City Mourns First Death from Coronavirus
By Dan Murphy
As the City of Yonkers continues to stay in place at home, it mourned the death of its first resident last week from COVID-19. A woman in her 50’s who had a pre-existing condition, passed away last week. No other details have been released, and as another unfortunate result of the coronavirus, there are no funerals with visitors allowed.
As the number of cases in Yonkers, Westchester and all of New York continues to rise as more and more get tested, a new recommendation has come from Yonkers Assemblyman Nader Sayegh; to open a COVID-19 testing site in Yonkers.
Currently, there is one testing site in Westchester, at Glen Island in New Rochelle. New Rochelle became the hot spot for the coronavirus earlier this month, and the National Guard was brought into that city to clean, hand out food and help with the testing.
Currently there are no plans for Westchester to have a second testing site, but Sayegh suggested that the Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYS Health Commissioner Howard Zucker consider creating an additional COVID-19 testing site in the City of Yonkers.
“Westchester County continues to be a red-hot epicenter of this contagion, with more cases per capita than any county outside of New York City,” wrote Assemblyman Sayegh. “The creation of an additional testing site in the City of Yonkers would supplement the first New Rochelle testing site by offering a viable alternative location for residents who live in closer proximity to the County’s western side. Such a site would also alleviate the congestion that local hospitals and medical facilities are experiencing from people who are attempting to get tested for COVID-19.”
In the letter, Assemblyman Sayegh proposed the JFK Marina and Park as a viable location for such a testing site, citing the park’s layout which closely geographically mirrors existing testing locations established at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle and Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County.
“According to our observations, this location can more than adequately support the amount of vehicular traffic that is a requisite for drive-through testing locations,” wrote Assemblyman Sayegh.
In addition, Assemblyman Sayegh requested additional supplies for first responders and other essential employees who are making a concerted effort to preserve essential supplies at great risk to their health, specifically highlighting an urgent need for N95 masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
“My team and I remain committed to doing everything in our power to help slow the spread of this contagion,” wrote Assemblyman Sayegh. “I urge you to commit the necessary resources and testing facilities for New Yorkers in the City of Yonkers.”
Governor Cuomo addressed rumors that hospital doctors and nurses have to go without masks and gowns. “There is no one in New York State who can legitimately say “I can’t get a mask-we can get masks and gowns to anyone who needs them,” adding “But I can’t say that about next week. At some point you have to open the valve, this is unsustainable.”
Cuomo also said that it will take more than one month to complete testing and find the spike in the number of those infected.
