More New York restrictions crop up from Cuomo as parts of town see hospital capacity issue – NBC New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce more restrictions in parts of New York City this week as COVID-19 patients began to overwhelm hospitals ahead of the holiday season, a period during which the governor and officials health forecast for another outbreak in the state and country. increased rate of infection.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the same Monday, noting that despite all the restrictions the state has put in place, people ultimately have to do the right thing for themselves.

“There’s not much you can do, so we implore people to keep Thanksgiving really small, their immediate family, don’t travel and let your guard down just because you’re home,” Murphy said in The Good Morning Interview. America “. “We expect the situation to get worse before it gets better.”

But the public does not seem to listen to their calls. TSA data shows more than 900,000 people flew Thursday through Sunday every day last week, the highest four-day travel volume since mid-March. Sunday’s 1.048 million travelers were the highest number since March 16.

Comparing the expected rise in coronavirus cases after Thanksgiving gatherings to the average American gaining weight after the holidays, Cuomo warned Sunday that “it’s literally up to you” to control the spread of the virus by following guidelines from health care that have been repeated over and over again for the past nine months.

“What if the rate goes up? So what?” Cuomo asked rhetorically on Sunday during his coronavirus briefing. “The rate is going up; there are more restrictions to slow the economy – it’s bad for business. The rates are going up, you are overloading the hospital system, you are overloading doctors, nurses, you may have some supplies. of equipment. The numbers are increasing and people are dying.. People are dying. Period. “

Warn people to follow the rules and keep an eye on the infection rate in their community is the best he can do, he added. His grim warning comes as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have collectively reached one million positive coronavirus cases, a milestone taken only by California and Texas.

New York has increased its testing capacity since the start of the pandemic, but there has been an obvious increase in interest in getting tested over the past week. Whether it’s the rise in cases in and around the city or the upcoming holidays, New Yorkers have reported long queues at a number of COVID testing sites, with some knowing waiting times of 3 to 4 hours.

The area of ​​the city that has been a particular concern for Cuomo’s Staten Island, where large sections of the district are already a yellow zone. The governor said these areas could turn orange and others red.

“Staten Island is a serious problem. Staten Island is also a problem in terms of hospital overloading, and we have a hospital capacity issue on Staten Island that we need to address in the next few days,” Cuomo said.

Daily percentage of positive tests by New York region

Governor Cuomo divided the state into 10 regions for testing purposes and follows the positive rate to identify potential hot spots. Here is the latest monitoring data by region and for the five boroughs. For the latest county-wide statewide results, click here

Dr. Brahim Ardolic, executive director of the University Hospital of Staten Island, described the conditions of stress for anyone in the health field.

“Over the past two weeks, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people requiring hospital care in the hospital. It forced us to create additional capacity for these patients and to make sure we can take care of all of them. our patients, ”said Dr Ardolic.

Upper Manhattan as well as parts of Suffolk and Nassau County could join the list of communities designated as a yellow zone, while parts of Syracuse and Rochester could turn orange, Cuomo said.

Beyond the restrictions that could come this week, the governor warned against the terrible reality that awaits New Yorkers after the holidays.

Cuomo says he will continue to focus on his micro-cluster approach to target COVID hot spots in a given region. However, some steps have been taken at the state level. For more than a week, catering areas have been closed at 10 p.m. in bars, restaurants and bowling alleys. Gyms must also close at 10 p.m.

Small social gatherings in private homes are the third “big diffuser” identified by contract tracing, Cuomo said. These have since been capped at 10 people.

The potential consequences of these interactions over Thanksgiving will begin to emerge between December 1 and December 10, the governor warned, and the collective impact of the holiday “social hyperactivity period” will surface after New Years Eve.

In the latest discovery of an illicit mass rally where thousands of unmasked guests allegedly attended a secret wedding at a Brooklyn synagogue earlier this month, Cuomo called the action “disrespectful.” City officials say they are investigating.

Under Orange Zone rules, schools are all moving remotely, a moot point now for New York City public schools after Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered buildings to be closed due to the 3 positive rate. % of the city, but that would affect private and charter schools. Schools will have the option to “test,” Cuomo reiterated on Sunday, although he said a new formula would be needed for NYC given the volume of students. Expect this to be a key part of returning in-person learning at some point.

Mayor Bill de Blasio reiterated his belief on Monday that New York City would become an Orange Zone by state standards in the coming weeks. State rules of an amber zone allow schools to reopen under extensive testing, he said. To prepare for this possibility, he begged families to fill out test consent forms.

When, and if, the city’s schools get the green light, the mayor said the reopening will begin with schools in District 75, then early childhood education, 3K and pre-K, before moving on to others. schools.

“It’s difficult, but we know that our parents who have their children in school want their children back to school,” said de Blasio Monday. “We have to offer this option to parents again, but it will take a lot of work. We will need a lot of parental involvement. If you want your child to go to school, you really have to help us. these consent forms. “

When de Blasio announced last week that public school buildings would be closed at least over Thanksgiving weekend, some parents questioned why schools were closing while restaurants were still open.

De Blasio said he was in favor of the complaints, but added, “Looking at the state’s numbering system, we’re talking a week or two before we’re in that orange zone status.”

Cuomo first sowed the seeds of the takeover on Wednesday when he announced he would transition all of New York City to a micro-cluster Orange Zone if the seven-day rate across the board city ​​reaches 3% and remains at 3% for 10 consecutive days. Status reports for this metric differ from city data.

“I think it’s confusing and unnecessary, but also irrelevant,” Cuomo said of the local government reporting different numbers than the state. On Sunday, the New York City remained at 2.54%, according to government data – and has not yet reached the first of what will be 10 days 3% or more.

The state’s positivity rate hit 2.74% on Sunday. Hospitalizations statewide have reached 2,562, according to the governor.

The numbers are even more alarming across the river in New Jersey. The state’s largest city, Newark, has asked residents to prepare for a 10-day stay-at-home notice starting November 25.

“We are going, from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to December 4, to shut down the city,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said during a radio appearance on WBGO 88.3 FM on Newark Today on Friday. “We want people to shelter in place. We want people to come only for essential purposes. Don’t go out if you don’t have to. Don’t mix with other people if you don’t have to. Stay (with) your family in your immediate home. “

Baraka’s office did not respond to a request for more details on Friday and it was not immediately clear how the city of 280,000 people would enforce the new restrictions, especially for the Thanksgiving holiday. A message was left with the Newark Police Department.

The virus positivity rate continues to increase steadily in all three states. New Jersey and Connecticut are above 3 percent, and New York is approaching that benchmark. Adam Harding reports.

Baraka recently instituted curfews in three areas of the city and other restrictions on restaurants and non-essential businesses in response to a surge in the number of coronavirus cases in the city.

Two weeks ago, Gov. Phil Murphy interrupted indoor dining between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., and last week he lowered the limit for indoor gatherings from 25 to 10 and brought urged people to stay home for Thanksgiving.

As the uncontrolled spread of the country led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to renew calls for Americans not to travel on Thanksgiving, the United States surpassed 12 million cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, according to an NBC News count.

In promising news, Dr Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, told CNN that the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine could be approved and ready for vaccination as early as December 12.

So far, the United States has recorded more than 257,000 COVID-related deaths, according to NBC News.