Mayor's Message: Covid-19 Update December 2, 2020

Mayor
Hi everyone,
 
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, several of you have asked where things stand in the village in terms of covid-19. In this missive I’ll let you know the latest information I have and will also share a heartwarming story that made me proud to be part of our very special community.
 
HoH Cases
The County will not be releasing its Covid-19 map today (technical glitch apparently) but yesterday the map showed we had 17 active cases. A total of 194 cases have been reported in the Village since March – here is the monthly count:
  • March: 55 cases
  • April: 49 cases
  • May: 9 cases
  • June: 20 cases (mass testing event at Andrus resulting in 16 cases)
  • July: 6 cases
  • August: 4 cases
  • September: 9 cases
  • October: 6 cases
  • November: 36 cases (so far)
 
We are still in the lowest quartile of municipalities in Westchester in terms of reported cases, and we now have the 8th lowest number of total reported cases out of 44 municipalities. As I said in the Board of Trustees Meeting on Tuesday, while this is positive news for us, it means sadly that one of our sister municipalities has experienced a dramatic increase in cases …
 
Due to the reporting lag, 3 of the cases showing up on our map are already out of quarantine (they date from more than 14 days ago) and will be removed from the active count within a day or two. There was another mass testing event at Andrus and among our current cases are 5 Andrus residents (all asymptomatic), the rest are mostly from small family clusters. Our data set bears out the theory advanced by the Governor that the main conduits for transmission are households and small gatherings of people. Tomorrow or the next day, we will start to learn how many new cases resulted from Thanksgiving celebrations. It’s a little hard to know definitively yet what the effect of those gatherings will be … so far it seems our numbers have gone up a bit but not quite as much as some of our neighbors. I’d like to think this is because all of you have been doing what’s right even if it meant making tough choices over the holidays. My husband and I realized it was our most intimate Thanksgiving ever, pre or post children! Many of you shared that you also had very low-key celebrations and it was a comfort to know we were not alone in the family decisions we made.
 
Free Antibody Testing
On that note, thanks to all of you who wrote expressing sympathy that our son was unable to visit us last week. He ended up testing negative but had to quarantine with his housemates. He and his friends are convinced that they were in fact sick back in March and must now have antibodies. They plan to donate blood via the Red Cross and as part of the process will be given a free antibody test, which will confirm their status one way or another. Our son’s hope is that if he does have antibodies his blood can be used for convalescent plasma to help treat people who are seriously sick with covid. If you know you had covid, or you think you might have had it, see HERE for more information on donating your blood to help others.
 
Free Covid Testing
Many of you have mentioned that it’s difficult to get a test. Hopefully the demand will settle down post Thanksgiving. If you need one, you can call the New York State Hotline to schedule a free appointment: (888) 364-3065, or click HERE for the online assessment tool to help schedule an appointment, or HERE for more information (there is never any charge for a test from a test site run by New York State). If you go to a test site operated by municipalities, private companies including pharmacies, and medical practices or not-for-profit organizations, check with the testing site and your insurer in advance of being tested to confirm whether you will be responsible for any fees associated with your test.  More resources are available on the County site (see HERE).
 
Free Flu Shots
You can get a free flu shot at CVS and Walgreens, and they are available for a fee from many area pharmacists and medical offices (see HERE for locations).
 
News from the Governor
Post Thanksgiving, Governor Cuomo has not yet announced any new Covid-19 Cluster Zones in our area (for the current cluster maps click HERE), but he has announced a plan to combat covid-19 during the winter months which you can find HERE. A core focus will be on keeping K-8 and Special Education schools open as long as it can be done safely. The Governor’s micro cluster zone strategy targets geographic regions with higher rates of transmission in order to contain the spread of the virus. The intention is to have a surgical strategy, as opposed to the broad brush approach taken earlier in the year. Each successive Cluster Zone tier comes with a new set of restrictions. An explanation of the yellow, orange and red zones and of the related restrictions can be found HERE, and the metrics being used to make zone determinations can be found HERE. While a number of factors are being taken into account, one of the key indicators is the percentage of positive cases in relation to the total number of tests taken in a given area.
 
The Governor also just announced that vaccines will be available in New York as of December 15th – healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be the first groups of people to receive the vaccine.
 
Virtual Ribbons of Remembrance
Tomorrow, December 3rd at 2pm our County Executive will host a virtual ribbons of remembrance ceremony to honor those we have lost to covid-19. You can tune in HERE.
 
Acts of Kindness – The Heroes Next Door
Things in our village are not as bad as elsewhere but quite honestly it’s not great anywhere, so … I’m sharing the following story because it made me feel privileged to live where we do, with inspiring acts of kindness happening around us every single day.
 
Saving someone's life is perhaps the most meaningful act of kindness any of us can do, and here in our Village neighbors do that for neighbors more often than you know. The week before Thanksgiving, on November 20th, members of our volunteer ambulance corps, fire department and police did just that. Here's what happened:
 
Hastings resident Richard Bass fell to the floor with a heart attack. His wife, Laura, called 911 and ran to get Ellen Golds, an EMT in our Fire Department Ambulance Corps, who happens to live across the street. Their daughter Rachel stayed with Richard and helped as Ellen sped over and started CPR. Alan Golds, her husband and one of our ambulance drivers as well as a firefighter, was alerted by his Fire Department pager as he was leaving Foodtown, and rushed to the scene with the ambulance. Meanwhile, Hastings Police Officers Stephanie Minor and Emilio Rojas responded, and they and Alan began assisting Ellen, who had been performing CPR alone. EMT/Ambulance Corps Lieutenant Cathy Gunther arrived and helped continue CPR … and Richard’s heart started beating on its own! Soon Ambulance Corps members and firefighters Drew Sherman, Nick Frascone and Fire Chief Mike Gunther got to the scene along with Greenburgh Paramedic Kerri Conrad. Kerri began advanced live-saving protocols and the team carried Richard to the ambulance and whisked him to the Medical Center. Exactly one week later he returned home. The doctor at the Medical Center told Laura if it hadn't been for the quick response by our local team Richard wouldn't have made it. He added that situations like this are exactly why local community care is so essential. I spoke to Richard and Laura this week and they are beyond grateful to our ambulance corps, our fire department, our police, and to Dr. Iris Sherman and Ilene Zwirn who were pillars of support in an incredibly stressful moment. Richard and Laura wanted you to all to know how amazingly lucky we are to have volunteers like these living among us.  Our volunteers are selfless in the care they provide 24/7 to any resident that calls with an emergency medical situation. This is all the more special as we all struggle to deal with the COVID pandemic.
 
If you want to thank our Fire Department Ambulance Corps for this and other heroic acts they perform everyday you can donate on their website (see HERE) or support one of their fundraisers. Right now you can meet up with Chief John Lindner and his team as they sell holidays trees at the American Legion this weekend from 10 am to 7 pm and weekdays 4 to 7 pm. Please support them – they really are the heroes next door!
 
In the meantime, wear a mask, socially distance, wash your hands, quarantine or isolate as requested, co-operate with contact tracers, take care of one another and do stay safe!
 
Feel free to reach out to me if you have specific questions, concerns or stories to share: mayor@hastingsgov.org
 
Sincerely,
 
Nicola Armacost
Mayor