MAYOR DE BLASIO ON COVID-19 - April 14, 2020

  Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, today, we have some very important news for all New Yorkers. We've had some real breakthroughs, and one in particular I want to talk about related to testing, which has been the topic we've all been focused on now for months and months. So, I'm going to give you some important news and some good news, but I want to frame it first because this really comes down to how New York City and New Yorkers are responding to this crisis. Now, this is a city that has always been a special place, has always been a place full of energy, creativity, entrepreneurship. This is a place – everyone knows it all over the nation, all over the world – this is a place where people make things happen. And even in the midst of this crisis, New Yorkers have been making things happen. You know, small things in the neighborhood to help people out; big things that could change lives and save lives as well. The spirit of ingenuity, the spirit of fight has been so clear over these last weeks in this city and it's growing all the time. People are not – not only are New Yorkers not giving up, New Yorkers never give up. New Yorkers are forging ahead to find new ways to fight back against the coronavirus. And, look, this is who we are, this is a place where we believe in getting things done. And I have challenged the members of my team to do things that were previously not doable, not thinkable, but now have to be in light of the crisis we're facing and all the problems we've had getting our federal government to respond, getting the markets all over the world to be reliable, all the challenges we've faced trying to get the supplies we need and the help we need have create a reality for us where we have to defend ourselves. We have to fight for ourselves. We have to create things here even if they were never created before. So, that's who we are as a people. And that's what New Yorkers are showing once again in one of the greatest crises we've ever felt.

Let me talk to you today about how we got to what I'm about to tell you about. Over these last years, we've seen in New York City more and more the growth of advanced manufacturing, the growth of biotech, the growth of the technology sector – over these last years, more and more capacity growing in this city and it's allowing us to do things that before would not have been imaginable. So, let me start with the crucial, crucial supplies that we depend on to protect our health care workers and our first responders, the personal protective equipment. I've taken several trips out to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I've tried to show all of you the amazing work happening there. But what I first want to tell you about today is that this work is now being supercharged. The face shields, which are so crucial to keeping our heroes safe, started modestly, people in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, making the face shields by hand with the components they could get – a wartime factory for wartime conditions. I told you a few days ago on Sunday, that when it came to face shields. We really need them, but we only had enough to get through this week when you look at all the hospitals of our city. But now, we are having a real breakthrough. The companies that came together have now been joined by more companies. Now, we have eight companies in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and in Manhattan, all working together to create the maximum number of face shields for our heroes. They started very modestly, but now they can produce 240,000 per week. That will grow to 465,000 per week by Friday, April 24th. And then the goal soon thereafter will be to produce 620,000 face shields per week right here in New York City, made by New York city workers in New York City companies. That is enough to reach the crisis standard we're working under right now. What this means is we will be able to fulfill our entire need for face shields right here in New York City. Now, we're going to keep working to get more outside. Obviously, we want a bigger supply. We want to make sure we're secure for the future. We want to someday move off that crisis standard and go higher to an even, better standard. But for long as we're in the middle of this war – so long as we're fighting the coronavirus in the kind of crisis dynamics we are in now. For the first time with something as important as face shields, one of the major PPEs, we're going to be able to say we are self-sufficient – New York city will be self-sufficient. We will no longer be at the whim of either the federal government, the international markets. We won't have to import things from overseas. We will be self-sufficient. That's the first point.

The second point – surgical gowns. Now, we need a huge number of these every week, this is an area where it's not possible yet to be self-sufficient, but where we're making huge, huge strides. Again, on Sunday, I told you this was an area I was deeply concerned about where we had enough to get through this week, but we couldn't tell you yet about next week. We're moving to get major supplies in from all over the country. So, this is an area where we do see some relief coming, but, again, we will be best off if the most possible surgical gowns are made right here in New York City. Five companies are now participating in this effort to protect our heroes.

They're in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, they're in Sunset Park, they're in the Garment center in Manhattan and in Long Island City, Queens. They're currently only making 30,000 per week, but by next week that will go up to 1,000. Soon thereafter, we want to get to 250,000 surgical gowns per week. And then, we're looking to go even farther. So, this is an area where we're going to make a lot of progress. These are particularly important to protecting those who are saving our lives – another great example of New York City ingenuity and the speed with which New Yorkers can move. Both these items I just told you about – face shields, surgical gowns – were never in recent memory made in New York City. These are brand new production lines created from scratch by companies here, by New York City workers in an atmosphere crisis, and they've surpassed any possible expectation we could have, and they're going farther.

But look, as much as we've been so deeply concerned about the PPEs, and we're going to be concerned about them until this crisis is over, because they mean protection for those who are saving our lives, the number one issue from day one has been testing. When we started fighting the coronavirus here in the city, we said we needed the federal help with testing. It never came. We have scoured the world looking for a test kits on the open market. It's been extraordinarily frustrating. We've had so many good people searching everywhere just to buy the test kits, to get a reliable supply. It has not been possible. So, over months now, the place we turn to for help, Washington DC, we never got a straight answer. We never got a consistent approach and we wondered when would the day come that we could actually get the test kits we need so we could start on that road that I talked about a few days ago from this widespread transmission of the coronavirus to low-level transmission and eventually no transmission. To get there, you must have testing in large quantities. And we knew that, as recently as yesterday, we did not know when and where we would get those test kits.

Now, we've had one breakthrough on the open market and then another breakthrough right here in New York City, and I'm so excited to tell you about this. Our friends from Carmel, Indiana, I talked about them a few days ago, they donated test kits – a biotech firm there donated test kits to us. But now, they have confirmed they can produce them regularly for New York City. So, on top of their donation of 50,000 kits, which we're so appreciative for, Aria Diagnostics, Carmel, Indiana is now going to be producing test kits for New York City. We will be purchasing them, starting Monday, April 20th – this coming Monday – we'll be purchasing 50,000 full test kits per week from Aria Diagnostics. I'm sure New Yorkers wouldn't have thought that the cavalry would come from Carmel, Indiana, but it has. This is going to be a big piece of the solution, going forward. We're going to get a whole lot more, I want to be clear, because to really get to that point where there's no more transmission, we're going to need a huge number of test kits. But even being able to know we can rely on 50,000 a week from a supplier that we believe in, that's going to be a major, major step forward for this city. I want to thank Mayor Jim Brainard of Carmel, Indiana, who I've gotten to know over the last few years very well at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He and I are on the leadership of that body, and he has been an extraordinary friend, and ally, and really stepped up for New York City. So, Mayor Brainard, again, thank you. Thank you to everyone in Carmel. Thank you to Aria Diagnostics. This is a big step.

So, that's 50,000 per week, but we're going to need a lot more. And remember, a test kit – and I talked about this a few days ago, I used the analogy of a cup of coffee with cream and sugar – you need the coffee beans, you need the water, you need the cream, you need the sugar, you need the coffee mug. Putting together the full test kit takes three basic components, the nasal swab, the liquid solution – that's what you keep the sample in, it’s called a viral transport medium – and a tube with a screw top that keeps the sample secure and sanitary. You need all three of those things to perform a test for the coronavirus. And then, of course, you have to get that test to a lab that then processes it. So, we're talking right now about just collecting the test itself from an individual – whole other part of the equation is continuing to increase the capacity in labs to process these tests and give us the answer person by person, positive or negative. And again, we'll have to do that on a mass scale, going forward. But to get these three parts together so you can collect a test from someone, well that's – you can't get the first base unless you have the actual test that you can collect from people. So, needing those three pieces was crucial. Again, our efforts to get them consistently from Washington DC – no result; our effort scan from the open market – never could get a reliable partner until today with Aria Diagnostics. So, as we went through these last days and saw New York City companies stepping up, our local government, particularly our Economic Development Corporation, bringing together partners from the private sector, figuring out how we could do surgical gowns, figuring out how can we do face shields, starting to figure out other equipment that we need to build – and we'll have announcements on that too – constantly figuring out new ways to support our hospitals and get them the supplies and equipment they need. More and more what's happened is the members of our team here at City Hall, Economic Development Corporation and companies, and even universities now, all talking about what can we produce here? How can we do it more and more? How can we do things that have never been done in New York City?

So, just a few days ago people started saying, wait a minute, if we can make all these other things, could we say no matter what's going on in the international market, no matter what's going on in Washington, could we actually make the test kits here? There's nothing like it in New York City being made right now. Nothing even close, but could we make them here if we just throw in the kitchen sink and tried all the ingenuity that exists in this city? At first, of course we didn't know what the answer would be. We had to pull together a lot of smart people to figure out could it be done? Could it be done quickly enough? Could it be done in the quantities that we needed? And we thought about what New Yorkers are facing. We thought about this crisis and what we have to get through, and we said, well, if people can make them around the world, why not us? Why couldn't we make them, even if we've never done it before? Companies all over the world could make some of these components. Why couldn't the most innovative city on earth figure out a way? So, I'm here to announce to you that we have found a way. And, starting in a few weeks, we will be producing here in New York City, 50,000 test kits per week with components put together right here with companies, universities, New York City workers right here, building a brand-new supply chain to feed this industry that will now develop in New York City. 50,000 tests per week to begin, and if we can go farther, we're going to build it up rapidly. It means commercial labs and academic institutions in this city working together to produce that liquid solution the right way. It means local manufacturers and 3D printers, coming together to make the testing swabs and the tubes. Something as simple as us testing swabs, the entire international market has been struggling, because those swabs had been less and less available. In fact, a lot of them are made in places that were deep in the middle of the COVID crisis themselves. So, the whole international supply was disrupted. But now, through the ingenuity of New York City producers, figured out a way to make them right here. Production will begin in a few weeks at the beginning of May – 50,000 a week to begin. Add that to the 50,000 a week from Aria Diagnostics, we'll have 100,000 full test kits per week that New York City can rely on, 400,000 per month, and that's just the beginning.

So, we will have to take that new capacity, ensure that there are labs that can handle all those tests and get us results in real time. And remember, we're going to need the personnel to administer the tests, we're going to need the PPEs to protect the personnel who administer the test. There's a lot of pieces to this equation. And, all the while, continuing as a city to make the progress we're making through social distancing and shelter in place. So, even while we're building out this brand-new capacity and it's going to help us to the next stage, we will not let our foot off the gas. We will not relent in the successful strategies that are now opening the door to getting out of this horrible crisis. But I want to keep cautioning, it takes all these pieces coming together.

Now, the good news is as we see some progress on the hospital front – and we're far from out of the woods, but as we see some progress, that's going get us a little more ability to free up some medical personnel for testing. As we see some progress getting more PPEs, that will allow us to devote more PPEs to testing. But all of these pieces have to come together and we're still not in a situation where we can say it's going to be easy, it's not, but we need to find a way to keep building up the testing because it's one of the foundations of gained that next phase. When you get to that next phase, when you get to low-level transmission, remember, then you're able to constantly test people, figure out who has the coronavirus, needs to be isolated, needs to be quarantine on, get them the support they need, keep them away from other folks that they might infect. You have to know how to constantly trace anyone who has been infected, the people in their life who might've been exposed – you can get to them, test them, isolate them if they need it. It's a constant moving machine to ensure that the cases, each and every one individually are addressed and you go back to a containment strategy, which is where we were weeks ago when we had the very first cases here in New York City. That's where we want to get back to. But to do that, we need a whole lot of testing. For the first time, we're going to have a truly reliable, major supply of testing. And I'm so proud of my fellow New Yorkers. I'm so proud of the people in the companies who are helping us. So proud of the people in my administration who put together this plan. You know, a lot of folks would have said this was impossible. They're making it possible, and that's what New Yorkers do.

Now, I want to be crystal clear. This does not let the federal government off the hook. So, please, even though I'm telling you good news and something unprecedented and a real breakthrough, it does not take away the responsibility the federal government has. Not only do they have to deal with the fact that for months and months, they didn't do what they needed that could have helped us stop this crisis from growing the way it has, but they still have to come through now because the amount of testing we're going to need, the amount of testing is going to need it all over the country is vast. But hopefully the example New York City is setting will be recognized in Washington, that if we can do it here – a place that doesn't produce tests is figuring out a way to do it – then why can't it be done all over this country? Why can't we build up a supply that could protect all of us? If the federal government can't figure it out, then get out of the way and let us at the local level get this done, but support us, get us the components, get us the help so that we can do this rapidly and protect ourselves.

So, I want to see how far we can go, how quickly we can go. 50,000 test kits produced in New York City per week, starting in the beginning of May is just a beginning from my point of view. I want to see how far we can take this and I want to challenge all New Yorkers who could contribute to this effort – I want to challenge the academic labs, I want to challenge the research labs, I want to challenge the manufacturers, I want challenge the 3D printers – all the companies with 3D printing – the biotech companies, the pharmaceutical companies, the research universities that chemical companies – if you're in New York City or you're in any part of the New York area or anywhere in the country and you want to help build this effort, we need you. We're going to get a lot of help to make this work. You can be a part of history. You can do something unprecedented. You can save lives through this effort. So, everyone who can help, please, right away, communicate with us. Let us know you're willing. Let us know you're ready. Email us at testhelp@edc.nyc. Again, testhelp@edc.nyc. We need you. We will be responding to people. As soon as the emails come in, we're going to be reaching out to people, because this needs to move immediately. And anyone out there that could help us, I want to say thank you in advance, because this is going to be a huge step forward.

So, again, everything I just talked about is about taking us on that journey from where we are now – high level of transmission, widespread transmission of coronavirus, deep in this crisis, to low-level transmission where we go that containment strategy and we get to trace each case, get people isolated, quarantine, support them, reduce the number of cases all the time, and then no transmission – the place we all want to get to where coronavirus is a rarity in this city and life goes back to normal. That's the journey we're on. The testing is crucial, but also making sure we use the right strategy. And, again, the social distancing, the shelter in place – it is working, New York City. You're doing an amazing job. You, again, are the heroes, because you're following these rules in unprecedented manner – 8.6 million people, together. We need to keep doing it. And I said, every day we'll go over those three indicators that we announced yesterday to tell you where we stand. We'll all watch them together. We'll all know where we are. We've got to see consistent progress to be able to talk about any changes in those rules and restrictions that are working. So, we're going to stick with them until we see really sustained progress.

So, going over the numbers today, the new numbers. Again, you'll be able to see this online, a nyc.gov/coronavirus. So, when it comes to the daily number of people admitted to hospitals for suspected a coronavirus conditions, that number has gone down, I'm happy to say. Remember, these statistics have been verified, there's a two-day lag because of when the information comes in from the hospital. So, this goes back to April 12th – that's the latest confirmed information. But April 12th, two days ago, we saw a reduction from the day before – it went from 383, April 11th, to 326, April 12th. That's the corrector a direction, that's a good thing. But now here's a situation where we don't have good news, on this statistic. The daily number of people in ICU across our health and hospital system, our 11 hospitals for suspected COVID-19 – that number from April 11th to April 12th actually went up from 835 to 850. Then the other measure, people – percentage of people tested who are positive for COVID-19 – citywide, that number again went up – April 11th, 58.1 percent; April 12th, 59.6. The public health labs tests – again, that number went up – April 11th, 78.4 percent to 84 percent on April 12th. So, look, again, this is the real world, real talk. We had a really good day yesterday, progress in all those indicators, all went down together. Today, no such luck. It does not mean you should be discouraged. It's just a reminder. We're going to fight our way out of this. It's not going to happen overnight. There'll be good days and bad days. We got to start some momentum here. You need to keep at it. We all need to keep at it with the social distancing, with the shelter place because it's working. Every day, we have to win that battle to prove that we can reduce the spread of this virus, get those indicators to go down in unison over a longer period of time. And then we'll be in a position to talk about our next steps. But I think what's clear is people will be able to see what we're doing and what's working and be reminded there's going to be ups and downs, but sticking to the strategy is the best way forward.

Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez - Newsletter

UPDATES ON CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK

As New York State continues to battle the coronavirus, we’re here to keep you updated on essential news and services. There are currently 195,031 confirmed cases. The Bronx has reported 23,352 as of Monday, April ^13th. New Yorkers are urged to follow the Department of Health guidelines and to take caution around the people most likely to be infected: The elderly and those with preexisting conditions. We also encourage people to be mindful of our essential workforce that continue to work in the middle of a crisis. Please practice social distancing, wear masks and gloves, and wash your hands frequently whenever possible.

Recent data on reported infections indicates that the numbers of new cases are beginning to flatten. Mayor De Blasio announced in his press conference that the number people needing ventilators has fallen. It is still too soon to say the crisis is over but there are reasons to be optimistic. New Yorkers should continue to take safety precautions in public. Please remember, you can be a carrier even if you do not show symptoms and your efforts in fighting the virus go a long way. New York state is working as hard as possible to secure the supplies needed but the first line of defense starts with you. Keep it up!

We are here to help. Our Assembly office is working to provide free hand sanitizer for organizations in need and will continue to be a resource for all district residents. Please call 718-409-0109 or contact District80@nyassembly.gov.

TO VIEW OUR PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER AND POSY BUDGET NEWSLETTER, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Nathalia-Fernandez/press/

For now, please continue reading for updates on the State, City, and Federal response to this health crisis.

New Data

“Data shows that Latinx & Black populations are the hardest by this pandemic,” said Assemblywoman Fernandez. “These stats are DEVASTATING. COVID19 is affecting lower-income communities, such as ZIP 10467 and 10469, which I represent. This is where we need the State & Federal government to step up on resources ASAP”

The Mayor has announced the release of preliminary data by race/ethnicity on COVID deaths within NYC:

• Hispanic: 34% (29% of population)
• Black 28% (22% of population)
• White 27% (32% of population)
• Asian 7% (14% of population)

Schools on Pause

• Closing NYC Public Schools: NYC public schools will remain closed for the rest of this school year. Schools will continue with their remote learning methods as they have done over the past few weeks. The reasons can be cited as:
• Public Health: NIAID Director Fauci supports schools remaining closed. Even with low-level transmission, the city must continue many elements of social distancing to prevent resurgence of the virus.
• Academics: There is limited academic value of a truncated session. Individual school closures required by new infections would be frequent and disruptive. Finally, educators and parents need predictability.
• The New York State Regents exams in June have been canceled. Read more HERE. Elementary and intermediate-level state assessments have been suspended for the remainder of this school year.
• Free lunches are now available to all New Yorkers at 435 public schools throughout the city. Adults with children will be served between 7:30 am and 11:30 am. Adults will be served between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm. Read more HERE. No ID or documentation is required.
• Parents of students with individualized educational programs should contact NYC Department of Education to come up with Special Education Remote Learning Plan. These plans will be developed with teachers and staff familiar with the student to ensure their education continues during the coronavirus outbreak. Contact 311 or email specialeducation@schools.nyc.gov
• The New York Public Library is offering tutoring to students online from 2pm-11pm. Students will need a library card to access content and can be obtained HERE.

Workforce still on Pause

Governor Cuomo has extended a state-wide stay at home order until April 29th. All workers considered to be non-essential personnel are required to work from home. Please see HERE to see if your job is considered essential.

Testing in the Bronx

The Mayor announced an expansion of testing across the City in communities of greater need.  Morrisania in the Bronx will be provided a new testing facility. We are still awaiting the details of the new facility.

Current Testing Areas

• Drive-thru testing for the Coop City area is located in the Bay Plaza Mall, in the parking lot of the AMC movie theatre and is open from 8:00 am-9:00 pm. Please call 1-888-364-3065.
• Drive-thru testing is available at the Lehman College, in the parking area along Goulden Avenue. To make an appointment, please contact 1-888-364-3065.
• Drive-thru testing available at Jacobi Hospital. To schedule an appointment please contact 311.

Protecting Homeless New Yorkers:

The Mayor also announced that a 1/3 of single homeless New Yorkers will be OUT of congregate settings by Monday, April 20th, moving 2,500 more people into hotels by prioritizing:

• Seniors People with COVID or symptoms.
• People in shelters where we’re not seeing enough social distancing.
• Persuading more clients on streets to accept shelter Starting next week, we’ll open 230 new safe haven and low-barrier beds.
• People over 60.

Shelter

 

DHS is working hard to protect shelter residents and shelter staff during this time. They have taken the following steps to ensure the safety of their workers and residents, with more to come:

• Stood up more than 700 isolation beds in commercial hotels for individuals with symptoms of COVID-19
• Prioritized transfer of DHS clients aged 70 and older to commercial hotels
• Securing additional safe haven beds and drop-in centers
• Streamlined the process for families applying for shelter by eliminating in-person appointments and conducting interviews by phone

Medicaid

 

In New York City, all active cases will be extended. No Medicaid case will be closed for failure to renew or failure to provide documentation. Any case that is closed for failure to renew or failure to provide documentation that had Medicaid coverage on or after March 18, 2020 will be re-opened with coverage restored to ensure no gap in coverage. Renewals will be extended for 12 months.

Unemployment Update

The Department of Labor will no longer require claimants to call in to confirm their unemployment benefits. Now, the Department will instead call claimants back within 72 hours.

Donate Blood

Governor Cuomo has called on all New Yorkers who have recovered from COVID19 to consider donating blood. Individuals who have recovered from the virus may have convalescent plasma in their blood, which has antibodies against the virus and could help with the development of a treatment for the virus. More information about how to donate is available here.

Governor Cuomo Holds a Briefing on New York's COVID-19 Response - 4/13/2020

  Let's give you some facts. Plain truth facts. Here's the good news: The curve continues to flatten. We've talked all along quote, unquote the experts said there were two possibilities. You could have a high point and an immediate drop off or you could have a plateau. It appears that we have a plateau. It's flattening, it's the flattening of the curve. The increase has slowed down. It flattens out for a period of time. Nobody knows how long because no one has been here before. If you look at the number of total admissions, 18,000, 18,000, 18,000 - that's definitely a flattening. That is good news. Still going up a little bit, by the way, but a basic flattening as opposed to increasing gaps.

The total number of hospitalizations net down, a little bit up, a little bit down. Overall, just follow the line, don't get caught up in the day-to-day. As we say, the three-day rolling average, which is more accurate than any one-day is down again. The net change in ICU admissions is down. Again, I discount these ICU admissions because the old demarcation of an ICU bed in the hospital and a regular bed in a hospital is gone. Almost every bed is an ICU bed. Net change in ICU admissions is also down.

Intubations is real. Intubations is the worst signal. People who are intubated wind up on a ventilator, most often do not come off the ventilator. Some are 70 percent, 80 percent depending on who you talk to. This is a scary number. When that's down, it's good and that is down. The three-day rolling average is down. So that's good news. We were worried about the spread from New York City to suburbs upstate and we have been very aggressive when we get a little cluster spot that's acting up. We jump on it. This is like watching a fire going through dry grass with a strong wind and it's blowing the fire and a couple of embers wind up on one side of the field. The embers start to catch fire and that's a cluster and you have to run over to those embers and stamp them out right away before they grow. You see the stabilization there. That has been good too.

This is a new take on it, we talk about net hospitalizations. This is the number of new COVID hospitalizations to-date. This is how many new COVID diagnosis or people walking into the hospital had COVID. So you see still about 2,000 people per day are walking in or being diagnosed with COVID. You're still increasing the hospital population. Initially, by 2,000 people who are testing positive for COVID, but on the other side of the health care system, people are being discharged on the other end.

The net is what we talk about because we've always been worried about lack of capacity in the hospital system where you pour the water into the glass and the glass overfills. Where the hospital system can't handle the number of people coming in. That's why we've been studying the net. This says, take a deep breath. You still have 2,000 people per day who are coming in to the hospital system.

The terrible news is as terrible as it gets and the worst news I've had to deliver to the State as Governor of New York and the worst news I've had to live with on a personal level. Number of deaths is 671. Not as a bad as it has been in the past, but basically flat and basically flat at a horrific level of pain and grief and sorrow. This is 671 people who passed away on Easter Sunday. For me - I'm Catholic - Easter Sunday is the high holy day in many ways, one of the high holy days, and to have this happen over this weekend is really, really especially tragic and they are all in our thoughts and prayers.

That raises the death total to 10,056. Again, for perspective, 10,000, 2,700 lives were lost in 9/11 and 9/11 changed every New Yorker who was in a position to appreciate on that day what happened. The number of lives lost was horrific after 9/11 and the grief was horrific. We are at 10,000 deaths. New York, 10,000 deaths, New Jersey, 2,000 deaths, Massachusetts, 756, and then you have the state of Michigan.

Why New York? Why are we seeing this level of infection? Well, why cities across the country? It's very simple. It's about density. It's about the number of people in a small geographic location allowing that virus to spread and that virus is very good what it does. It is a killer. It is very good at spreading. It is very contagious and the dense environments are its feeding grounds. We learned that lesson very early on. Remember, we had one of the first hot spots in the nation. One of the most intense clusters was New Rochelle, New York. New Rochelle is in Westchester County. It's not in New York City. Why New Rochelle? That's what I was so concerned about early on. We didn't know what we were looking at. Why New Rochelle, because in New Rochelle one person or two people who were infected were in dense gatherings with hundreds of people and it spread like wildfire.

So it's not just a dense city or a dense community. It's any person in a dense environment. You can be in a very rural county. You know, people think New York is all New York City. No, no. We have counties that have more cows than people by population. You can be anywhere. If you have one person who is infected in a room of 200 people, 300 people, 400 people, now you have a problem.

This goes back to the Spanish flu where some cities canceled parades. Other cities didn't cancel parades. We went through these numbers when we had the decision on St. Patrick's Day parade, which Bernadette still will not forgive me for, but you can have a parade in a relatively small city but you bring people together and this virus has a feeding frenzy.

Where do we go from here? Question of reopening which everyone wants to do and everybody wants to do yesterday. I am at the top of that list. We have to understand on the reopening, as much as we have this emotion, we want it to happen and we want it to happen now and we can't take this anymore and everyone feels the same. It is a delicate balance. Remember what we have to do on reopening. And remember, it has never been done before. None of this has been done before. Anyone who says to you, oh, I know what we should do. I know. Yeah, you don't know because nobody knows and that's the one thing that we have learned over and over again. And this place has never done this before. Also, you look around the world, you see warning signs from countries who have opened.

My point is to our team, I want to learn from those other countries frankly and I want to make sure we know from our studying and assessment of what's going on in other countries what worked, what didn't work, and let's learn from those lessons. You can now go back and look at Wuhan province and look at Italy and look at South Korea and see what they did and see what worked and what didn't work so let's learn. So we'll listen to the experts, we'll follow the data. But remember this is a delicate balance. What are we doing on reopening? We are easing isolation. We want to increase economic activity. That will happen essentially through a recalibration of what are essential workers.

Remember, we never turned off the economy. The economy is still functioning. You can get in your car, you can get gasoline, you can go to the grocery store, you can shop, youcan get on a bus. The economy is functioning. We never turned it off. We turned it way, way down, and it's just the essential services that have been operating, but the essential services have all been operating. What you will be doing in essence on the reopening is recalibrating what is essential. You'll start to open that valve on the economic activity. And you'll turn that valve very slowly, reopening the economy, more essential workers, do it carefully, do it slowly, and do it intelligently. More testing and more precautions at the same time that you're opening that valve. More testing so you have more information about who should be coming in, et cetera. More precautions because you know that works. As you're calibrating and opening the valve.

And while you're opening that valve, watch the meter. What's the meter? The meter is the infection rate. The meter is those daily hospitalization rates. And there is a cause and effect. You have density, you have more people infecting other people, you will see it within a matter of days in that hospitalization rate. So yes, open the valve. Slowly, advised by experts. Keep your eye on the meter. The meter is the infection rate. And watch that infection rate. And if you see that infection rate start ticking up, which would be undermining everything we have accomplished thus far, then you know you've opened the valve too fast. That is the delicate balance that we have to work through. And that is what has never been done before. And nobody can tell you today, I know how to do that, because it just hasn't happened.

So what do we do? First, come up with a reopening plan. I'm not interested in political opinions. I'm interested in what the experts say about this. To the best they can tell you, but, you have public health experts. They can study South Korea. They can study China. They can study all the data that we have. You have economic experts that can help you decide what is the next notch of essential workers that can actually start the economy back up and have a consequential change. But that is a real plan, and that has to be developed, and that has to be smart. The why did the geographic area for that plan the better? Because this virus doesn't understand governmental boundaries.

Well, I'm Westchester County, so this virus has to stop before entering here and follow my rules. No. The virus follows its own boundaries and its own guidelines and it doesn't have any. The geographic area that is an economic area, a workforce area, a transportation area, that's the relevant area that we have to be looking at. You have to coordinate all these systems. You can't start one system without starting the other systems. You can't start the economic system without starting the transportation system. And if you can't run the transportation system, then you can't reopen the economy, just doesn't happen. You have to coordinate the schools with the transportation with the economic system. These systems work in coordination. They're big gears and each gear intermeshes with the other gear. And you can't start one gear with the other gear stopped, right? That's the coordination.

You're going to need federal support, and you're going to need smart legislation passed by the federal government that actually attends to the need, as opposed to normal political considerations.

Testing is going to be key. That's a new frontier for us, also. This state is probably the most aggressive state in the nation in actually getting the testing up. We test more than any other state. We test more than other countries. We test more than the other leading states combined in testing. But, that's still not enough. We have to do more.

We know that the precautions work. The masks work, the gloves work, the temperature taking works. It's abnormal, it's different, but it works, and we have to do it. While we're doing this, we have to remember to stay the course and not jeopardize what we have achieved - and we have achieved much.

This afternoon I'll be joined by other governors. We've been talking to other states - Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island - for the past couple of days about how we come up with a reopening plan and can we work together on a reopening plan. We'll be making an announcement this afternoon with other governors about just that, the reopening plan.

As I said, the optimum is to have as coordinated a regional plan as you can. I understand intergovernmental coordination can be somewhat of an oxymoron, but to the extent we can work with Connecticut and New Jersey and Rhode Island and Delaware and Pennsylvania, I want to. It is smarter for everyone. For people of their state and for the people of my state. This is a time for smart, competent, effective government. Nothing else matters. I want to make sure that I can say to the people of this state, we did everything we could to the best of our ability and the optimum is a geographically coordinated plan. I don't believe we could ever get to totally coordination with the other states because all those states have little different set of circumstances and facts - I don't even believe we should have a uniform plan without recognizing the state by state distinctions. But, to the extent we can coordinate, we should and we will.

Last point, and this is a personal point, when is it over? I have this conversation a hundred times a day. I had it last night with my daughters. When is it over? It's a difficult conversation because people want it to be over so badly, right? I want the fear to stop, I want the anxiety to stop. I don't want to have to worry about my brother anymore. I don't want to have to worry about my daughters. I don't want to have to worry about my mother. I want it over. I want to get out of the house. I want to get back to normalcy. I've been living in this weird, disorienting, frightening place. I'm afraid to touch people. This violates the human behavior and needs. When is it over? It's not going to be over like that. It's not going to be we flick a switch and everybody comes out of their house and gets in their car and waves and hugs each other and the economy all starts up. I would love to say that's going to happen. It's not going to happen that way. It can't happen that way. Can it happen in some communities across the country, where frankly, they have very low infection rates and they could come up with a testing regime where if they find one or two cases they quickly jump on those one or two and they isolate and they track? Yes. But is that going to happen here? No. Is that going to happen in any community that has a significant issue? No. There is going to be no epiphany. There is going to be no morning where the headline says, "Hallelujah, it's over." That's not going to happen.

What will happen, is there'll be points of resolution over time. What does that mean? There'll be points of resolution. There'll be points where we can say we've accomplished something, we should feel better, we should feel more calm, we should feel more relaxed. It will be incremental. We're controlling the spread. We are controlling the spread. You look at those numbers, you know what it says, we're controlling the spread.

I was afraid that it was going to infect my family no matter what I did. We're past that. If you isolate, if you take the precautions, your family won't get infected. We can control the spread. Feel good about that. Because, by the way, we could have gotten to the point where we said, we can't control this damn thing. We can't control it. It's in the air. It gets into your house. It doesn't matter. You close the door, it comes under the door. You could have gotten there. We're not there. Those numbers say we can control the spread. Feel good about that.

The worst is over. Yeah, if we continue to be smart going forward because, remember, we have the hand on that valve. You turn that valve too fast, you'll see that number jump right back. But, yes, I think you can say the worst is over because the worst here are people dying. That's the worst. The worst doesn't get any bad than this worst. And this worst is people dying. That's the worst.

And Winston Churchill, I mentioned the other day, the end of the beginning. Yes, we can control the spread, and we can reduce the number of people who die and our health care system can do phenomenal work and rise to the occasion and deal with this beast. It has not overwhelmed the health care system, we have controlled the spread and there's confidence to be taken in that. And that's an accomplishment. And it was a heck of an accomplishment. Those health care workers for the rest of my life I will say nothing but thank you to them. And I was not sure we could keep the tide from overwhelming our hospital capacity and they did. Feel good about that.

I believe the worst is over if we continue to be smart. And I believe we can now start on the path to normalcy, and we can have a plan where you start to see some businesses reopening, understanding the delicate balance. I think there will become a point where there's an announcement that we have a medical treatment that you can get sick, but they found an anti-viral medication that can help you treat the disease. So, take another deep breath when we get to that point because, okay, you get infected but there is a drug regimen that can help you. And then you'll get to a point where they announce we have a proven vaccine. That's when it's over. That's really when it's over. They have a vaccine, it's been tested, it's been proven, they can produce it, you're going to get a vaccine, this is the thing of the past, don't worry about it, close the chapter, move on.

Okay, when do we get there? Twelve months to 18 months. I can't believe you said 12 months to 18 months, as Cara said to me. Its 12 months to 18 months. When Dr. Faucisaid how long until a vaccine, he says 12 months to 18 months. When the FDA is asked, how long until you get a vaccine? They say 12 months to 18 months. That's the point - - when you ask me when can I do a deep breath for the first time in five weeks? When they say we have a vaccine. That's when it is over. But, there will be points between now and then when we should feel more confident and we should feel better.

"Well, I want it to be over tomorrow." I get it. I want it to be over tomorrow. I want it to be over tomorrow more than you want it over tomorrow. But that's not reality, so let's calibrate our expectations. In the meantime, stay the course because we have accomplished a lot through heroic efforts of health care workers, police officers, transportation workers who showed up to drive those trains and buses every day. I mean, people just doing extraordinary, brave, generous, courageous things every day. Literally putting their lives at risk for the public. And we have flattened that curve by people's actions, which remember is why those projection models were all wrong. The projection models were high, they weren't wrong. That's a bad word. What they were saying, this is where the infection will go if unabated. What's the question mark on whether or not you can abate it?  Can you put forth a government policy, but more, will people listen to the government policy?

You have 19 million people in New York. I can stand up here all day long and say you must social distance, you must stay home. If New Yorkers don't believe it, if Americans don't believe it, if they question their government, if I don't have credibility, why do I stand here and go through all the facts? I am not asking any New Yorker to take my word for anything. I'm not asking any American, take my word for it. Here are the facts. I'll give you the facts. The good facts, the bad facts, the ugly facts, you get all the facts. You tell me, you decide. They decided on the facts they would comply and they've done things I would have never dreamed that they would do. And they've actually made significant progress. Do not reverse the progress that we have made in our zeal to reopen and get back to normal. That's going to be the challenge going forward. But we'll do it because we are New York tough and tough is not just tough. We know what tough is. But tough is also smart and tough is also united and smart -- tough is also disciplined and tough, most importantly, is loving. While that sounds counterintuitive. They sound repugnant. No, no, no, no. Toughest people are strong enough to say love, the toughest people and that's New Yorkers.

Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy

Council Will Include One Health Expert, One Economic Development Expert and Respective Chiefs of Staff from Each State

Council Will Develop a Fully Integrated Regional Framework to Gradually Lift the States' Stay at Home Orders While Minimizing the Risk of Increased Spread of the Virus

New Effort Builds on the States' Ongoing Regional Approach to Combatting COVID-19

  Recognizing that their states have one integrated regional economy, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware Governor John Carney and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo today announced Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is joining the multi-state council to restore the economy and get people back to work. This announcement builds on the states' ongoing regional approach to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coordinating group - comprised of one health expert, one economic development expert and the respective Chief of Staff from each state -- will work together to develop a fully integrated regional framework to gradually lift the states' stay at home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus.

The council will create this framework using every tool available to accomplish the goal of easing social isolation without triggering renewed spread - including testing, contact tracing, treatment and social distancing - and will rely on the best available scientific, statistical, social and economic information to manage and evaluate those tools.

"We have been collaborating closely with our neighboring states to combat this pandemic through a uniform approach to social distancing and density reduction and it has been working well. Now it is time to start opening the valve slowly and carefully while watching the infection rate meter so we don't trigger a second wave of new infections," Governor Cuomo said. "This is not a light switch that we can just flick on and everything goes back to normal - we have to come up with a smart, consistent strategy to restart the systems we shut down and get people back to work, and to the extent possible we want to do that through a regional approach because we are a regional economy. New York is partnering with these five states to create a multi-state council that will come up with a framework based on science and data to gradually ease the stay at home restrictions and get our economy back up and running."

Governor Phil Murphy said, "No one has given more thought or is more eager to restart our economy than I am, but if we don't get the sequencing right, we put more lives at risk. The only path to a sustainable economic recovery is through a strong healthcare recovery. Then, and only then, do we position ourselves to fully ignite our economy and get the residents of our state back to work while minimizing the danger of this disease. A coordinated, regional approach, informed by a multi-state council of experts, will help us avoid a major setback with potentially disastrous consequences. I look forward to the day when the facts on the ground allow us to ease our restrictions and move our regional economy forward."

Governor Ned Lamont said, "One thing that's undeniable is that this virus does not stop at the border of any county, state, or country, but the impact is the same when it comes to our respective economies and healthcare systems. Working as a regional coalition to make the right decisions will lead to the best public health results for all of our residents. We must solve these problems together."

Governor Tom Wolf said, "Our highest priority remains protecting the health and safety of Pennsylvanians. While my administration continues to take critical steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, I also recognize that we must look ahead and take a measured, careful approach to prepare for the future while ensuring that we don't undo all of our efforts. Pennsylvania will work collaboratively with our partners both in state and in surrounding states to develop a comprehensive strategy that first focuses on health but also addresses the need to gradually restore our economy." 

Governor John Carney said, "We still have a situation in Delaware that is getting worse. Infections of COVID-19 and hospitalizations are rising. Delawareans should stay home. Don't go out in public unnecessarily. Don't visit Delaware unless you need to see a doctor, or care for a family member. You'll only increase everyone's risk. At the same time, we need to look forward. We need a consistent approach for moving our states out of this crisis, when that day comes. I'm grateful for the partnership of my fellow Governors in the region. They are all working around-the-clock to prevent surges in COVID-19 cases, protect hospital capacity for the most critically-ill patients, and save lives. We'll get through this by working together."

Governor Gina Raimondo said, "States are taking the lead as we fight to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives. I'm proud of the steps we've taken, and I'm constantly thinking about what it will take to safely reopen our economy. But we know that this virus does not recognize borders, and it's clear we need a strong, coordinated regional approach to avoid a second wave of this disease. I'm grateful to my fellow governors for their leadership during this crisis and I'm confident that this new partnership will support our efforts to get Rhode Islanders -- and all Americans -- back to work safely."

Governor Charlie Baker said, "The Baker-Polito Administration looks forward to participating in discussions with neighboring states and experts regarding the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Massachusetts also remains focused on efforts to expand testing, ensure hospital capacity and provide the necessary PPE to those on the front lines to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities."

Speaker Johnson and Council Member Moya Demand Emergency Fund for Final Resting Arrangements

  New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Member Francisco Moya released the below statements calling for the creation of an emergency fund for final resting arrangements for all New Yorkers. 

“Many low-income communities of color have been the hardest hit by this terrible virus, and the cost of burying or cremating a loved one can be out of reach. The HRA program that the City currently has to help pay for death arrangements is not sufficient. To be eligible, both the deceased and the person applying must provide a social security number. We are a proud city of immigrants, and know that one doesn’t need to have a social security number to be a New Yorker. So much about this virus is unfair, including its disproportionate impact on black and brown New Yorkers. We must create an emergency relief fund for final resting arrangements for all New Yorkers,” said NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

“Nobody is immune to this disease but low-income New Yorkers, particularly undocumented immigrants, are the most vulnerable and disproportionately affected. One of the most devastating calls I’m regularly getting is from people who can’t afford to bury their loved ones and aren’t eligible for any assistance. That’s simply not acceptable —not when our mantra from the start has been ‘We’re all in this together.’ We must create an emergency fund to help all low-income New Yorkers, regardless of their immigration status, put their loved ones to rest,” said Council Member Francisco Moya. 

Comptroller Stringer Launches Online Workshop Series to Expand Aid and Opportunities for Small Businesses and M/WBEs Impacted by COVID-19

Biweekly webinar sessions aim to help small business and minority and women business owners navigate available resources and gain access to opportunities

Interpretation services will be available in 12 different languages

  New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer announced a biweekly series of online workshops to expand access to available resources, services, and business opportunities for small businesses and minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) impacted by COVID-19. The Comptroller’s Office will provide presentations via Zoom on a range of topics including financial resources from the federal, state, and City government as well as the private sector, and current business opportunities within City and State procurement. Interpretation services will be available in 12 different languages including American Sign Language, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.

“During this difficult time, we want to make it as simple as possible for M/WBEs and small business owners to navigate available resources and access business opportunities,” said Comptroller Stringer. “Our multilingual webinar series ensures that businesses have easy access to a one-stop-shop for the most up-to-date and critical information. M/WBEs and local businesses are essential to our economy and identity as a city, and we will do everything in our power to help our small business community rebuild stronger than ever before.”

The webinar series is part of the Comptroller’s M/WBE University, a year-long series of workshops designed to increase access to contracting opportunities for minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) and ensure all New Yorkers have an equitable chance to earn business from the City’s multi-billion dollar procurement budget.

Webinar sessions for small businesses and M/WBEs impacted by COVID-19 will be held every Tuesday and Thursday starting Thursday, April 16 through Thursday, May 14. To RSVP, click here or email diversity@comptroller.nyc.gov. Interpretation services must be requested upon RSVP at least two days before each session.

For additional assistance navigating City procurement opportunities and resources, business owners can make an appointment with the Comptroller’s Office by emailing diversity@comptroller.nyc.gov.