Cuomo's Daily Briefing:
- Total hospitalizations down (9,647). Net change in hospitalizations also down.
- Net change in intubations down.
- Number of new cases daily down (717). Cuomo says to "take this with a grain of
salt" as weekends tend to report lower numbers to begin with.
- Deaths since May 3:
- 226. 193 in hospitals
- 33 in nursing homes.
- According to the CDC, strains seen in NY originated in Europe and other U.S.
regions. Most flights from Europe landed in NY and NJ.
REOPENING:
- Need to learn lessons from crisis and make smart decisions going forward.
- According to the CDC, strains seen in NY originated in Europe and other U.S.
regions. Most flights from Europe landed in NY and NJ.
REOPENING:
- Need to learn lessons from crisis and make smart decisions going forward.
- Have seen increased alcoholism, substance abuse, domestic violence since beginning of shutdown. Need to act ASAP.
- Other areas seeing second waves due to reopening too quickly or irresponsibly. Dr. Fauci says "we could be in for a bad fall or a bad winter."
- Unsure when the state will reopen or how. He says even experts don't know the best course of action. It’s important to be prepared for all possibilities.
REOPENING FORMULA
- Quantifiable formula based on % and rate of hospitalizations + diagnostic testing rate + contact tracing = R/T - 1.1.
- Quantifiable formula based on % and rate of hospitalizations + diagnostic testing rate + contact tracing = R/T - 1.1.
- Gov says we can control the rate of transmission through these measures (R/T = 1.1 or less).
- If R/T manageable, we can reopen businesses in phases. This will increase activity level while keeping an eye on transmission rates.
- If R/T goes above 1.1, Gov says to stop or slow reopening.
- Core factors determining when certain regions can reopen include: monitoring new infections, healthcare capacity, diagnostic testing capacity, and contact tracing capacity.
- CDC guidelines for reopening:
- Regions must have at least 14 days of decline in total hospitalizations/deaths on 3-day rolling basis.
- Cannot have 15 new total cases or 5 deaths on 3-day rolling basis.
- Fewer than 2 new cases per 100k residents.
- Regions must have at least 30% total hospital and ICU beds available.
- Hospitals must have at least 90 days of PPE stockpiled.
- Fewer than 2 new cases per 100k residents.
- Regions must have at least 30% total hospital and ICU beds available.
- Hospitals must have at least 90 days of PPE stockpiled.
- PHASE I: construction/manufacturing/
- PHASE II: professional services, finance/insurance, real estate, etc.
- PHASE III: restaurants and hotels.
- PHASE IV: arts/entertainment/recreation, education.
- Businesses must develop their own safety precautions in compliance with new social distancing standards.
- Regions must put together a "control room" to make decisions on reopening based on data.
- NYS will be holding govt officials accountable for reopening plans, as well as local officials and citizens. Says we ALL have a responsibility of lowering public health risks.
NY PAUSE:
- Gov says "real substantive" government work needs to be done prior to May 15 reopening.
- Gov says "real substantive" government work needs to be done prior to May 15 reopening.
- If regions attempt to reopen on May 15, Gov wants local leaders to be able to meet opening guidelines.
TESTING:
- 1 million NYers have now been tested.
- CDC recommends 30 tests for every 1k residents in regions in order to reopen.
- National Guard has put together 30,000 testing kits.
- Will be issuing 60,000 tests.
- Regions must have baseline of 30 contact tracers for every 100k residents, additional tracers based on number of cases in the region.
- "Army of tracers" being built in partnership with Mayor Bloomberg.
MASKS:
- Gov thinks it's disrespectful of people not to wear masks. Believes local govt's should be enforcing the statewide order; they can impose their own penalties for non-compliance.
- Gov says he wears a mask outside of briefings and in situations where it may be difficult to socially distance.
SCHOOLS:
- Schools will get guidance on what plan they need to reopen, mainly focusing on socially distancing in classrooms and other gatherings. Cuomo acknowledged the difficulty in achieving this in schools.
UNEMPLOYMENT:
- National problem. Unemployment system was not built to handle the need seen nowadays. NYS has hired over 3k people to run services and managed to "make great progress." Still have cases pending, but Gov ensured benefits would date back to original unemployment date.
SCHOOLS:
- Schools will get guidance on what plan they need to reopen, mainly focusing on socially distancing in classrooms and other gatherings. Cuomo acknowledged the difficulty in achieving this in schools.
UNEMPLOYMENT:
- National problem. Unemployment system was not built to handle the need seen nowadays. NYS has hired over 3k people to run services and managed to "make great progress." Still have cases pending, but Gov ensured benefits would date back to original unemployment date.
- On pending cases, DOL Commissioner will later hold briefing on latest news. Many pending cases have not certified their unemployment status via the website (must be done every week by Saturday), sent out over 90k emails over the weekend to people who fell under this category.
NURSING HOMES:
- Reiterated nursing homes should contact the state if unable to care for any resident that tests positive. Says NYS has facilities available but nursing home is responsible for reaching out.
- AG James and DOH will be conducting investigation to ensure nursing homes are following state regulations.