4 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 8, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Help keep
Whitestone safe
by volunteering
as an NYPD
block watcher
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Learn how to be the eyes and
ears of your community at a
training class in Whitestone on
Saturday.
On Feb. 10, the Whitestone
Library will host an NYPD Block
Watcher training class at 10 a.m.
Th e annual event is organized
by the We Love Whitestone
Civic Association and the 109th
Precinct.
Th e class will teach attendees
how to provide police with complete
and useful information in
the event of an emergency situation
in their neighborhood. Aft er
training, each participant is given
a block watcher identifi cation
number, which should be referenced
when reporting a crime or
dangerous conditions to authorities
when calling 911 or 311.
Training takes approximately
two hours and there is no enrollment
fee or commitment aft er
completion. Certifi cation expires
every two years and participants
in the program remain anonymous.
According to NYPD Shield,
many participants of the Block
Watcher program are elderly or
disabled and “make their observations
without venturing far
from their homes.”
Th ose interested in participating
should email eventsat
welovewhitestone.com, subject
line “NYPD Block Watch Class,”
and include their full name, email
address, telephone number and
whether or not they have taken
the class before. Individuals who
send the email will then be contacted
with the latest information.
Th e Whitestone Library is
located at 151-10 14th Rd. Space
is limited; interested parties
should contact the civic group as
soon as possible.
City urges fl u-stricken residents
to stay home & stop infection
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
If you have fl u-like symptoms, stay home
and take care of yourself.
Th at’s the message city health offi cials
gave on Tuesday in Long Island City a
day aft er two infl uenza-related pediatric
deaths occurred in the city. Th is included
an 8-year-old resident of LeFrak City in
Corona, who came down with the fl u and
died on Monday shortly aft er being hospitalized
for breathing diffi culties.
Infl uenza infects thousands of Americans
every year, but this particular fl u season has
been particularly severe. While stressing
that getting a fl u vaccine is the best defense
against the potentially deadly virus, Health
Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett warned
that anyone who becomes sick should stay
at home from work or school, and take
steps to protect others from becoming
infected.
“If you are sick with the fl u, avoid contact
with others and stay home for at least 24
hours aft er your fever is gone,” Bassett said
during the Feb. 6 conference at the Health
Department’s offi ces in Long Island City.
“To prevent the spread of the virus, New
Yorkers should cover their nose and mouth
with a tissue when they cough or sneeze, and
clean their hands frequently with soap and
water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.”
Parents of children who contract the fl u
shouldn’t worry about missing time from
work to take care of them, added Deputy
Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr.
Herminia Palacio. She noted that city law
requires all employers with fi ve or more
employees to provide paid sick leave to
employees who work more than 80 hours
for them in a calendar year. Businesses with
fewer than fi ve employees must provide
unpaid sick leave.
Children under fi ve years of age as well as
senior adults 65 years of age and older, and
adults with chronic medical conditions,
are most vulnerable to complications from
the fl u. Symptoms include fever, coughing,
sneezing, body aches, fatigue, congestion,
sweating and nausea. Seek medical attention
immediately if you come down with
these or other more severe symptoms.
If you or a loved one has the fl u, the
Health Department advises you to limit
contact with others. Physicians may prescribe
antiviral drugs to treat infl uenza,
reducing the time of illness and preventing
more severe complications of infection.
If you haven’t received a fl u shot yet, it’s
not too late to do so. Call 311, visit nyc.gov/
fl u or text “fl u” to 877877 to fi nd out where
you can get a vaccine in your neighborhood.
8-year-old LeFrak girl dies after suff ering from fl u: cops
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
An 8-year-old girl living at the LeFrak
City complex in Corona who was battling
the fl u has died, police reported.
According to cops, the father of the
8-year-old girl called 911 on Feb. 5 when
his daughter expressed that she had trouble
breathing. She was transported to Elmhurst
Hospital and died at 6:30 a.m., according
to ABC7.
An NYPD spokesperson said if the parents
decide to agree to an autopsy, the medical
examiner will ultimately decide the
cause of death.
Federal health offi cials said the hospitalization
rates for the fl u are at their highest
in almost a decade. According to the
Centers for Disease Control, 53 children
have died nationwide during this fl u season.
In the United States, there were 16
children reported dead from the fl u during
the last week of January, the most to die in a
single week since the 2014-2015 fl u season.
Th e CDC recommends that people get fl u
shots to prevent the illness, especially those
who are most susceptible such as young
children and those 65 years or older.
Photo via Flickr/Flightspeed
Photo via Google Maps
An 8-year-old Corona resident died on Monday after battling the fl u.
Photo via Shutterstock