Looking for Bookshelves
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Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Bronx Jewish Community Council - Looking for Bookshelves
Monday, December 6, 2021
Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - DECEMBER 6, 2021
79,660 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours
49 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday
Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.
"We have to stay vigilant as the new variant, winter weather, and more time spent indoors with friends and family increases the likelihood of the virus spreading," Governor Hochul said. "But we are not where we were a year ago - we now have the tools to fight this pandemic and prevent New Yorkers from getting severely ill from COVID-19. Get vaccinated if you haven't already, get your booster if you have, encourage others to get the shot, and mask up."
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
- Test Results Reported - 122,336
- Total Positive - 6,078
- Percent Positive - 4.97%
- 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 4.82%
- Patient Hospitalization - 3,285 (+49)
- Patients Newly Admitted - 375
- Patients in ICU - 621 (+2)
- Patients in ICU with Intubation - 335 (+2)
- Total Discharges - 217,702 (+315)
- New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 49
- Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 46,806
The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.
- Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 59,522
This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.
- Total vaccine doses administered - 30,515,048
- Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 79,660
- Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 831,872
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 86.3%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 78.7%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 91.7%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 81.1%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 74.7%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 67.2%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 79.3%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 69.1%
Governor Hochul Announces Four More Confirmed COVID-19 Omicron Variant Cases Detected in New York State for a Total of 12 Known Cases
Reminds New Yorkers to Get Vaccinated, Get Boosted and Wear a Mask
Future Omicron Updates to be Included in Governor's Daily COVID-19 Update Press Release
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the detection of four more confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in New York State, for a total of 12 confirmed cases. The cases have been confirmed through sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by the New York State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center. Two of the new cases are from Suffolk County and two are from Oneida County.
"Four more cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant were just identified in New York State. With the new variant circulating, the best way to stay safe and prevent serious illness during the holiday season is by getting vaccinated or a booster shot," Governor Hochul said. "With more friends and family gathering indoors this time of year, we have the tools to fight this pandemic and you can protect yourself and your loved ones by getting vaccinated and encouraging others to get the shot, and mask up. We will continue to work with local leaders to provide the latest updates and make sure they have what they need to help prevent the spread of this deadly virus."
While none of these cases are related to the recent Anime convention at the Javits Center, the Department still urges anyone who attended to get tested for COVID-19.
Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said, "While public health experts are still learning more about this new variant, we continue to encourage all New Yorkers to take precautions against COVID-19. Get vaccinated, get a booster if you are already fully vaccinated, and continue to wear your mask."
Starting on Tuesday, December 7, all further Omicron updates will be included in the Governor's daily COVID-19 progress update press release.
The New York State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center Laboratory continues to actively monitor COVID-19 virus samples selected throughout the State to compare sequences and identify circulating and new variants, including Omicron.
The Department also monitors all data submitted to public sequence databases by the many other sequencing laboratories throughout New York State and across the US, contributing to a robust and collaborative surveillance program for variant analysis. The Wadsworth Center is currently sequencing COVID-19 virus specimens with a capacity up to approximately 100 per day. Specimens are selected at random from throughout the state to provide surveillance across all geographic locations and data analyzed across the entire sequence of the virus. The analyses include assessment for mutations that indicate variants of concern and variants of interest.
Other laboratories in New York State are conducting similar work. These results from Wadsworth and other laboratories are uploaded into public databases, primarily GISAID. From this database, sequence data from all contributors can be downloaded and analyzed for a more complete picture of virus trends across the state and the distribution of variants from these analyses summarized over time. The State has made this data available for all New Yorkers at their COVID-19 Variant Page.
Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr. - You’re Invited! 2021 Inauguration & Holiday Celebration
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PUBLIC ADVOCATE'S STATEMENT ON EXPANDED VACCINE MANDATES IN NEW YORK CITY
"I welcome the new vaccine mandates for private sector businesses in New York City, and wish it had gone into effect earlier than four days before the current Mayor leaves office. Previous mandates have played a major role in increasing the city’s vaccination rates, and amid the uncertainty of the Omicron variant and the certainty of holiday travel and gatherings, this new measure can help save lives.
"I am also glad to see the administration expand the requirement under existing mandates to full vaccination rather than a single dose– as I and others have called for– because incomplete protection is not nearly enough amid rising cases and the new variant. It is now incumbent upon the administration, in the next days and weeks, to advise and aid our city’s businesses on issues of implementation and enforcement that have not been adequately explained.
"The citywide vaccine mandates for indoor dining and entertainment venues have been widely successful in spurring vaccination, encouraging New Yorkers to patronize businesses, and simultaneously limiting the kind of spread we have seen in other areas across New York State. Amid the holiday season, as people travel across the state and the majority of gatherings move inside, it is critical that the Governor implement these vaccination screenings statewide, in addition to widespread masking requirements. We have the tools and the capacity to prevent another deadly surge of the virus, now we must have the will to use those tools, the urgency to act now, and the spirit of solidarity to protect our fellow New Yorkers."
Mayor de Blasio Describes Measures to be Taken to Prevent Omicron Variant Spread While Fighting Delta Variant
Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, everybody. Well, we are very, very carefully monitoring the latest news about the Omicron variant and, meanwhile, we're still fighting the central battle, which is against the Delta variant. So, a lot going on. Then, I have some updates for you today because we need to take very bold action, aggressive action to address these new threats. It's Omicron, it's cold weather, which we know presents a real challenge with COVID in every form. It's the holiday gatherings coming up. There's a lot going on and what we're seeing now in other parts of the world, and this is really an area of tremendous concern. We're seeing restrictions starting to come back. We're seeing shutdowns. Look at Germany right now, such a strong nation in so many ways, but the situation there has got to a really troubling place. So, now they're reinstating a lot of restrictions that we all hoped were part of the past. We cannot let those restrictions come back. We cannot have shutdowns here in New York City. We got to keep moving forward. And the answer is always is to use the things that work, vaccination works and vaccine mandates work. That's the bottom line.
So, look, we're working closely with the State government, with the federal government, we're all united, common front to fight COVID and that cooperation is tremendously important, but we also know Omicron is here. No debate about it anymore. It doesn't matter if we're only getting a few cases in different states. We know it's here. We know it's going to spread. It appears to be at this moment, very transmissible. We're waiting for more facts and more evidence, but that's what we're seeing so far.
What does that mean? You can expect – and I'm sorry to say this, you can expect community spread. We have to assume it's going to be widespread. We have to assume it's going to give us a real challenge. We'd been to this movie before, we've been down this road before, we know what happens when we get a new variant, in particularly one that's highly transmissible. It's not something we can't handle. We have the tools, but we have to use those tools aggressively and we have to move quickly. And that's why I described the actions we're taking today as a preemptive strike, get ahead of this problem before it deepens and use the thing that works, vaccination. We can talk about all the other tools and we will, but vaccination is the central weapon in this war against COVID. It's the one thing that has worked every single time across the board on a strategic level. It's the reason New York City is back in so many ways. And it's the reason we can avoid shutdowns and restrictions, it’s more use of vaccination. So, that's why we are taking aggressive action today. We are not going back to what happened in 2020. We cannot allow that to happen. We're not going to allow to happen in New York City with what's happening in Germany right now. We cannot let that happen.
So, look, bottom line. I've said we have been climbing the ladder as we have climbed the ladder, good things have happened more and more people have got vaccinated. The city got safer. We were able to bring back people's livelihoods and jobs and the life of the city. We need to keep that going. So, today, we're going to be announcing some additional measures to keep New Yorkers safe. And I'm going to remind everyone job, number one, any mayor, keep people safe. This is the biggest crisis not only of our time, but of the history of New York City. We cannot let COVID back in the door again. So, these measures today will make a big difference. First of all, with the Key to NYC, extremely effective program has been respected and emulated around the country. It needs to be more honestly, it's something that should be used in more and more places. Well, right now we require all employees and patrons, everyone, 12 and up to be vaccinated, at least one dose, that’s indoor dining, fitness, entertainment. That's worked brilliantly. It's been a tremendous success or a lot of concern about the beginning. In fact, it has been an across the board success with very few problems. You know, there's been a few challenges, but not many. So, we now are going to deepen that effort by requiring all employees and patrons to have from 12 years old and up, two doses. And that will take effect on December 27th, because the idea is everyone by that point, who has got their first dose, if you've got your first dose by now, you're going to be able to get your second dose by then. We got to up the ante here. We want to also encourage folks to get that second dose, vast majority of New Yorkers do. And that's good news, but we've got to encourage people even more, get that second dose because that's what gives you so much more protection. So, two doses for all the Key to NYC businesses starting December 27th, employees and customers, and that's going to keep people safe and we want to see people go out and get those second doses right now, if they qualify.
Remember with the holidays, with the cold weather, you haven't got your second dose and you qualify, this is exactly the time to get it. You should feel urgency because the challenge of COVID is about to get greater. Now, another point on Key to NYC thinking the youngest New Yorkers, the vaccination for the five to 11-year-olds has just begun the last few weeks already. We've got over 127,000 New York City kids in that age range vaccinated. That's great. It's a little over 19 percent of all the kids in that group, considering as brand new. That's good and it's better than the national rate, but it's not enough. Obviously, we need to see a lot more. We need to see kids getting vaccinated in that age group. Parents, we need you to step up for the good of your children, your family, all of us go get your child vaccinated. So, we're going to include them in the Key to NYC. The guidelines are Key to NYC starting on December 14th. So, this is again one dose now because it's a new vaccination, that gives parents plenty of time. We've been having vaccination drives in schools. We're in the middle of our second round, in every single elementary school in New York City, every school with five to 11-year-olds, this'll be the second time around started last week continuing this week. If you're a parent, you want to get your kid vaccinated. it's so simple. It could be at your own school, or it could be in many, many locations nearby your home. This is something that's going to keep kids safe and families safe. Go get your child vaccinated so long as they've got that first dose by December 14th, they can continue to participate indoor dining entertainment, all of these great things.
Now, another point for our youngest kids, previously, for the kids 12 years old and up the rule has been in place for high risk extracurricular activities, sports, band, chorus, orchestra, dance, things where there's a lot of close contact, things where kids are, you know, singing or anything where they're really the letting a lot of air out that could have an impact on everyone around them, that has applied to kids 12 and up, We're going to now apply that to kids in the five to 11 year old range, as well. That's also December 14th, again, only one dose required. There's time for parents get that done. Most kids don't necessarily participate in those activities. That's fine, but for those who do we want to make sure they have that protection, it's real important.
Okay, now another really big, important step in this is going to be a first in the nation step. You're going to hear from our Health Commissioner in a moment, and he will be issuing a Commissioner's Order for all private sector employers in New York City. It is time. Look, this is how we put health and safety first by ensuring that there is a vaccine mandate that reaches everyone universally in the private sector. A lot of folks in the private sector have said to me, they believe in vaccination, but they're not quite sure how they can do it themselves. Well, we're going to do it. We're going to do this so that, every employer is on a level playing field. One universal standard starting December 27th. We're going to be working with businesses all over the city. And that's almost 200,000 businesses that are not already covered by the Key to NYC guidelines right now. We're going to be working with the business community. We're going to be talking to them in the next days on how to put together the right plan to implement this. The specific guidance, the specific rules will come out in December 15th. We want to have a collaborative process. We want to make this work and let's be clear, we have a great example with the Key to NYC, all those restaurants, all those fitness clubs, all those entertainment facilities and movie theaters, all sorts of places they've been working with us. They gave us good advice up front. We came up with rules that work the vast, vast majority of implement those rules really effectively. And I constantly hear from people that they know that go into a place under Key to NYC they're safe and they feel comfortable. They're going to enjoy themselves. They feel comfortable in those settings because they know everyone's vaccinated and there was a lot of concern up front. Would it work? Would it be difficult? You know what businesses have adapted and handled it really, really well. And we know will happen again. We're going to set up a call center to handle concerns from businesses. We'll have a strong outreach effort as we've done previously, to answer questions, provide the support they need. This is going to make a huge difference to make sure New Yorkers are safe going forward. I want you to hear from the person who will be issuing the order in the course of the day, our Health Commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi.
Commissioner Dave Chokshi, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. When we were thinking through these major new policies announced today, we had a few groups of New Yorkers in mind. I thought about my patients. So many of them essential workers who have been at risk throughout the pandemic and who are at greater risk when they are in close quarters with unvaccinated colleagues. I thought about our nurses and other healthcare workers, the trauma they've experienced and the post-traumatic stress they feel right now with cases increasing again and Omicron on the horizon. I thought about the patients, those same health care workers look after, especially the unvaccinated patients expressing regret for their decision in terrifying moments of remorse, like just before they have to be placed on a breathing tube. And I thought about how we can better protect people who remain vulnerable despite widespread access to vaccination, like children who are still too young to get the vaccine and New Yorkers with weakened immune systems, such as those with cancer on chemotherapy. For all of those groups, risk rises as community transmission increases, even before Omicron becomes more common, we've seen case numbers grow in recent weeks due to Delta, the devil we know. They have more than doubled since of recent low point in early November, increasing in every borough and every age group. That's why the bold steps the Mayor announced today are necessary and vital, starting with the private sector vaccine mandate. Vaccines work and vaccine mandates work, particularly when joined with efforts to build vaccine confidence, provide incentives and improve access as we have in New York City. We've seen this with our healthcare workers, school staff and public employees, now it's time for the private sector to step up and follow suit.
Turning to our younger New Yorkers, case rates are currently highest among our five to 11-year-olds, but we can change this. And indeed, parents have already vaccinated over 130,000 kids since five to 11-year-olds became eligible. Extending the Key to NYC to those five and up and expanding our vaccine requirement for high-risk extracurricular activities to that same age range will help further. These are proven tools in our fight against COVID-19 and a logical step to protect our kids. New York City has led the nation when it comes to decisive action on COVID-19. We have to be even more relentless than the virus. And I'm so proud of all the ways New Yorkers have shown our characteristic toughness, particularly when it's most needed. For instance, in the last two days, over 108,000 vaccinations were reported as administered, including about 63,000 booster doses. Those boosters may turn out to be particularly important for Omicron. So, you'll see us work to further increase the almost 1.2 million additional or booster doses already administered in NYC. And beyond vaccination, I'm grateful to everyone for their commitment to common sense precautions, particularly masking, testing, improving ventilation and staying home when you are ill. My Commissioner's Advisory on masking from last week, emphasized mask use indoors, including for those who are vaccinated and also, call the attention into higher quality masks like KN95s and KF94s for those at higher risk.
Mr. Mayor, thank you for the swift and resolute leadership demonstrated by today's announcements. I know it will save lives and help us prevent unnecessary suffering. Thank you.
Governor Hochul Signs Legislation Protecting Seniors from Fraudulent Use of Personal Information
Legislation (S.1560/A.1994) Incorporates Identity Theft Into the Definition of Elder Abuse for Purposes of Support Services and Programs for Elder Persons
Governor Kathy Hochul today signed legislation (S.1560/A.1994) into law to protect seniors from fraudulent use of personal information by authorizing support services on identity theft through non-profit agencies and law enforcement. The legislation allows the Office of the Aging and law enforcement to recognize identity theft as one of the many forms of elder abuse and take appropriate action to help seniors.
"The fact that older New Yorkers are often the target of identity theft is unconscionable," Governor Hochul said. "We need to continue boosting protections for our aging population, and this legislation is a simple, common-sense way to keep them safe from harmful tactics of elder abuse. Older New Yorkers have been there for us, and as the nation's first age friendly state I'm proud that New York continues to lead the way to be there for them."
The new law adds a definition of "elder abuse and exploitation" to the elder law and incorporates identity theft in the list of eligible support services through the naturally occurring retirement communities (NORC) programs. The law also amends section 214-c of the executive law to provide that identity theft shall be one of the many forms of elder abuse that the Office of the Aging and law enforcement address in their educational materials for police officers' use when encountering such abuse.
The unlawful use of an individual's personal identification information such as social security number, driver's license information, or bank and credit card account can result in terrible consequences lasting years. In its worst form it can leave the older victim bankrupt and without assets in their retirement.
While older adults are not the exclusive targets of identity theft, they can be especially susceptible to victimization as they often need to share their personal information with caregivers, medical providers' offices, government agencies, and over the internet. The impact of identity theft can be devastating for older adult victims who are unable to restore stolen funds through employment. This law, the aging support services groups, and law enforcement teams will be able to use available resources to help seniors, the fastest growing sector of our population, from identity theft in its many forms.
Attorney General James Continues Fight to Protect Free and Fair Elections for Voters
AG James Co-Leads Coalition Fighting to Strike Down Florida’s New Restrictive Voting Law
New York Attorney General Letitia James today continued her fight to ensure fair access to elections for all eligible voters, leading a coalition of 17 attorneys general from around the nation in filing amicus briefs in three cases having to do with voting rights. The briefs were filed in Florida Rising Together v. Lee; Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP, Common Cause, and Disability Rights Florida v. Lee; and League of Women Voters of Florida v. Lee. The plaintiffs in these cases challenge Florida’s restrictive voting law, SB 90. They explain that the law — created after the 2020 election — erects unconstitutional voting restrictions, especially against mail-in ballots. They further explain that Florida’s law, like others of its kind, also has a discriminatory impact on minority voters. In today’s brief, Attorney General James and the coalition support the plaintiffs’ arguments that SB 90 creates barriers to voting in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the right to vote as protected by the U.S. Constitution in the First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.
“Voting in free and fair elections is a fundamental civil right, and must be protected at all costs,” said Attorney General James. “Florida’s new law, and others like it, only seek to offset recent election losses. Fraud has nothing to do with it. This is about discriminating against minority communities and stopping them from casting their ballots, which is why our coalition will continue to challenge these unconstitutional and illegal efforts to undermine the will of the people.”
Florida’s 2020 election saw high voter turnout, with a surge of participation by a young and diverse electorate. In the wake of the election, however, Florida passed SB 90. Among other things, the law severely reduces access to vote-by-mail drop boxes, makes it difficult for voters to get assistance returning their mail-in ballots, and requires that voters more frequently re-request to vote by mail.
Following the law’s passage, the three lawsuits were filed.
In the brief –– filed in all three cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida –– the coalition supports the plaintiffs, who argue that SB 90 has discriminatory impacts on minority voters in Florida, that it was passed with the intent to discriminate, and that the law burdens the fundamental right to vote. The brief also asserts that these claims deserve a full hearing at trial and that summary judgment — which the defendants are asking for — is not warranted. The coalition additionally argues that it is possible to pursue free and fair elections while expanding voter opportunity in ways that do not risk malfeasance, maladministration, or fraud. For example, New York and the District of Columbia have done just that with recent expansions to the right to vote.
This brief is a continuation of efforts by Attorney General James to challenge restrictive voting laws and protect voters’ rights across the nation. Attorney General James has successfully led battles against unfair voting restrictions and illegal efforts to deter voting in New York and across the country, ranging from filing lawsuits against the Trump Administration’s for undermining the U.S. Postal service in an effort to block mail-in voting in the 2020 election, to filing an amicus brief in a lawsuit brought forward against a similar discriminatory Georgia law, to stopping conspiracy theorists from suppressing Black New Yorkers' right to vote, and more.
Additionally, in May 2021, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against the Rensselaer County Board of Elections (BOE) and its commissioners for failing to provide voters in Rensselaer County with adequate and equitable access to early voting poll sites, as required by New York’s Early Voting law. In June, a judge ruled in favor of Attorney General James’ request for an injunction against the Rensselaer County Board of Elections, and, in August, the court ruled in favor of Attorney General James’ lawsuit and ordered the BOE to select new early voting poll sites.
Joining Attorney General James in filing this brief are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.