This archive report was first published on 10 May 2020.
Children's Illness Raises Concerns ¶
At least 38 New York City children have been afflicted with a new inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid-19, with three fatalities reported statewide, including one in the city.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the alarming rise in cases on Sunday, May 10, 2020, more than double the 15 cases warned of by the city health department just days earlier.
The syndrome, known as pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, has introduced a new and troubling aspect to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has largely spared children from serious disease.
Statewide, 85 potential cases are being investigated, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo warned that any nursing home operator failing to provide appropriate care for residents would lose its operating license.
Dr. Howard Zucker, the state health commissioner, emphasized the importance of caution, saying, 'The most important thing parents should do is err on the side of caution.'
Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the city's health commissioner, called for increased virus testing citywide to help identify children at risk, saying, 'This is still evolving.'
Cuomo Introduces New Rules for Nursing Homes ¶
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a series of new measures to protect the roughly 100,000 New Yorkers living in nursing homes, which have seen thousands of deaths due to Covid-19.
He warned that any nursing home operator failing to provide appropriate care for residents would lose its operating license, saying, 'The rule is very simple: if a nursing home cannot provide care for a person and provide the appropriate level of care for any reason, they must transfer the person out of the facility.'
Nursing homes that cannot find an appropriate place to place a patient can call the state Department of Health to seek a transfer, and the state will then put the patient in one of roughly 40,000 excess-capacity hospital beds.
Going forward, all nursing home workers statewide must be tested for Covid-19 twice a week, and staff must wear masks and personal protection equipment when dealing with Covid-positive patients.
Additionally, hospitals are no longer permitted to discharge Covid-19 positive patients to nursing homes, and instead, they should either hold them or transfer them to a Covid-19 only facility.
Other Developments ¶
At least 260 city employees have died from complications of the coronavirus, and the city will extend health insurance coverage for those families by 45 days.
The city will also increase the number of social distancing ambassadors to 2,300, up from 1,000, and Mayor de Blasio dismissed concerns that enforcing social-distancing rules was infringing on the freedom of speech of protesters.
Gov. Cuomo reiterated his call for federal funding, saying the state needed $35 billion 'this year just to compensate for the total amount of losses.'
