By Dan Murphy
Westchester County Executive George Latimer gave a blunt and honest health assessment as COVID-19 cases in the county continue to rise at alarming rates. During a press conference this week, Latimer said that the “Second Wave” of a spike in COVID cases and hospitalizations, “that we were warned off has come true.”
On Nov. 19, Latimer and Governor Andrew Cuomo updated residents on the spikes of positive COVID cases, resulting in Cuomo designating several Westchester communities as Yellow Zones,
Parts of New Rochelle, Ossining, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Yonkers and Peekskill were added to the Yellow Zone. Port Chester and parts of Rye Brook were already a part of the Yellow Zone, which restricts the number of persons that can gather together in businesses or restaurants or houses of worship. Port Chester has now been elevated to an Orange Zone of infection.
Yellow Zone designation is based on a seven day average of residents testing positive at a rate of more than 2.5%.
The important restriction in Yellow Zone designation is that school districts in a Yellow Zone can remain open but must test 20% of the student and staff population.
additional restrictions include:
- Indoor and outdoor dining is permitted, but there is a four-person maximum per table; bars and restaurants must still close at 10 p.m.; and late-night takeout is permitted.
- In-home private gatherings are limited to 10 people.
- All other nonessential gatherings are limited to 25 people, whether indoors or outdoors.
- Capacity at houses or worship is limited to 50 percent.
Two weeks ago, Westchester had just over 1,000 active cases. This week that number has tripled to over 3,700. “We just filed a countywide robocall with a public reminder of the personal steps we must take: masks, hand washing, social distancing. We’re now setting up PPE giveaways at apartment complexes to get the protection down to the grassroots level. We’re going to ratchet back our County department staffs to remote work as much as possible. Only virtual meetings for our Boards and Commissions immediately, no in-person gatherings.,” said Latimer.
“Governor Cuomo holds executive authority to effect the hows and whens of shutdowns. We don’t want to see anything shutdown per se, but if we don’t turn the corner soon….choices may be limited. We expect he will work in harmony with neighboring Governors. I know all too well the terrible economic impacts of any shutdowns and it is devastating to lives. All the more reason to stop any need for shutdowns by getting 100% compliance on social gatherings, masks, etc.”
“We prize our personal freedom and we speak of personal responsibility. The price of doing our own thing could well be the lives of a neighbor or family member. If we step up as individuaks, then there’s no need for government to step in. But lives are at stake. Arguing over death statistics, that tries to minimize the threat we face sounds more like fighting to avoid the self sacrifice that is needed in this revived moment of the pandemic.
We were warned of this. And it has come true. How we respind to this is really the only question now.”
Doctors, clinics and hospitals recognize that more COVID-19 surges are likely to occur. They are working with manufacturers to stock up on equipment, and they are continuing their policies for protecting patients and staff members,” said Latimer.
As all of us wait and pray for a Vaccine, we agree completely with the County Executive, who admonished those who are refusing to practice COVID-19 precautions, such as physical distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing. “I invite you to join us when we have refrigerator trucks of bodies with tote tags on them stacked up in a refrigerated vehicle in one location or another because we do not have the capacity to deal with the number of people that have died within a period of time,” Latimer said. “And then tell me what you think your rights should be and shouldn’t be when we have dead bodies stacked up like that. I lose my patience with that.”
A total of 1,490 Westchester residents have died since March from COVID-19.
