City jail system, one inmate has tested positive and eight have symptoms, officials said. All were moved to a communicable disease unit.

Twenty-six people have now died of COVID-19-related causes in New York City, officials said. There are 1,195 cases in Brooklyn, 1,042 in Queens, 1,038 in Manhattan, 496 in the Bronx and 179 on Staten Island, according to de Blasio's office.

Nearly two dozen Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees, including four who work for the Long Island Rail Road, tested positive for the virus, MTA chairman Patrick Foye said. They are in quarantine or receiving appropriate care, he said.

Beware of coronavirus scams

Curran and Ryder warned residents of a growing number of coronavirus scam phone calls, asking residents to hand over credit card numbers, Medicare information, and other health insurance and personal information.

“Be vigilant,” Curran said. “There are many scams and rumors regarding the coronavirus. We’re concerned that people are anxious. We’re telling people to isolate. If our older folks are isolating, they’re alone. They're watching the news constantly, and they’re becoming very anxious and perhaps becoming more vulnerable.”

Curran said one retiree reported receiving a call from a scammer claiming to be from a coronavirus hotline, and a senior said someone pretending to work at her bank asked for her banking information because, the scammer said, the local branch was closing due to the virus.

“There's a bunch of lowlife people out there that sit and wait and prey in times of crisis,” Ryder said.

Curran urged residents to call 911 to report a potential scam. She also announced the launch of a new testing app that will send official coronavirus related alerts to residents' phones. To receive the messages, text COVID19NC to 888777.

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com,@DavidOlson11,

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.