Coronavirus
City braces for spike in COVID-19 cases
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
The number of confirmed
coronavirus cases in New
York City continues to
climb, Mayor Bill de Blasio said
Tuesday, and the city now working
to prepare for additional patients
who become sick after contracting
COVID-19, the illness caused by
the virus.
“We are obviously more concerned
when we see more cases
but there’s a piece of this that is
actually good news and that is that
testing capacity is coming more
online,” said de Blasio during a
press conference at Bellevue Hospital.
The mayor then blamed the
federal government for delaying
the roll-out of automated testing
in the city.
The mayor added that there
are 30 New Yorkers in mandatory
quarantine, 1,980 in self-quarantine,
195 pending tests and 258
negative tests for the virus, in his
most recent update on the virus
on March 10.
On Wednesday morning, de
Blasio said there were 46 confirmed
cases of coronavirus in
New York City.
Private hospitals that started
testing for the virus on Friday are
starting to “really amp up,” said
Mayor de Blasio applauding some of Bellevue Hospital’s nurses and doctors shortly before an update on coronavirus
in the city on March 10.
the mayor, and are being inundated
with test results. Hospitals
are receiving so many results so
rapidly, de Blasio said, that it has
prevented the city from compiling
detailed case breakdowns of
those who have tested positively
and negatively for the virus.
Now that the hospitals are in
testing overdrive, New Yorkers
will soon see a “very different
trajectory” in terms of the information
on those who contract the
virus, said the mayor.
CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals
Dr. Mitchell Katz, also
present at the press conference,
said that city hospitals and the
Health + Hospitals 60 outpatient
sites are preparing for a flood of
patients.
Although 80% of people who
PHOTO COURTESY OF MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY UNIT
contract the coronavirus show
minimal or no symptoms, 20%
will probably need health care
services, and 5% will need intensive
services like a breathing tube
or ventilator machine, said Katz.
Katz said even though New
York City hospitals are notoriously
overcrowded, they are
prepared to take on an emergency
influx of patients.
“You change how you operate,
you don’t continue to operate in
the same standard,” said Katz.
If hospitals were to suddenly get
huge amounts of patients in “respiratory
distress” they would rapidly
discharge patients currently in the
hospital that could be safely cared
for at home. Hospitals would also
cancel all elective surgeries in
order to free up staff and space.
Hand sanitizer, clean wipes in ‘short supply’ across city
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
As more cases of coronavirus are being diagnosed
in New York, consumers who need hand sanitizer
and disinfectant wipes won’t have to worry about
being overcharged by stores looking to capitalize on the
spreading virus.
Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
(DCWP) Commissioner Lorelei Salas announced on
Monday that hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes are
temporarily in short supply. Effective March 10, it will
be temporarily illegal to drastically increase prices on
these items.
The declaration expires in 30 days but can be cancelled
or extended by the commissioner.
“We continue to see businesses prey on consumers who
are concerned about their health during a time of unique
uncertainty and it will not be tolerated,” said DCWP
Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “We are actively educating
businesses and consumers that this is unacceptable, and
will be investigating complaints of price gouging. We urge
consumers who are overcharged on these items to file a
complaint with our office.”
On March 5, DCWP Commissioner Salas declared that
face masks were short supply. Under this declaration,
stores selling face masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant
wipes cannot excessively increase prices, require
the purchase of a minimum quantity of the item, deny
consumers equal opportunity to purchase the item or
require consumers to purchase another item to get the
item in short supply. The DCWP will inspect stores and
respond to consumer complaints. Stores that overcharge
their customers will be subject to a violation with a $500
fine.
“It is unacceptable for businesses to target New Yorkers
who are trying to take necessary precautions to practice
good hygiene to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” said
NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Deanne
Criswell. “We will not tolerate price gouging, and I
support Commissioner Salas in cracking down on any
offender.”
DCWP encourages consumers who are overcharged
to file a complaint at nyc.gov/dcwp or by contacting 311.
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
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