WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 30, 2020 27
Almost a quarter of NYC residents test
positive for COVID-19 antibodies: Cuomo
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Governor Andrew Cuomo expanded
on preliminary results
to a statewide COVID-19 antibody
tested program that has found that 24.7
percent of New York City residents had
the virus at some point in the course of
the pandemic.
The April 27 announcement was
a followup to last week’s update that
said about 21 percent of city dwellers
had antibodies out of statewide pool of
about 3,000. These, however, were only
preliminary results, according to the
governor.
The new pool consists of 7,500 New
Yorkers from Buff alo to Montauk with
men being more likely than women to
be infected; 16.9 percent for males and
13.1 percent for females, according to
Cuomo. That is with women consisting
of 52 percent of the testing sample.
“Testing tells you where we are, right?
And whether the infection rate is going
up or going down,” Cuomo said. “7,500
is a very signifi cant number and it gives
us a snapshot of where we are. It’s just a
snapshot … but if you look at the diff erent
pictures and you have a movie at one point
and you can track what is happening.”
The percentage of New York state
residents who tested positive for COVID-
19 antibodies diff ered based on their
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo provides a coronavirus update during a press conference in the Red Room at the
State Capitol. Mike Groll/Offi ce of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
location: 24.7 percent tested positive in
NYC; 14.4 percent tested positive on Long
Island; and 15.1 percent tested positive in
Westchester/Rockland. Compare these
results to the “rest of state,” where only
3.2 percent had antibodies.
NYC, Long Island, Westchester/Rockland
and “rest of state” residents made
up 43 percent, 14.4 percent, 6.6 percent
and 35.9 percent of study subjects,
respectively.
On April 26, Cuomo said New York
could begin to un-PAUSE in two phases
starting May 15.
This came aft er the Centers for Disease
Control advised governments that they
could begin reopening aft er a 14-day
decrease in hospitalizations, to which
the Cuomo administration devised a
two-phase plan.
The fi rst phase would mean bringing
construction and manufacturing
activities with low risk to come back
online, and aft er a two week period of
monitoring infection rates, grant businesses
the opportunity to decide for
themselves whether or not to ease back
into operations.
Whether or not businesses should
reopen should be assessed on two planes,
Cuomo said Sunday: “How essential a
service does that business provide and
how risky is that business.”
St. Michael’s Cemetery temporarily closes visitation
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
St. Michael’s Cemetery has temporarily
closed visitation and are
restricting internments attendance,
following guidelines of health
providers.
Ed Horn, St. Michael’s community
relations director, said these
measures are being taken to not
only protect their clients but also
the cemetery’s staff and crew amid
the coronavirus pandemic.
“The grief so many families are
feeling is shared by all who respond
to their needs at St. Michael’s Cemetery,”
Horn said. “During these sad
times the impact upon the staff and
crew of the cemetery is continuous
and compounding. If the virus infected
the staff and or crew, the services
the cemetery provides would
be threatened if not closed.”
“One day soon, hopefully the gates
will again be opened to visitation
and families to attend memorial services.
St. Michael’s will support the
needs of the community by insuring
a respectful resting place that will
honor those entrusted to our keeping,”
Horn added.
The historic cemetery, located
at 7202 Astoria Blvd. South in East
Elmhurst, may also postpone or cancel
their Annual Scott Joplin Concert.
The memorial concert dedicated to
the “King of Ragtime” Scott Joplin,
who is interred at St. Michael’s, with
the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra
was scheduled for May 23.
“St. Michael’s remains a resource
to the citizens of New York as it has
since 1852. We were here aiding
families during the 1918 Spanish Flu
and shall remain an asset to those
who rely upon us during this crisis,”
Horn said. “St. Michael’s Cemetery is
dedicated to insuring those we honor
are remembered with love allowing
families to celebrate the lives we owe
so much to.”
For more information, visit stmiSt.
Michael’s Roman Catholic Church Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson chaelscemetery.com.
/chaelscemetery.com
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
