Suffolk Legislator Bridget Fleming said on Thursday that hoarding food is unnecessary because supply chains that serve retail food stores are operating normally.
This was confirmed in a Thursday conference call between County Executive Steve Bellone and supermarket officials, Ms. Fleming said on a daily call she has held with news media. The ongoing run on supermarket shelves is consumer-driven, she said. In particular, people have been asked not to buy distilled water when bottled water is unavailable, as distilled water is especially needed for medical uses.
Operators of the ferries connecting the North and South Forks and Shelter Island have asked for passenger cooperation to limit interactions between crew and passengers, Ms. Fleming said. Many classes of tickets can be purchased online, printed, and scanned through a vehicle’s window, eliminating the need for contact. Crew members can also punch tickets without making contact with passengers, she said.
Proprietors of small business have been asked to complete a form at suffolkcountyny.gov/bru or call 311 to be directed to it, Ms. Fleming said. It is to be used to assess needs “when we at the county level are advocating for federal and state emergency funding.” As of Thursday, 135 businesses had completed the survey, she said.
Natalie Wright, chairwoman of the board of directors of the county’s Industrial Development Agency, and Rosalie Drago, acting commissioner of the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Consumer Affairs, are leading the county’s Business Recovery Unit, Ms. Fleming said. “They have assigned 12 new employees from the Department of Labor,” she said. “We encourage people to use that resource, but also to be patient and understand they are overwhelmed.”
Ms. Fleming said that the mobile testing site for COVID-19 infection at Stony Brook University had ramped up significantly. “As of earlier today,” she said on Thursday, “over 1,500 tests had been done,” up from 885 on Wednesday. Consequently, the number of confirmed cases has grown. As of late Thursday there were 239 confirmed cases in Suffolk, 27 of them requiring hospitalization and 7 of those in an intensive-care unit. “More than three” labs are processing tests, Ms. Fleming said.
Those wishing to be tested at the mobile site have been asked to call 888-364-3065. The criteria to be tested remain stringent: One has to display symptoms and have been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
“It’s likely we’re going to need an expansion of hospital capacity,” Ms. Fleming said, adding that the state is working with local hospitals and the federal Army Corps of Engineers to identify potential sites for additional beds.