Mediaboss Marketing

Southold Town is now home to more confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases than any town in Suffolk County, according to County Executive Steve Bellone.

There are now eight residents who have tested positive of a total of 20 countywide, including a total of three Peconic Landing employees.

Meanwhile Riverhead, Greenport, Southold, Mattituck and Oysterponds schools have all closed.

Times Review Media Group will post continued updates as news becomes available here. Continue to scroll below for each update.

Update: Friday 11:30 a.m.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday morning that the state is opening a drive-through testing facility for the coronavirus in New Rochelle the epicenter of the New York outbreak.

The facility, which will test patients by appointment only, will have six lanes of testing where medical staff comes up to a vehicle and performs the swab tests, which will then be tested in a lab. Mr. Cuomo estimated the staff to be able to test patients in 200 cars per day.

The process will take approximately 15 minutes, the governor said.

Its not only faster and easier, its also smarter and safer, Mr. Cuomo said, than a symptomatic person entering a hospitals emergency room facility to seek testing, thus exposing other members of the public and hospital staff.

The governor did say that residents of New Rochelle and vulnerable populations the elderly, and those with underlying immune and respiratory issues will continue to be prioritized for testing.

Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling said during the press briefing that the facility is unique, but said his organization was working with state officials to be on the frontlines of creativity and innovation.

We will deal with this issue practically and we will win, Mr. Dowling said.

The governor also said the challenge remains not so much in test kits, which are the swabs used on a patient. Those are plentiful. Its a matter of having labs with the capability to then process and test those swabs.

(Update: Friday 9:24 a.m.)

Section XI announced Friday morning that all games and scrimmages have been suspended until April 3. At that time, the situation will be reassessed.

Individual districts can still decide whether to conduct practices.

The first slate of spring sports games were scheduled to begin toward the end of March. The first day of spring sports practice was March 9.

Read more about sports on hold here.

(Update: Friday, 8:45 a.m.)

Three days after ceasing visitation at Suffolk County correctional facilities, Sheriff Earl Toulon announced Friday that volunteer programs at the jails will also be put on hold.

By limiting the number of people entering our facilities, we can better protect our staff, inmates, and the general public from community spread of COVID-19.

The sheriff said there are no confirmed cases within correctional facilities in Suffolk.

(Update: Friday, 8:30 a.m.)

Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Paul Connor released a memo Thursday evening detailing proactive measures being taken at the hospital regarding COVID-19 coronavirus.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, all non-hospital personnel will be verbally screened upon entry to the hospital.

Visitation has been significantly halted with no visitors allowed for adult patients, emergency patients and outpatient and ambulatory surgeries, with some exceptions for emergency and surgical patients requiring assistance. Pediatric patients will be allowed one adult visitor.

The hospital also shared links for information.

For updated Coronavirus FAQs and information from Stony Brook experts, visit https://elih.stonybrookmedicine.edu/Coronavirus.

New York Department of Health Website: https://www.health.ny.gov/

(Update: Friday, 6 a.m.)

The coronavirus outbreak has led to heightened awareness and precautions for first responders who are already trained to protect themselves when responding to calls of sick patients.

Mike Caron, assistant chief with the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps, said the process begins with an initial 911 call.

Dispatchers will ask a particular line of questioning to determine if any patients calling 911 are exhibiting signs and symptoms potentially related to the current virus, COVID-19.

The EMS agencies responding are then notified if the call is flagged if theres a potential risk factor, Mr. Caron said.

What Id like to tell everybody is we operate in a constant state of vigilance against any potential threat or come in contact with any pathogen, he said. With the recent outbreak, were taking a few extra precautions. Were reminding our personnel of the importance of hand washing and wearing proper protective equipment, if the need does arise.

Read the full story

(Update: Friday, 6 a.m.)

Members of Southold/Greenport Robotics Team R.I.C.E. 870 were left feeling disappointed Thursday after they traveled on a bus all the way to Rochester for a competition only to be told after they unpacked their equipment that the event had been cancelled.

A group of over 35 students and faculty from the North Fork team climbed aboard a coach bus Wednesday morning and headed to the Rochester Institute of Technology for the regional robotics competition, scheduled March 13 and 14. Last year, the team nailed down a first-place victory and was invited to attend the FIRST Robotics world championship in Detroit, MI.

In high spirits, team members traveled from their hotel to RITS Gordon Field House Thursday morning and unloaded the robot, only to be informed the regularly scheduled practice had been cancelled. That was followed by word that the entire event the 2020 Finger Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics Competition was cancelled as a precautionary measure in the wake of the coronavirus.

Read the full story

(Update: Thursday, 10 p.m.)

The Mattituck School District and Oysterponds schools both announced they will be closed Friday and Monday.

(Update: Thursday, 4:23 p.m.)

Southold Town buildings will be closed to the public effective 4 p.m. Thursday and a State of Emergency goes into effect, Supervisor Scott Russell announced. All public meetings, hearings and town-sponsored programs are also canceled until further notice. Various departments can be accessed by phone or email.

Residents who are sick are urged to stay home for their own safety and safety of others.

Mr. Russell said since the first diagnosis was in Southold Town, it was inevitable that infections would spread faster than in other towns.

The state of emergency gives the town authority to act in what they believe is the publics best interest, including seizure of supplies and equipment, imposing policy on public assembly and sets aside procurement and bidding policy of New York State, he said. He added that restricting public assembly would only be done if absolutely necessary.

(Update: Thursday, 4:13 p.m.)

Two additional employees at Peconic Landing has been diagnosed with COVID-19, bringing the total to three, the retirement community announced Thursday afternoon.

The Suffolk County Department of Health notified Peconic Landing Thursday morning of the positive tests. The health department is undergoing an investigation to identify individuals who may have had direct contact with the employees. They will be contacted directly by the health department.

As a cautionary measure, we are suspending outside visitation until further notice, the notice from Peconic Landing said. We are not under quarantine. We are, however, identifying additional opportunities to protect our members and employees safety and well-being.

At this time, our focus is on ensuring the safety and well-being of our members and our employees. We are communicating all updates to our members and employees via a multitude of internal communication channels. We will be providing on-going updates via our webpage and social media channels for families, media and the greater community.

A per-diem employee at Peconic Landing was the second confirmed case in Suffolk County and that was announced Tuesday night. At least eight confirmed cases in Suffolk are among the 20 countywide total.

Update: Thursday 2:45 p.m.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said were in a public health emergency at his Thursday afternoon media briefing, where he outlined a variety of actions the state will take in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus and treat the growing number of people infected.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

328 residents are now infected across the state, including 112 new cases.

A total of 2,314 individuals have been tested for the virus across New York state.

The state is contracting with national labs in an effort to increase the number of tests to 5,000 per day by next week.

Broadway is being effectively shut down due to a ban on gatherings at gathering spaces with 500 or more seats.

The state is considering canceling elective surgeries to free up 25 to 35 percent of the hospital beds across New York.

Retired doctors and nurses are being urged to contact their former hospitals and medical practices to work on an on-call basis if needed.

(Update: Thursday 2:10 p.m.)

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Suffolk County doubled from Wednesday into Thursday as more test results come in, County Executive Steve Bellone said at a media briefing Thursday. Gov. Cuomo later clarified the total Suffolk County number as 20.

Eight of those cases are in Southold Town.

Mr. Bellone also announced a State of Emergency in Suffolk County, which will allow for the government to more quickly respond with purchasing of supplies like sanitizer, protective gear and to move employees where staffing needs are required.

Ten of the people with a confirmed diagnosis remain hospitalized and in mandatory isolation. Six others are in mandatory isolation at home.

Investigators have begun a thorough analysis looking at patients contacts and it is believed these cases, each of the 16, were contacted in community transmission, Mr. Bellone said.

An additional 49 people are under mandatory quarantine, the county executive said. Another 76 people are being monitored under precautionary quarantine and those are travel related cases. Those people remain asymptomatic.

Mr. Bellone also announced that the health commissioner recommended all St. Patricks Day parades over the weekend be postponed. Organizers of the Cutchogue St. Patricks Day Parade had already announced a cancelation earlier Thursday. The county will also not issue any mass gathering permits for events with more than 5,000 people. The county typically issues about 25 in a year.

Weve been in contact with each of our towns, he said. We remain in close contact with local officials as well as school superintendents. Weve spoken to them about senior programs and services provided and recommended they alter operations to encourage social distancing.

As the virus continues to spread, we need to remind the public that were going to get through this, were going to get over this. We will ultimately come out in a good way.

The situation remains fluid, but people should not panic, he added.

(Update: Thursday 12:48 p.m.)

New York State is taking testing for the novel coronavirus into its own hands.

During a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York State will contract with 28 private laboratories to increase testing capacity.

Our testing capacity is nowhere near what it needs to be, the governor said Wednesday, pointing out that countries like China, where the virus originated, had been processing up to 200,000 tests per day. To date, Gov. Cuomo said, there have been just 5,000 tests performed nationwide.

What changed the trajectory of the incline of the number of caseswas a tremendous amount of testing and investigation, he said.

The 28 private labs, Gov. Cuomo said, specialize in virology and have experience working with the New York State Department of Health.

The labs will require some approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which could complicate the situation, the governor said, emphasizing the urgency of ramping up testing efforts in order to contain the spread.

Were not in a position where we can rely on the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] or the FDA to manage this testing protocol, he said.

Meanwhile, Northwell Health Labs in Lake Success has now begun semi-automated testing for COVID-19 that will dramatically increase the speed of testing and results back to the patient. Manual testing began at the Northwell lab on Sunday night that saw 133 tests completed by midweek. The FDA Tuesday issued an emergency use authorization for automated testing, which spokesperson Terry Lynam said will allow for 150 tests per day to be conducted, with the results sent back to the provider almost immediately.

By comparison, manual testing in a lab can handle about 60-70 lab tests a day. Mr. Lynam said by the weekend, the semi-automated system will allow for up to 500 a day and they are expecting to be fully automated by next week, when they will be able to do 2,000 a day. They are the first facility on Long Island to implement this system.

Though efforts are being made to expand testing capability, County Executive Steve Bellone said Wednesday that people should not have an expectation that if they are felling ill, they will automatically be tested for the coronavirus. Tests will be done based on specific CDC guidelines, he said.

Northwell officials said testing will continue to be reserved for those at risk for severe disease or those who have had confirmed close contact with an infected person.

Only people who meet that criteria will be tested, and that testing is currently being performed at hospital emergency departments and urgent care centers, said John DAngelo, MD, chair of emergency medicine at Northwell, in a statement. Even as our testing capacity increases, we will continue to screen people judiciously so we can focus our attention on those most at risk for severe COVID-19 infection who require more immediate and intensive medical attention. All others who are concerned about exposure but who have mild or no symptoms should recuperate at home.

What to do if youre symptomatic:

Practice social distancing and isolate at home if youre feeling ill. Avoid public areas and large gatherings.

Monitor yourself for symptoms, which include fever, cough and shortness of breath, for a 14-day period.

Alert your healthcare provider, who will guide you in your next steps. But seek immediate medical attention if your conditions are worsening or if you have difficulty breathing.

Call the state coronavirus hotline: 1-888-364-3065 for information about the virus, or Suffolk County 311.

(Update: Thursday, 12:09 p.m.)

Southold Superintendent David Gamberg said the Southold School District will be closed Friday and Monday. There has been no positive COVID-19 case in the district, he said.

This is out of an abundance of caution and will allow the District to complete a deep, thorough cleaning of the buildings. We will remain in constant contact with the Suffolk County Department of Health, Mr. Gamberg said in a statement.

I will continue to keep staff and families apprised of any additional information we receive.Please continue to check the District Website, social media, email, etc. for next steps after Monday, March 16th.

Thank you and have a good afternoon.

As of now, Greenport remains on schedule to reopen Monday.

(Update: 10:22 a.m.)

Read the original here:
Coronavirus on North Fork: Live updates from Times Review Media Group - The Suffolk Times - Suffolk Times