Health

The food supply is abundant, but so is the need at East Hampton Town's food pantries, which operating on overdrive to serve more residents amid the shutdown of commercial activity brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As confirmed cases of Covid-19 climbed to 5,791 in Suffolk County, a second drive-through testing site has opened in Riverhead. The facility, operated by ProHealth, a New York-based medical provider, is the first on the East End. 

Con el mayor número de casos de COVID-19 esperados en dos o tres semanas en el estado de Nueva York, los hospitales del Condado de Suffolk están añadiendo camas. Los profesionales médicos locales están estresados y hay escasez de equipo. A los oficiales de gobierno les preocupa que el público no está tomando la amenaza del coronavirus lo suficientemente en serio.

As of Sunday, cases in New York State were doubling every six days, a rate of increase slightly lower than earlier this week. The state had over 59,000 cases, with Suffolk County reporting 5,023 cases and 40 virus-related deaths.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Saturday said seven more people in the county have died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 37. There are now 4,138 confirmed virus cases in the county, up by 753 from Friday. East Hampton's patient count remained the same at 20, but cases in Southampton rose from 65 to 72 in one day. Mr. Bellone said 16 percent of those who are hospitalized -- about 66 people out of 409 -- are age 65 or older.

The state revised an executive order on Friday to halt all nonessential construction during the coronavirus pandemic. 

An order by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has extended the distance-learning measure at least until April 15.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Friday that eight more people in the county had died from COVID-19. There are now 331 cases across Suffolk.

East Hampton Town’s essential services are functioning, despite mandates to reduce staffing and implement the social distancing practices critical to controlling the now-explosive growth in COVID-19 infections in the tristate area. 

In learning to cope with the shutdown of public assembly and commercial activity amid a health emergency, many profess a new appreciation for life and its myriad joys. 

As Covid-19 continues to spread, first responders on the South Fork are continuing to work, albeit while taking extra precautions. 

Unable to sell a 1,000-pound catch of fluke last week, Capt. Chuck Morici of the dragger Act 1 spent three days filleting the fish at Montauk commercial dock and offering it for free straight from his boat. On Saturday morning, he gave it away from the back of his pickup truck in downtown Montauk, a big handwritten sign announcing, “Free Fish.”

“We need to support those on the front lines of crisis, particularly the health care workers,” Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said. “None of us have direct experience with this, even in my 27 years of government experience I’ve never faced anything like it.”

With the full wave of COVID-19 patients still expected to be a few weeks out in New York State, Suffolk hospitals are scrambling to add beds, local medical professionals are feeling taxed, equipment is in short supply, and officials are worried that the public is not taking the threat of infection seriously enough.

East Hampton Village has its third confirmed case of COVID-19, Mayor Richard Lawler announced in a statement on Thursday, and there are now 2,735 confirmed cases countywide, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said in his daily update on the crisis. 
       

Live, from East Hampton: Your town board members will take part in a virtual video meeting on Friday that will be streamed on LTV’s Channel 22 and online.

In a message posted online on Tuesday night, the department followed a recommendation from the White House Coronavirus Task Force in urging anyone who had been in the city recently to stay home and isolated for 14 days.

East End food pantries and other social services organizations are seeing a surge of people in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, their directors said this week. 

The Sag Harbor School District on Wednesday announced "more than one member of our school community" has been diagnosed with COVID-19, making it the second local school to confirm at least one case.

The school, which has students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, including international boarding students, said it is not known how the faculty member contracted the illness. The test result came in late Monday night.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Suffolk County rose to 1,880 on Tuesday, as the county executive reported more virus-related deaths for the sixth day in a row and officials scrambled to increase the number of hospital beds across the region.

El reglamento sigue un anuncio similar realizado por el Metropolitan Transportation Authority para los autobuses de la ciudad de Nueva York y el Long Island Rail Road. Efectivo se está aceptando únicamente en las máquinas de tickets, y una aplicación llamada MTA eTix está disponible para pagar las tarifas digitalmente.

Steve Bellone will offer an update on Suffolk's response at 6:30 p.m. as cases in the county rise to nearly 1,500.

The Hampton Jitney paused its Jitney and Ambassador bus service between the South Fork and New York City effective Monday. 

School districts and day care centers here are answering the governor’s call to help parents and caregivers who are first responders, health care workers, and other essential employees during the COVID-19 response.

As of Sunday evening, East Hampton Town had 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19, Southampton Town, 16, Shelter Island 2, and Southold Town 91. Officials plead with people to practice social distancing.

Suffolk Transit buses are going cashless and taking other measures to increase public health safety as the effects of COVID-19 continue to grow.

Con el esfuerzo de proveer información acerca de la pandemia del COVID-19 a nuestra comunidad de habla hispana, el East Hampton Star está colaborando con la Organización Latino-Americana para traducir artículos al español.

Some of the key takeaways from this week's news about COVID-19 in New York State, Suffolk County, and our South Fork communities.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office released a list of those businesses considered essential while an executive order designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 is in effect. Businesses not on the list must arrange for all of their employees to work from home or cease operation by 8 p.m. Sunday or face fines.