Suffolk Coronavirus: Bellone Explains How Economy Can Reopen

Lisa Finn
Updated ·5 min read

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — With Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiling new details about restarting the economy in his recent press briefings, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone weighed in on details he said are critical to prevent a resurgence of new coronavirus cases.

Cuomo said Monday that the big question on everyone's minds is reopening. As May 15 approaches, Cuomo said the plan to "un-PAUSE" will come with regional analysis, with certain areas of the state ready to be un-paused sooner based on the number of cases and hospitalization rates that have occurred there.

"There is no light switch," he said, adding that circumstances must be taken into consideration. "You have to be smart," he said. "If you're not smart you will see the infection rate back to where we were 58 days ago."

Guidelines set for by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that areas can reopen only after they have seen a decline in coronavirus hospitalization numbers for 14 straight days.

The first two industries Cuomo said will come back are construction and manufacturing, but with every business poised to reopen, the questions that must be asked include what precautions what can be put in place, how social distancing will be monitored, and what health care capacity exists in that region. Also, another question that exists is if individuals are infected, can they be isolated in facilities such as hospitals, he said.

Diagnostic and antibody testing and the tracing of contacts are also critical, he said.

And, Cuomo said, "no attractive nuisances," can reopen, including "potentially dangerous situations" or attractions that normally attract children and bring people in from outside the region.

Reopening, Cuomo said, must be coordinated regionally, and as the valve is turned slowly, factors such as hospitalization rate, antibody and diagnostic testing and the rate of transmission must be considered.

A field hospital created at Stony Brook will remain in place until the fall in case there is a second wave of coronavirus but others, such as one at the Javits Center and another at the Westchester County Center, may be dismantled because they can't reopen with hospital beds, Cuomo said.

Suffolk County's reopening plan

With Suffolk County's number trending downward — except for one day last week, they have consistently declined — Bellone said the county "is moving in the direction" of seeing the necessary 14-day decline, as mandated by the CDC, to start reopening. "The trend is moving in the right direction. If things continue on their current track within a week we should meet the CDC guidelines," he said.

County officials are having discussions every day with businesses and different sectors, Bellone said. "It's critical that people learn that as we reopen the economy they are going to have to comply with social distancing and be wearing face coverings for the forseeable future. If we do those things in unison, with a scalable testing program and aggressive contact tracing, we can reopen safely."

Those measures, Bellone said, are necessary to protect public health and keep the county from going back to where the numbers were six or seven weeks ago. "We could find ourselves back in that place with the infection rate going right back up and the hospital system overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients — and people dying because of the virus," he said.

Bellone, who toured the field hospital at Stony Brook Saturday, praised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for executing an "extraordinary feat" and completing the facility in mere weeks; the hospital will remain in case of a second wave in the fall. The CDC has said that if that happened, combined with a serious flu season, "we could be in even more difficult circumstances," Bellone said.

Domestic violence uptick

Describing a situation that unfolded in Suffolk County this weekend, Bellone said the incident highlighted the issue of domestic violence during coronavirus.

Suffolk County has seen a 3.5 percent uptick in domestic violence cases from the period when the coronavirus stay-at-home mandate commenced through April 16, he said. "Domestic violence is horrid and intolerable and something we do not accept," Bellone said.

New York State, he said, has unveiled a new texting service for domestic violence victims; often, a person may not be able to call for help because their abuser is close by. Those who need help can text 844-997-2121, call 311, or click here to access services and help.

Mental health issues have also been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and resources are available, Bellone said. Those in need of services can call 311 for a full range organizations ready to help, he said.

32 new deaths

As of Monday, there were 33,140 confirmed cases of coronavirus countywide, with an increase of 464 over the past 24 hours.

The hospitalization rate continued to go down, with a decrease of 37 and a total number hospitalized of 1,097. ICU beds have decreased by 35 to a total of 408 patients in ICU beds countywide, Bellone said.

Hospital capacity stands at 3,369 beds and 775 ICU beds; of that number, 953 hospital beds and 228 ICU beds are available.

A total of 69 patients went home in the past 24 hours.

And the county reported 32 new deaths, for a total of 1,102.

The town breakdown of coronavirus cases is as follows:

Islip: 9,633

Brookhaven: 6,871

Babylon: 5,391

Huntington: 3,861

Smithtown: 1,741

Southampton: 593

Riverhead: 406

Southold: 300

East Hampton: 158

Shelter Island: 7

Supply effort continues

Suffolk County has, to date, delivered 2.9 million pieces of personal protective equipment to hospitals, fire departments and first responders, with another 28,000 delivered Sunday, Bellone said.

Mobile hot spots

An expanded food distribution will soon be introduced at the county's six mobile hot spot testing sites.

New sites will be announced soon, Bellone said. When asked if a site would open in Greenport, he said, "That's something are are looking at now."




This article originally appeared on the East Hampton Patch