EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 202.10: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency

No. 202.10

E X E C U T I V E  O R D E R

Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency

WHEREAS, on March 7, 2020, I issued Executive Order Number 202, declaring a State disaster emergency for the entire State of New York;

WHEREAS, both travel-related cases and community contact transmission of COVID-19 have been documented in New York State and are expected to be continue;

WHEREAS, ensuring the State of New York has adequate bed capacity, supplies, and providers to treat patients affected with COVID-19, as well as patients afflicted with other maladies, is of critical importance; and

WHEREAS, eliminating any obstacle to the provision of supplies and medical treatment is necessary to ensure the New York healthcare system has adequate capacity to provide care to all who need it;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 29-a of Article 2-B of the Executive Law to temporarily suspend or modify any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or parts thereof, of any agency during a State disaster emergency, if compliance with such statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation would prevent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster emergency or if necessary to assist or aid in coping with such disaster, I hereby temporarily suspend or modify, for the period from the date of this Executive Order through April 22, 2020 the following:

• Section 2803 of the Public Health Law, and Parts 400, 401, 405, 409, 710, 711 and 712 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to permit and require general hospitals to take all measures necessary to increase the number of beds available to patients, in accordance with the directives set forth in this Executive Order;
  
  

• Section 3001, 3005-a, 3008, and 3010 of the Public Health Law to the extent necessary to modify the definition of “emergency medical services” to include emergency, non-emergency and low acuity medical assistance; to eliminate any restrictions on an approved ambulance services or providers operating outside of the primary territory listed on such ambulance service’s operating certificate with prior approval by the Department of Health; to permit the Commissioner of Health to issue provisional emergency medical services provider certifications to qualified individuals with modified certification periods as approved; and to allow emergency medical services to transport patients to locations other than healthcare facilities with prior approval by Department of Health;
  
  

• Section 3002, 3002-a, 3003, and 3004-a of Public Health Law to the extent necessary to allow any emergency medical treatment protocol development or modification to occur solely with the approval of the Commissioner of Health;    
  
  

• Sections 405.13 and 755.4 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to permit an advanced practice registered nurse with a doctorate or master's degree specializing in the administration of anesthesia administering anesthesia in a general hospital or free-standing ambulatory surgery center without the supervision of a qualified physician in these health care settings;
  
  

• Paragraph 1 of Section 6542 of the Education Law and Subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 94.2 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to permit a physician assistant to provide medical services appropriate to their education, training and experience without oversight from a supervising physician without civil or criminal penalty related to a lack of oversight by a supervising physician;
  
  

• Paragraph 1 of Section 6549 of the Education Law and Subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 94.2 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to permit a specialist assistant to provide medical services appropriate to their education, training and experience without oversight from a supervising physician without civil or criminal penalty related to a lack of oversight by a supervising physician;
  
  

• Subdivision (3) of Section 6902 of Education Law, and any associated regulations, including, but not limited to, Section 64.5 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to permit a nurse practitioner to provide medical services appropriate to their education, training and experience, without a written practice agreement, or collaborative relationship with a physician, without civil or criminal penalty related to a lack of written practice agreement, or collaborative relationship, with a physician;|
  
  

• Subdivision (15) of section 3001, and Sections 800.3, 800.15 and 800.16 of Title 10 of the NYCRR with approval of the department, to the extent necessary to define “medical control” to include emergency and non-emergency direction to all emergency medical services personnel by a regional or state medical control center and to permit emergency medical services personnel to operate under the advice and direction of a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or paramedic, provided that such medical professional is providing care under the supervision of a physician and pursuant to a plan approved by the Department of Health;
  
  

• Subdivision (2) of section 6527, Section 6545, and Subdivision (1) of Section 6909 of the Education Law, to the extent necessary to provide that all physicians, physician assistants, specialist assistants, nurse practitioners, licensed registered professional nurses and licensed practical nurses shall be immune from civil liability for any injury or death alleged to have been sustained directly as a result of an act or omission by such medical professional in the course of providing medical services in support of the State’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, unless it is established that such injury or death was caused by the gross negligence of such medical professional;
  
  

• Any healthcare facility is authorized to allow students, in programs to become licensed in New York State to practice as a healthcare professional, to volunteer at the healthcare facility for educational credit as if the student had secured a placement under a clinical affiliation agreement, without entering into any such clinical affiliation agreement;
  
  

• Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, health care providers are relieved of recordkeeping requirements to the extent necessary for health care providers to perform tasks as may be necessary to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, including, but not limited to, requirements to maintain medical records that accurately reflect the evaluation and treatment of patients, or requirements to assign diagnostic codes or to create or maintain other records for billing purposes. Any person acting reasonably and in good faith under this provision shall be afforded absolute immunity from liability for any failure to comply with any recordkeeping requirement. In order to protect from liability any person acting reasonably and in good faith under this provision, requirements to maintain medical records under Subdivision 32 of Section 6530 of the Education Law, Paragraph (3) of Subdivision (a) of Section 29.2 of Title 8 of the NYCRR, and Sections 58-1.11, 405.10, and 415.22 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, or any other such laws or regulations are suspended or modified to the extent necessary for health care providers to perform tasks as may be necessary to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak;
  
  

• Section 405.45 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to permit the Commissioner of Health to designate a health care facility as a trauma center, or extend or modify the period for which a health care facility may be designated as a trauma center, or modify the review team for assessment of trauma center;
  
  

• Sections 800.3, 800.8, 800.9, 800.10, 800.12, 800.17, 800.18, 800.23, 800.24, and 800.26 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to extend all existing emergency medical services provider certifications for one year; to permit the Commissioner of Health to modify the examination or recertification requirements for emergency medical services provider certifications; to suspend or modify, at the discretion of the Commissioner of Health, any requirements for the recertification of previously certified emergency medical services providers;  and, at the discretion of the Commissioner of Health, develop a process determined by the Department of Health, to permit any emergency medical services provider certified or licensed by another State to provide emergency medical services within New York state;  at the discretion of the Commissioner of Health, to suspend or modify equipment or vehicle requirements in order to ensure sustainability of EMS operations;
  
  

• Paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of part 405.4 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to remove limits on working hours for physicians and postgraduate trainees;
  
  

• Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of 10 N.Y.C.R.R. section 405.4, to the extent necessary to allow graduates of foreign medical schools having at least one year of graduate medical education to provide patient care in hospitals, is modified so as to allow such graduates without licenses to provide patient care in hospitals if they have completed at least one year of graduate medical education;
  
  

• Subdivision (e) of section 405.2 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to permit general hospitals affected by the disaster emergency to maintain adequate staffing;
  
  

• Subdivision (b) of section 405.3 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to allow general hospitals to use qualified volunteers or personnel affiliated with different general hospitals, subject to the terms and conditions established by the Commissioner of Health;
  
  

• Section 3507 of the Public Health Law and Part 89 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to permit radiologic technologists licensed and in current good standing in New York State but not registered in New York State to practice in New York State without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of registration;
  
  

• Sections 3502 and 3505 of the Public Health Law and Part 89 of Title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to permit radiologic technologists licensed and in current good standing in any state in the United State to practice in New York State without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of licensure;
  
  

• Sections 8502, 8504, 8504-a, 8505, and 8507 of the Education Law and Subpart 79-4 of Title 8 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to allow respiratory therapists licensed and in current good standing in any state in the United States to practice in New York State without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of licensure;
  
  

• Section 6502 of the Education Law and 8 NYCRR 59.8, to the extent necessary to allow physician’s assistants licensed and in current good standing in New York State but not registered in New York State to practice in New York State without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of registration;
  
  

• Section 6502 of the Education Law and 8 NYCRR 59.8, to the extent necessary to allow registered professional nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse practitioners licensed and in current good standing in New York State but not registered in New York State to practice in New York State without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of registration;
  
  

• Subdivision (2-b) of Section 4002 of the Public Health Law to the extent necessary to allow a hospice residence to designate any number of beds within such facility as dually certified inpatient beds;
  
  

• Title V of Article 5 of the Public Health Law and subparts 19 and 58 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to allow laboratories holding a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Acts (CLIA) certificate and meeting the CLIA quality standards described in 42 CFR Subparts H, J, K and M, to perform testing for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in specimens collected from individuals suspected of suffering from a COVID-19 infection;
  
  

• Article 139 of the Education Law, Section 576-b of the Public Health Law and Section 58-1.7 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to permit registered nurses to order the collection of throat or nasopharyngeal swab specimens from individuals suspected of being infected by COVID-19, for purposes of testing; and
  
  

• Subdivision (1) of Section 6801 of the Education Law, Section 6832 of the Education Law and Section 29.7(a)(21)(ii)(b)(4) of Title 8 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to permit a certified or registered pharmacy technician, under the direct personal supervision of a licensed pharmacist, to assist such licensed pharmacist, as directed, in compounding, preparing, labeling, or dispensing of drugs used to fill valid prescriptions or medication orders for a home infusion provider licensed as a pharmacy in New York, compliant with the United States Pharmacopeia General Chapter 797 standards for Pharmaceutical Compounding – sterile preparations, and providing home infusion services through a home care agency licensed under Article 36 of the Public Health Law.
  
  

IN ADDITION, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 29-a of Article 2-B of the Executive Law to issue any directive during a disaster emergency necessary to cope with the disaster, I hereby issue the following directives for the period from the date of this Executive Order through April 22, 2020:

• Any healthcare facility is authorized to allow students, in programs to become licensed in New York State to practice a healthcare professional, to volunteer at the healthcare facility for educational credit as if the student had secured a placement under a clinical affiliation agreement, without entering into any such clinical affiliation agreement;
  
  

• The Commissioner of Health is authorized to direct, and shall so direct, all general hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, office-based surgery practices and diagnostic and treatment centers to increase the number of beds available to patients, including by canceling all elective surgeries and procedures, as the Commissioner of Health shall define. General hospitals shall comply with such order by submitting COVID-19 Plans to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), on a schedule to be determined by NYSDOH, to accomplish this purpose;
  
  

• The Commissioner of Health is authorized to suspend or revoke the operating certificate of any general hospital should they be unable to meet the requirements of the necessary capacity directives; and notwithstanding any law to the contrary the Commissioner may appoint a receiver to continue the operations on 24 hours’ notice to the current operator, in order to preserve the life, health and safety of the people of the State of New York.
  
  

• No pharmacist shall dispense hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine except when written as prescribed for an FDA-approved indication; or as part of a state approved clinical trial related to COVID-19 for a patient who has tested positive for COVID-19, with such test result documented as part of the prescription. No other experimental or prophylactic use shall be permitted, and any permitted prescription is limited to one fourteen day prescription with no refills.   
  
  

• Any licensed health insurance company shall deliver to the Superintendent, no later than March 24, 2020 a list of all persons who have a professional licensure or degree, whether physician’s assistant, medical doctor, licensed registered nurse, licensed nurse practitioner or licensed practical nurse, and whether or not the person has a currently valid, or recently (within past five years) expired license in the state of New York. The Department of Financial Services shall poll such individuals to determine whether or not such professionals would serve in the COVID-19 response effort.  
  
  

• Non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason (e.g. parties, celebrations or other social events) are canceled or postponed at this time.
  
  

G I V E N   under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State in the City of Albany this twenty-third day of March in the year two thousand twenty.

BY THE GOVERNOR

Secretary to the Governor

COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Initial Delivery of Equipment and Supplies for Javits Center Temporary Hospital

Federal Administration Has Deployed Hundreds of Thousands of Masks, Gloves, Gowns and Face Shields to New York

Former Secretaries to the Governor Steve Cohen, Bill Mulrow & Larry Schwartz Join Governor's COVID-19 Task Force — Tasks Mulrow & Cohen with Developing 'NYS Forward' Plan, Strategy to Restart the Economy Following 'NYS on Pause'

Signs Executive Order Mandating Hospitals Increase Capacity by at Least 50 Percent - Goal of 100 Percent Increase in Capacity

Announces DFS Will Request Health Insurers Disclose Number of Registered Nurses, Doctors Who Work for Them So State Can Ask to Temporarily Serve

FDA Has Approved Use of New Experimental Drug in New York on a Compassionate Care Basis

State Opens Drive-Thru Test Facility in the Bronx — State has Opened 6 Mobile Facilities to Date

Launches 'New York Stronger Together' Campaign — Celebrities Sending Videos of Themselves at Home to Reinforce Governor's Message That Young People Need to Stay Home to Help Stop the Spread — Watch Videos from Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito, Ben Stiller and LaLa Anthony

Confirms 5,707 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 20,875; New Cases in 36 Counties

Governor Cuomo: "We implemented New York PAUSE, which stopped all the nonessential workers, et cetera. We have to start to think about New York Forward. Steve Cohen and Bill Mulrow, who I worked with for 30 years, they're now in the private sector, they're going to start to think about this. How do you restart or transition to a restart of the economy? How do you dovetail that with a public health strategy? As you're identifying people who have had the virus and have resolved, can they start to go back to work? Can younger people start to go back to work because they're more much tolerant to the effect of the virus? So, how do you - you turned off the engine quickly, how do you now start or begin to restart or plan the restart of that economic engine? Separate task, but something that we have to focus on."

Cuomo: "Many people will get the virus, but few will be truly endangered. Hold both of those facts in your hands: Many will get it, up to 80 percent may get it, but few are truly endangered and we know who they are. Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me: Socially distanced but spiritually connected.

The increase in the number of cases continues and that is what we are watching every day. They see it as an upward trajectory. I see it as a wave that will break at one point and the question is what is the point of the break, and if when the wave breaks does it crash over the healthcare system? That is what we have been talking about.

So, two track simultaneously, you have to reduce the spread, the rate of spread of the virus. You are not going to control the spread, but you can reduce the rate of the spread so you can handle it in you hospital system. That is what every state is doing. That is what this is all about. How do you reduce the rate of spread? Reduce the density, do more testing, isolate the people who test positive. Second track, increase hospital capacity as quickly as you can so that at the apex of the wave you have the hospital capacity for the people who will need the hospital capacity, which are the vulnerable people that we have been talking about.

Reducing the spread, density control, we have taken every action that government can take: closed the gyms, theaters, other high density businesses, non-essential employees, social distancing, Matilda's law. Remember, this is about protecting vulnerable people: older people, compromised immune systems, underlying illness. Those are the people that are vulnerable here. That is the focus of all of this.

The greatest density control issue right now is in New York City. I saw the issue myself. I told New York City I want a plan. Yesterday, I said I want a plan on how they are going to control and reduce the density. I want the plan today. I want the State to be able to approve the plan. It has to focus on young people and the gathering of young people. I have said it before, you can get it. The numbers show you can get it if you're a young person and you can transmit it and it's reckless and it's violative of your civic spirit and duty as a citizen as far as I'm concerned. If New York City needs legislation to enact their plan once we approve it I would ask New York City to pass that legislation quickly. If they have a problem passing legislation they should let me know.

Also on reducing the spread, increase the testing capacity. When you identify somebody positive isolate that person. What we've done on testing is important. March 13 is when the State got the authority to start testing. Up until then the federal government was controlling all the testing and it was going through that bottleneck of a federal government. I don't mean that in a pejorative way but it had to go through the FDA, the CDC. I said decentralize that task. Let the states do it.

March 13 the FDA allowed the State to start testing. In 10 days, we've gone from testing 1,000 people per day to 16,000 people per day. How much is that? That's more than any other state in the United States is testing. That's more per capita than South Korea which was the gold standard of testing. They were doing 20,000 per day. On a much larger population, about double the population of New York, so we're doing 16,000 which compared to China, South Korea per capita is even higher. So in short we're doing more testing than anyone.

Two points off that: kudos to the team that put that testing in place and the nurses and the doctors, God bless them for being out there every day and doing it, but also our numbers will be higher on positives because we're doing more tests. We have multiple locations that are working now and we'll be increasing those locations.

Second track, increase hospital capacity, increase the number of beds, we have 53,000, we may need 110, we have 3,000 ICU beds, we may need between 18,000 to 37,000. That's my greatest concern because that's where we need ventilators to turn those ICU beds into beds for people suffering from the virus.

We are today issuing an emergency order that says to all hospitals you must increase your capacity by 50 percent. You must. Mandatory directive from the State - find more beds, use more rooms, you must increase your capacity 50 percent.

We would ask you to try to increase your capacity 100 percent. Okay? So we now have 53,000 beds. We need 110,000 beds. If they increased the capacity 100 percent that solves the mathematical projection. Right? I think it's unreasonable to say to every hospital basically double your capacity. I don't think it's unreasonable to say try to reach 100 percent increase but you must reach a 50 percent increase. Fifty percent increase, we're only at 75,000 beds. We still have a problem between 75,000 and 110,000.

Once you secure the bed you have to secure the staff. You are going to have staff that are getting sick and need to be replaced. You create these new beds, you don't have the staff for those new beds now. They just don't exist. Your staffing is to your number of beds. You increase the number of beds you need more staff.

We are going to the entire retired community, health care professionals who are licensed, registered and we're saying we want you to enlist to help. It's not a mandatory directive. I can't legally - well I probably could legally - ask them to come into State service. But this is just a request. We put it out. We've gotten very good response. There are hundreds of thousands of health care professionals who are licensed and registered in this state but we have 30,000 responses to date and I'm doing an emergency Executive Order for all nurses who are registered to enlist and the Department of Financial Services is sending a directive to insurance companies. Health insurance companies employ many nurses, doctors, et cetera in the insurance business. We're saying, we don't need them in the insurance business now, we would like them to help in hospitals because this is not about assessing insurance claims at this point. This is about saving lives. When we get to assessing insurance claims, we can handle it then.

Supplies are the ongoing challenge nationwide. Masks, PPE, ventilators are the number one precious commodity. This is happening on an ad hoc basis We are competing with other states as I have said. We have made certain strides. We have a full team working on it, we're very aggressive. We're talking to other countries around the world. We're talking to companies. We have New York manufacturers who are really stepping up to the plate and converting factories, et cetera. But this is not the way to do it. This is ad hoc. I'm competing with other states. I'm bidding up other states on the prices. Because you have manufacturers who sit there and California offers them $4, and they say well California offered $4, I offer $5 and another state calls in and offers $6. It's not the way to do it.

I was speaking to Governor J.B. Pritzker about this yesterday. Why are we competing? Let the federal government put in place the Federal Defense Production Act. It does not nationalize any industry. All it does is say to a factory, "you must produce this quantity." That's all it does. I understand the voluntary public-private sector partnership, and there are a lot of good companies who are coming forward and saying let us help. But it can't just be who wants to help let me know. We need to know what the numbers of what we need produced and who is going to produce and when. I get that a lot of companies are stepping up and doing good things, and that's a beautiful thing. They're doing it here in New York too, but you can't run this operation that way. It can't just be based on we're waiting for people to come forward with offers and if you happen to get a lot of offers on gloves, then you have a lot of gloves. But if you get no offers on masks, then you don't have masks. 

The Defense Production Act just says you can tell a company manufacture this many by this date. Yes, it is an assertion of government power on private sector companies, yes. But so what. This is a national emergency, and you're paying the private sector company They're going to produce a good and they're going to get paid, and by the way, they're going to get paid handsomely. You cannot continue to do these supplies on an ad hoc basis. We have had success securing supplies. We're going to be dispatching them across the state today. These are the number of goods that are going out. You heard on the news that, especially in New York City, they're worried about running out of supplies. Again, this won't get us through the entire situation, but this is a significant amount of supplies that will be going out. New York City, for example, 430,000 surgical masks, 176,000 pairs of gloves, 72,000 gowns, 98,000 face shields, 169,000 N95 masks, which are very precious now. They're about $7 a mask.

So, these are significant supplies. We have been having some success in gathering them and we're distributing them, and this should make a difference. Well, it will make a difference. Again, not until the end of the crisis, but short term. Hospital capacity: I'm on my way down to the Javits Center today. I want to make sure those hospitals are getting up right away, then we're going to use Stony Brook, we're going to use Westchester, we're going to use Old Westbury. President Trump did deliver yesterday. I put forward a series of requests in the morning. He did the briefing in the afternoon, and he responded to those requests. That's government working, that's government working quickly and I thank him for it. It makes a big difference to New York. We're getting those emergency hospitals. The Javits hospitals for example, those are 1,000 beds right there with the equipment, with the ventilators, and with the staffing. So, that's a big deal.

The president declared what's called a major disaster declaration. That allows FEMA, Federal Emergency management agency, to help us. There's normally a 75-25 split between the costs of those services. Federal government pays 75. The state pays 25. I said to the president I can't pay the 25. We just don't have those kinds of resources. The federal government has the authority to waive that 25 so the federal government pays the whole 100 percent. And that's what the president is doing [for the National Guard] and I appreciate that. I also asked for the FDA to expedite the approval of an experimental drug that we are working on here in the state of New York, which I'll tell you more about in a moment, and the president also did that the FDA gave the New York State Department of Health approval to use on a compassionate care basis a drug that we think has real possibility.

On the drug therapy, Tuesday we're going to start the hydroxychloroquine with the zithromax, that's the drug combination that eth president has been talking about. the FDA approved New York State Department of Health to proceed with an experimental drug, again on a compassionate care basis. But what it does is it takes the plasma from a person who has been infected with the virus. Processes the plasma and injects the antibodies into a person who is sick. And there have been tests that show when a person is injected with theantibodies, that then stimulates and promotes their immune system against that disease. It's only a trial. It's a trail for people who are in serious condition. But the New York State Department of Health has been working on this with some of New York's best healthcare agencies, and we think it shows promise. And we're going to be starting that this week. There's also work on a serological drug where you test the antibodies of a person and see if they had the virus already. We all believe, thousands and thousands of people have had the virus and self-resolved. If you knew that, you would know who is now immune to the virus and who you could send back to work, et cetera. So we're also working on that.

The numbers today, total tested up to 78,000, tested overnight, 24 hour period, 16,000. As of yesterday about 25 percent of all the testing nationwide is being produced right here. Number of positive cases, we are up to 20,000 statewide. 5,000 new cases, which is obviously a significant increase. And as I say that trajectory is going up, the wave is still going up, and we have a lot of work to do to get that rate down and get the hospital capacity up. You see it spreading across the state, the way it spread across the nation, and that will continue, my guess is every day. We have, right now on hospitalizations, 13 percent are being hospitalized. None of these numbers are good, but relatively that is a good number. Remember it's the rate of hospitalizations and the rate of people needing ICU beds. 13 percent is down, it has gone as high as 20 percent, 21 percent, hovered around 18 percent, 17 percent, 13 percent is a good number. Of that number, 24 percent require the ICU beds. The ICU beds are very important because those are the ventilators.

Most impacted states, you can see that New York far and away has the bulk of the problem. And that's relevant for the federal government, that's relevant for the Congressional delegation that is arguing for federal funds. Fund the need. Fund the need. New York, we have 20,000 cases, New Jersey, 1,900. California, 1,800. So, proportionately, in absolute terms, New York has by far the greatest need in the nation.

Again, to keep this all in perspective, Johns Hopkins has studied every case from the beginning. 349,000 cases. Death toll worldwide is 15,000, right? Many will get infected, but few will actually pass away from this disease. Also, this is all evolving and this is all evolution and we are still figuring it out. There has to be a balance or parallel tracks that we're going down. We're talking about public health, we're talking about isolation, we're talking about protecting lives.

There also has to be a parallel track that talks about economic viability. I take total responsibility for shutting off the economy in terms of essential workers. But, we also have to start to plan the pivot back to economic functionality, right? You can't stop the economy forever. So we have to start to think about does everyone stay out of work? Should young people go back to work sooner? Can we test for those who had the virus, resolved, and are now immune and can they start to go back to work? There's a theory of risk stratification that Dr. Katz who's at Yale University is working on, which is actually very interesting to me. Which says isolate people but really isolate the vulnerable people. Don't isolate everyone because some people, most people, are not vulnerable to it. And if you isolate all people you may be actually exposing the more vulnerable people by bringing in a person who is healthier and stronger and who may have been exposed to the virus, right? Can you get to a point where the healthy, the people who are most likely not going to be effected can go to work? Remember, you study the numbers across the countries that have been infected. The survival rate for those who have been infected is like 98%, right? A lot of people get it, very few people die from it.

So, how do we start to calculate that in? We implemented New York PAUSE, which stopped all the nonessential workers, et cetera. We have to start to think about New York Forward. Steve Cohen and Bill Mulrow, who I worked with for 30 years, they're now in the private sector, they're going to start to think about this. How do you restart or transition to a restart of the economy? How do you dovetail that with a public health strategy? As you're identifying people who have had the virus and have resolved, can they start to go back to work? Can younger people start to go back to work because they're more much tolerant to the effect of the virus? So, how do you - you turned off the engine quickly, how do you now start or begin to restart or plan the restart of that economic engine? Separate task, but something that we have to focus on.

I offered my personal opinion yesterday - I separate my personal opinion from the facts. You can disregard my personal opinion. You can disregard the facts, but they are still facts. I said don't be reactive, be productive, be proactive. Somebody, a few people have said to me afterwards, well what did that mean? That happens to me often. Look, this can go on for several months, okay? Nobody can tell you is it four months, six months, eight months, nine months - but it is several months.

We all have to now confront that that is a new reality. That is not going to change. You are not going to turn on the news tomorrow morning and they are going to say surprise, surprise this is all now resolved in two weeks. That is not going to happen. So, deal with this reality. Understand the negative effect of this, which I have spoken to personally because these are personally negative effect. You do not feel them governmentally, you feel them personally. You fee then in your own life.

And don't underestimate the emotional trauma and don't underestimate the pain of isolation. It is real. This is not the human condition - not to be comforted, not to be close, to be afraid and you can't hug someone. Billy and Steve walked in today. I had not seen them in months. I can't shake their hands. I can't hug them. You know this is all unnatural. My daughter came up. I can't give her the embrace and the kiss that I want to give her. This is all unnatural and disorienting. And it is not you, it is everyone. It's the condition,

And we are going to have time. And the question is how do we use this time positively? Also, at the same time we have to learn from this experience because we were not ready to deal with this and other situations will happen. Other situations will happen and let's at least learn from this to be prepared for the next situation as dramatic as this one has been.

Also finding the silver lining, the positive. Life is going to be quieter for a matter of months. Everything will function. Life will function. Everything will normal operations, there won't be chaos. The stores will have groceries. Gas stations will have gasoline. There's no reason for extraordinary anxiety. But it is going to change. You won't be at work, you can't be sitting at restaurants, you're not going to be going to birthday parties, you don't have to go to business conferences on the weekends. There's less noise. You know what, that can be a good thing in some ways: You have more time. You have more flexibility. You can do some of those things that you haven't done, that you kept saying, "Well I'd love to be able to, I'd love to be able to." Well now you can. You have more time with family.

And yes, I get family in cramped quarters can be difficult, but it's also the most precious commodity. For myself, this young lady, Cara, is with me. She would never be here otherwise. You know, I'm dad, right? The last thing you want to be when you're in Cara's position is hang out with the old man and hang out with dad and hear bad dad jokes, you know - they'll come with the holidays, they'll come when I give them heavy guilt, but I'm now going to be with Cara literally for a few months. What a beautiful gift that is, right? I would have never had that chance. And that is precious, and then after this is over she's gone, she's flown the nest. She's going to go do her thing, but this crazy situation is crazy as it is, came with this beautiful gift. So one door closes, another door opens. Think about that.

And as I said, normal operations will continue. As I said from day one, the level of anxiety is not connected to facts, there is no chaos the net effect - many people will get the virus, but few will be truly endangered. Hold both of those facts in your hands: Many will get it, up to 80 percent may get it, but few are truly endangered and we know who they are. Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me: Socially distanced but spiritually connected. How do you achieve socially distanced but spiritually connected? I don't have the answer but I know the question.

Governor Cuomo: In Time of COVID-19 Pandemic be 'Socially Distanced, But Spiritually Connected'

  I said don't be reactive, be productive, be proactive. Somebody, a few people have said to me afterwards, well what did that mean? That happens to me often. Look, this can go on for several months, okay? Nobody can tell you is it four months, six months, eight months, nine months - but it is several months.  

We all have to now confront that that is a new reality. That is not going to change. You are not going to turn on the news tomorrow morning and they are going to say surprise, surprise this is all now resolved in two weeks. That is not going to happen. So, deal with this reality. Understand the negative effect of this, which I have spoken to personally because these are personally negative effect. You do not feel them governmentally, you feel them personally. You feel then in your own life.

And don't underestimate the emotional trauma and don't underestimate the pain of isolation. It is real. This is not the human condition - not to be comforted, not to be close, to be afraid and you can't hug someone. Billy and Steve walked in today. I had not seen them in months. I can't shake their hands. I can't hug them. You know this is all unnatural. My daughter came up. I can't give her the embrace and the kiss that I want to give her. This is all unnatural and disorienting. And it is not you, it is everyone. It's the condition.

And we are going to have time. And the question is how do we use this time positively? Also, at the same time we have to learn from this experience because we were not ready to deal with this and other situations will happen. Other situations will happen and let's at least learn from this to be prepared for the next situation as dramatic as this one has been.

Also finding the silver lining, the positive. Life is going to be quieter for a matter of months. Everything will function. Life will function. Everything will normal operations, there won't be chaos. The stores will have groceries. Gas stations will have gasoline. There's no reason for extraordinary anxiety. But it is going to change. You won't be at work, you can't be sitting at restaurants, you're not going to be going to birthday parties, you don't have to go to business conferences on the weekends. There's less noise. You know what, that can be a good thing in some ways: You have more time. You have more flexibility. You can do some of those things that you haven't done, that you kept saying, "Well I'd love to be able to, I'd love to be able to." Well now you can. You have more time with family.

And yes, I get family in cramped quarters can be difficult, but it's also the most precious commodity. For myself, this young lady, Cara, is with me. She would never be here otherwise. You know, I'm dad, right? The last thing you want to be when you're in Cara's position is hang out with the old man and hang out with dad and hear bad dad jokes, you know - they'll come with the holidays, they'll come when I give them heavy guilt, but I'm now going to be with Cara literally for a few months. What a beautiful gift that is, right? I would have never had that chance. And that is precious, and then after this is over she's gone, she's flown the nest. She's going to go do her thing, but this crazy situation is crazy as it is, came with this beautiful gift. So one door closes, another door opens. Think about that.

And as I said, normal operations will continue. As I said from day one, the level of anxiety is not connected to facts, there is no chaos the net effect - many people will get the virus, but few will be truly endangered. Hold both of those facts in your hands: Many will get it, up to 80 percent may get it, but few are truly endangered and we know who they are. Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me: Socially distanced but spiritually connected. How do you achieve socially distanced but spiritually connected?

AG James Launches Hotline to Combat Coronavirus Hate Crimes and Xenophobic Rhetoric

Individuals Who Have Experienced Hate Crimes and Bias-Based Incidents Are Encouraged to Call the Ongoing Hotline at 1-800-771-7755, or Email Civil.Rights@ag.ny.gov

  Attorney General Letitia James today announced the launch of a hotline for New Yorkers to report hate crimes and bias-based incidents. The hotline, which will continue indefinitely, comes in the wake of rising reports of harassment and assaults, as well as rhetoric against Asian Americans amidst the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 

“As we face an unprecedented and uncertain time for New York, the United States, and the world, we must reiterate the fact that this pandemic does not give anyone an excuse to be racist, xenophobic, or biased,” said Attorney General James. “No one should live in fear for their life because of who they are, what they look like, or where they come from. I encourage all victims of discriminatory actions stemming from this pandemic to contact my office. We will continue to work with local law enforcement to combat hate in all its insidious forms.”

In the last week alone, there have been numerous reports in New York of Asian Americans being harassed or physically assaulted as a result of this pandemic. The last several weeks have also seen a rise in anti-Asian rhetoric through the use of terms such as “Chinese virus,” creating a stigma around Asian communities. This comes on the heels of a record number of hate crimes over the past several months in New York, demonstrating the urgent need for action. The Attorney General’s Office, in its commitment to combating these heinous acts, implores everyone, from everyday New Yorkers, to individuals at the highest levels of government, to stand united against hate, now more than ever.

“During this public health crisis, people are fighting for their lives – fighting to keep their families safe. Yet these incessant, irresponsible, and atrocious naming of COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus” is endangering the lives of Asian Americans. I thank Attorney General James for setting up this necessary hotline for New Yorkers to report coronavirus-related hate crimes or biased-based incidents,” said U.S. Representative Grace Meng. “I have repeatedly called on public officials – from the President to the top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives – to abstain from using derogatory language that demonizes Asian Americans. This must stop. Public officials – and the media – must speak truth to power and refrain from dabbling in misinformation or conspiracy theories. I’m urging all New Yorkers to come together, call virus the coronavirus, and report to the hotline those who would use this uncertain time to make racist, xenophobic or biased attacks.”

“Long scapegoated and cast as "yellow peril", Asian-Americans are besieged on two fronts by the COVID-19 contagion, with outbreaks of ignorance and bigotry sometimes inflicting more harm than the virus itself,” said State Senator John Liu. “More and more hateful incidents are occurring, ranging from distasteful gestures to obnoxious name-calling to outright violence against Asian-Americans — and despicably condoned by the president himself. The battle against the coronavirus has actually brought out the best among New Yorkers but it is necessary to remind some not to let fear of the unknown devolve into irrational and inexcusable hate, and we thank beloved Attorney General Tish James for leading the charge on this front as well.”

“Currently our community is dealing with COVID-19, a global pandemic — but our community is also facing another virus: extreme anti-Asian xenophobia,” said State Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou. “While we battle this crisis, it has become abundantly clear that the coronavirus does not discriminate based on race. Yet, people are using COVID-19 as an excuse to perpetuate racism and xenophobia throughout New York and the entire country. There have been so many reports of Asian Americans being attacked because they were just riding the subway or wearing a face mask. The attacks are hateful, and go out of their way to blame our community. It is important that we stand together and remain educated on the growing emergency. Together we must stop the spread of the unfounded harmful stereotypes and hateful words that people are using to demonize our Asian American community through thoughtful and reasonable discussions. Thank you to the Attorney General for setting up a hotline to address and to better support our community through this devastating time of unfounded xenophobia and hate crimes against our community.”

Although local law enforcement is responsible for criminally prosecuting these perpetrators, the Attorney General’s Office is taking on this issue in other ways, including connecting victims and impacted communities to available resources, launching civil investigations, and supporting local law enforcement, among other steps.

The Attorney General urges those experiencing hate crimes and bias incidences to report them by emailing the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau at civil.rights@ag.ny.gov, or calling 1-800-771-7755. 

Comptroller Stringer Releases Updated Economic Analysis Forecasting Substantial Reduction in New York City’s Tax Revenues in FY20 and FY21 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Stringer analysis projects losses of $4.8 billion to $6.0 billion in City tax revenues

Renews call for an immediate mandatory City agency savings program and for fiscal relief for State and Local governments in the federal stimulus bill - including direct cash assistance and paid sick leave

  New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today released an updated analysis of forecasted tax revenue losses for New York City in Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 and 2021 amid the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s economy.  Comptroller Stringer’s analysis estimates revenue losses of between  $4.8 billion and $6.0 billion total in fiscal years (FY) 2020 and 2021. The range of the estimate  depends on the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic,  and the duration and extent of the resulting economic shutdown.

An earlier analysis by the Comptroller conservatively estimated the budget shortfall at some $3.2 billion, based on estimated declines in specific economic sectors. Today’s analysis presumes a wider downturn in the overall economy, given rapid job losses in many sectors and mandatory shutdowns of many businesses enacted within the last week.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is already putting enormous financial strain on our city’s workers as millions of New Yorkers grapple with the uncertainty of their next paycheck, paying rent, and taking care of their families. At the same time, the massive slowdown of our city’s economy is going to result in  substantial losses of the tax revenue that keep this city running,” saidComptroller Stringer. “Our economic forecast highlights the significant  financial pressure on our city’s coffers. We are staring down a fiscal emergency and need the federal government to step up by injecting as much funding into our city’s economy as possible — our healthcare system, infrastructure, transit network, and so much more depend on it. And our City government must act immediately to protect our fiscal position so that we can continue to provide vital services for our most vulnerable New Yorkers in the face of this emergency.”

Forecasted Revenue Losses in New York City

Comptroller Stringer’s economic analysis forecasts a very sharp decline in specific sectors from  March through the end of June, particularly in hotels, restaurants, retail and the cultural sector, as earnings collapse and unemployment soars. The analysis outlines two economic scenarios for New York City in Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) and FY21 and estimates lost tax revenue from personal incomes, sales, hotels, real property transfers, businesses incomes, and other taxes.

In a more moderate  scenario, the measures taken to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus are successful and the shutdown of the economy would essentially end by May. There would be relatively limited impacts on sectors outside hotels, restaurants and retail. This scenario predicts a tax revenue loss of $1.28 billion in FY20 and $3.5 billion in FY21 totaling $4.8 billion, which would be a 2.0 percent decline in FY20 and 5.4 percent decline in FY21.

The higher range scenario presumes the state of emergency lasting  at least into June or July, with a slower recovery to normal economic activity, and larger impacts on other sectors of the economy . This scenario envisions a tax revenue loss of $1.5 billion in FY20 and $4.6 billion in FY21 totaling $6.0 billion, which would be a 2.3 percent in FY20 and a 7.0 percent decline in FY21.

The City Budget Outlook

A  revenue shortfall of between $1.3 and $1.5 billion in the current fiscal year  could be offset using  the City’s current projected budget surplus of $2.7 billion and other available reserves. Balancing  this year’s budget through use of the surplus, however, would result in a larger gap next year, since the City planned to use this year’s surplus to pre-pay FY 2021 expenditures. Next year’s gap could be as high as $4.5 billion in that case.

To avoid exhausting other reserves, including balances in the Retiree Health Benefit Trust, the Comptroller renewed his urgent call for an immediate “Program to Eliminate the Gap” (PEG) that would require City agencies to identify savings equal to 4% of their City-funds budget with certain exceptions for DOHMH, NYC H+H, and social services agencies.

Federal Stimulus Relief Urgently Needed

Amid the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Comptroller Stringer called for direct and immediate economic relief in the federal stimulus package. Several key proposals that Comptroller Stringer outlined to support struggling families, businesses, non-profits and state and local governments included:

• Direct Cash Assistance: Cash relief to hard-pressed families and individuals should not be conditioned on taxpayer status. Anyone, regardless of taxpayer or immigration status or earnings, should be able to get a check, based on family size, now.

• ​Small Business & Non-Profits: Congress must extend forgivable loans to small businesses and non-profits to keep employees on the payroll–even while they’re closed. This measure will allow businesses to survive and re-open once we get through this crisis and the state of emergency is over. Congress must appropriate enough funding to ensure that every small business and non-profit that has been forced by current circumstances to close is able to access funding.  Congress should also provide some funding directly to States to administer the program, since the federal SBA will be hard-pressed to administer the program by itself in a timely way.  Finally, these loans should come with the condition that the money be targeted to paying frontline workers – not executives or investors.

• Unemployment Insurance: Unemployment insurance weekly benefits should be immediately increased, and their duration extended to at least 39 weeks.  The waiting period for benefits should be eliminated.

• Paid Sick Leave: There should be no limits placed on emergency paid leave.  At a time when we need workers and businesses to heed urgent public health guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, limits on paid sick leave would only serve to undermine that goal. Instead, Congress should implement measures to make small businesses whole for costs incurred for sick leave and family leave.

• State and Local Government Fiscal Stabilization: It is imperative that frontline state and local governments get the federal support they need to address this public health emergency and the economic impact of widespread business closures.  Options include a higher federal share of state and local Medicaid expenditures, additional funding through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, waivers of state and local matches on other federal aid programs, and a State and Local Government Fiscal Stabilization Fund of at least $250 billion.