Nursing homes call testing order 'basically impossible'
'How the devil are we going to do it?'
Health care professionals test for COVID-19 in Jericho. Credit: Newsday / Steve Pfost
The tests now cost $100-$250 or more, and facilities face logistical hurdles to meet the mandate, nursing home operators said. Long-term care facilities had to submit plans to the state on Wednesday and then will have seven days to begin testing.
“Nobody’s opposed to it, but logistically, how the devil are we going to do it?” said Ken Gaul, owner of the Woodhaven Center of Care, a nursing home and assisted living center in Port Jefferson Station.
Gaul said the new testing requirement is “basically impossible” to implement. The tests, and the people qualified to administer them, are not readily available, Gaul said.
Cuomo defended the measure on Wednesday.
"Look, nursing homes are the most vulnerable people in the most vulnerable place," Cuomo said. "I know they're not happy about testing.
"Yes, it’s onerous, and I understand it’s a pain, but we have to do everything we could do. Testing twice a week I know we can do — and I will help them get the test if they can’t get them.”
Meanwhile, some Democrats now are joining Republicans in calling for an independent probe of Cuomo’s policies might have impacted COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
Cuomo: NY regions 'poised to reopen' need to watch numbers
Cuomo said "all the arrows are pointed in the right direction" toward a gradual reopening of the New York economy but cautioned the public to "not underestimate this virus" as cases of a syndrome affecting minors and young adults continue to emerge.
He asked local governments preparing for a reopening of their local economies to watch health and supply indicators to guide their actions.
"Daily monitoring of numbers and daily monitoring of numbers and daily monitoring of numbers are the first three priorities" going forward, he told those officials in the various New York regions.
“We have certain regions … poised to reopen tomorrow” in the northern parts of the state and other regions where the data “does not suggest" an immediate reopening, he said.
This chart shows the cumulative number of people who have suffered coronavirus-related deaths and where they lived.
The chart above shows the cumulative number of coronavirus-related deaths by location. Search a map here and view more charts showing the latest local trends in testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
The numbers as of 3 p.m.: 38,743 confirmed cases in Nassau, 37,544 in Suffolk, 188,545 in New York City and 343,051 statewide.
Hospitals resuming surgeries
Dr. Jose Prince, vice chair of surgery at Northwell Health, says health systems have started performing more surgeries as the number of COVID-19 patients drops. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
When Sherry Kunjbehari of New Hyde Park was diagnosed with breast cancer in February, the plan was for her to have a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction in early April.
Then came the pandemic. Kunjbehari ended up waiting a month before having surgery May 5 at Northwell Health's Syosset Hospital.
She was one of thousands of patients at Long Island hospitals who had their surgeries delayed as COVID-19 peaked, thus draining system resources. Nurses and other support staff usually dedicated to cancer, cardiac or other services, were placed in emergency departments to help handle the influx of COVID-19 patients.
"I was afraid, because I wasn't sure if the cancer would spread," said Kunjbehari, 46. "I'm not an anxious person, but waiting definitely made me anxious."
Long Island hospitals are starting to perform more surgeries after delays.
Searching for genetic markers in pediatric disease
The New York Genome Center is sequencing and analyzing viral RNA and patient DNA samples using the latest sequencing technology. Credit: New York Genome Center
The key to understanding and fighting the mysterious COVID-19-related inflammatory illness that is targeting children across the state could be in their genes.
The New York Genome Center is analyzing blood samples from the young patients with the hopes of finding genetic markers specific to the disease known as "pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19."
The state is investigating 102 cases of children who have the illness, which shows symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock syndrome. Three people, including an 18-year-old girl from Suffolk County, have died from the syndrome.
"This approach is widely used to study the genetic basis of all diseases,” said Tom Maniatis, Evnin Family Scientific director and chief executive officer of the New York Genome Center. “We are trying to see if there are any genetic clues to what might be causing this syndrome in children."
'Everyone should do their part to help'
Volunteers give out food to people at the Shell gas station near the West Babylon/Wyandanch border. Credit: Yeong-Ung Yang
A food donation effort in Wyandanch that began six weeks ago with a handful of recipients is now serving food to hundreds of people.
The community outreach initiative came out of a conversation between two business owners who operate across the street from one another on Straight Path, on the border of Wyandanch and West Babylon. Jeff Garrett, who owns Jeff’s Crab Shack, and Syed Hussain, who owns a Shell gas station, were talking one morning about how hard the pandemic had hit the Wyandanch community.
“We were saying how people were already struggling and with this crisis, there are people suffering like never before,” Garrett said.
Garrett, of North Babylon, and Hussain, of Floral Park, dug into their own pockets and set up a 6-foot-long table near the gas station with fruits and shelf-stable food like grits and canned vegetables. Things were slow at first, but Garrett began putting the word out on social media and more people and donations started coming.
More to know
Steven Fulco, general manager of sales operations at Donaldsons Volkswagen and Subaru in Savyille, stands in the lot of new inventory on Wednesday. Credit: Randee Daddona
Car shopping returns for New York state residents, who can once again visit dealerships and test drive vehicles — as long as they have appointments.
Generation Z — young people born after 1996 — is facing a world disrupted by the pandemic, and half of those surveyed in a new analysis say it's led to them or someone in their household losing a job or taking a pay cut.
Many Hempstead Town eateries would be able to apply online for outdoor-dining permits — with all fees waived — under planned legislation aimed at helping supplement an all-but-certain drop in business due to social-distancing limits.
Long Island MacArthur Airport has seen steep drops in flights and revenue as airlines that had been flying high in January suffer cataclysmic economic losses from the pandemic.
The housing market on Long Island hit the brakes hard in April, with sales falling sharply as the pandemic took hold.
Roughly 36 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the two months since the coronavirus first forced millions of businesses to close their doors and shrink their workforces, the Labor Department said.
State Attorney General Letitia James asked the NYPD to give her coronavirus-related arrest data and other enforcement actions during the pandemic in answer to the department's "apparent unequal enforcement of social distancing policies."
A bipartisan bill to help essential workers, including police, firefighters, transit workers and postal carriers, who get sick, injured or die while serving during the pandemic was introduced in Congress.
News for you
Server Magdalena Krasuska brings out a pizza order to a car at Vespa Italian Chophouse in Northport. Pizza will be one of the snacks served during the restaurant's drive-in movie nights. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Dinner and a movie. This week ushers in inaugural drive-in movie nights at places like Vespa Italian Chophouse in Northport, the Sayville Athletic Club and the Bel Aire Diner in Astoria, Queens. You can enjoy a drive-in movie and a meal.
Looking for laughs. The comedy troupe behind the hidden-camera prank series "Impractical Jokers" launches "Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party" May 21 at 10 p.m. on truTV.
Virtual drama. What would Shakespeare have said about the pandemic? Adelphi Performing Arts Center answers that with "Too Solid Flesh," an interactive, virtual theater performance to be presented Sunday through May 24 via Zoom.
Drive-in concerts? With concerts being canceled or postponed, Long Island is going to need an entertainment alternative. Although official governmental guidelines have not yet been announced for outdoor events, some ideas are brewing.
Plus: Join us tomorrow for a conversation with New York State Attorney General Letitia James in our first free webinar in partnership with Minority Millennials Inc. Save your spot.
Get real-time updates about the virus' impact on the Island by visiting our live blog and watch our latest daily wrap-up video.
Commentary
Anthony Chille and Katie Ciorciari are featured in a "Life Under Coronavirus" podcast.
Wait to party. Long Island couples are rethinking weddings in the time of coronavirus. Some have decided to “marry now, party later,” says wedding photographer Stacey Kaufmann.
Episode 20 of “Life Under Coronavirus” tells the story of two couples adapting their weddings on the fly, featuring Zoom videos, social distancing, an Amazon dress, and the full happy dance party scheduled for healthier times.
