County Looks to Cope With Health, Economic Fallout of COVID-19
Westchester is taking a series of steps to help residents and business owners cope with the coronavirus pandemic, County Executive George Latimer said Wednesday.
Latimer said the county is looking for people or entities to donate or sell personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and emergency responders. Equipment includes masks, gloves and gowns and other items that would protect workers from the disease. For those who are looking to sell or donate e-mail icanhelp@westchestergov.com.
The county also wants to identify every resident living in a senior subsidized housing unit who tests positive for COVID-19 so building management is aware to protect the workers at the site. It is a similar protocol that is being used at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, Latimer said.
“We want to make sure that if there is a case of COVID-19, the building management knows, the employees of the building know, so that they can protect themselves when they deal with those residents and then as they deal with other residents of the building,” Latimer said.
He said Westchester is also in the midst of identifying additional space that can be retrofitted into hospital space, if needed, in addition to the makeshift hospital planned for the County Center in White Plains.
On the fiscal side, the county’s economic development director is recommending loans and grants for small businesses to survive the shutdown. However, Latimer said the county is relying on the federal stimulus package that has been debated in Congress during the past week to help businesses and families through the crisis.
“Without that assistance from the federal government I don’t believe the county government, the state government, the local governments will be solvent,” Latimer said. “I don’t believe that businesses will be solvent and certainly individual human families will not be solvent.”
The county executive said that his office has received comments of concern from the public about the decision to keep open the county’s parks and golf courses. He said golf is a sport that doesn’t require close contact between participants even if there are multiple people playing.
The public also needs outlets for some passive recreation on nice days, which is why the parks will remain open for now.
However, Latimer said that the summer seasons at Playland and Westchester’s beaches and public pools could be in jeopardy depending on whether COVID-19 abates. The county is about 10 days away from deciding whether to push back the traditional mid-May opening of Playland to Memorial Day weekend, which also coincides with the opening of the beaches.
There is more time to decide on the fate of the opening of the pool season, which is typically around the end of the public school academic year in June.
“There’s no social distancing in a pool, there’s no social distancing at Playland, there’s no social distancing at a beach, so we don’t open them up until we know that we can be in these kinds of close quarters and enjoy the time together,” Latimer said.
The county also released the number of confirmed cases by each municipality throughout Westchester on Wednesday. Latimer said there could be a two- or three-day lag on these statistics.
- Ardsley 3
- Bedford 10
- Briarcliff Manor 9
- Bronxville 9
- Buchanan 0
- Cortlandt 31
- Croton-on-Hudson 5
- Dobbs Ferry 16
- Eastchester 38
- Elmsford 6
- Greenburgh 63
- Harrison 29
- Hastings-on-Hudson 13
- Irvington 8
- Larchmont 13
- Lewisboro 7
- Mamaroneck Town 18
- Mamaroneck Village 18
- Mount Kisco 20
- Mount Pleasant 32
- Mount Vernon 89
- New Castle 13
- New Rochelle 234
- North Castle 13
- North Salem 2
- Ossining Town 7
- Ossining Village 47
- Peekskill 26
- Pelham 18
- Pelham Manor 12
- Pleasantville 14
- Port Chester 51
- Pound Ridge 1
- Rye Brook 17
- Rye City 15
- Scarsdale 39
- Sleepy Hollow 19
- Somers 9
- Tarrytown 15
- Tuckahoe 7
- White Plains 74
- Yonkers 201
- Yorktown 30
If the public has questions related to the coronavirus, call the 211 United Way hotline, or 888-364-3065 or e-mail COVID19FAQ@westchestergov.com.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
