Willow Point Nursing Home, owned by Broome County in Vestal, will make changes to its visitation policy. Going forward, all visitations will be restricted and entrance to the facility will be allowed only in certain circumstances, such as end-of-life situations, or when a visitor is essential for a resident’s emotional well-being and care. These circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. These changes to visitation will remain in place until further notice.
During a novel coronavirus briefing Thursday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced the state will institute limits on mass gatherings, directing events with 500 or more individuals in attendance to be cancelled or postponed. Public health officials agree mass gatherings where people make sustained close contact are places where the novel coronavirus can easily infect many people quickly and continue its spread. As such, events, gatherings or places of business with less than 500 individuals in attendance will be required to cut capacity by 50 percent, with exceptions being made for spaces where individuals do not make sustained close contact, such as schools, hospitals, public buildings, mass transit, grocery stores and retail stores.
In an effort to protect some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, Cuomo also announced only medically necessary visits will be allowed at nursing homes. This policy will be effective Friday at 5pm. The state is also asking nursing homes to set up skyping and other online communication capacity so families can tele-visit their loved ones. Additionally, the state will require health screenings for all nursing home workers each day when they enter a facility and require them to wear surgical masks to guard against any potential asymptomatic spread.
In order to increase testing capacity, the State is contracting with BioReference Laboratories to run an additional 5,000 tests per day on top of what the state is already doing. These additional 5,000 tests per day will come online next week. This additional testing capacity is on top of that of the 28 private labs already announced are partnering with the state in the coming days and weeks. Additionally, the first public drive-through testing facility on the east coast will start testing people in New Rochelle. Testing will be done by appointment only. New Rochelle residents who have been quarantined will be tested first.
Finally, Cuomo confirmed 109 additional cases of novel coronavirus Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 325 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 325 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the majority are downstate:
Nassau County: 41 (13 new)
New York City: 95 (43 new)
Rockland County: 7 (1 new)
Suffolk County: 20 (14 new)
Ulster County: 4 (3 new)
Westchester County: 148 (27 new)
The state is taking measures to create a reserve workforce of health care professionals in the event of a staffing shortage and identify state facilities that can be used as temporary hospitals. The state is asking former doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to reconnect with their former employers and offer to work on an on-call basis in the cases of a staffing shortage. The state is also identifying National Guard medics for reserved staffing and contacting medical schools to identify possible reserve health care professionals. Additionally, the Department of Health is accelerating regulations to get more health care personnel trained so they can work in other areas.
Additionally, any business that cannot accommodate rigorous cleaning standards should contact Empire State Development at (212) 803-3100 for a close order.
