There are still no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Onondaga County, but officials say they’re ready to respond if anyone tests positive. Nineteen people have been quarantined as a precaution due to past travel.
Onondaga County Health Commissioner Doctor Indu Gupta says people who have symptoms like cough, fever, body aches, or shortness of breath shouldn’t immediately seek care.
"We don't want anyone just running to the emergency room, or walking in to an urgent care or their doctor's office. We are asking them to call their doctor, get the advice on the phone, and them have ask the right questions and give you the professional advice."
Gupta says doctors will use specific criteria to determine if a patient’s symptoms warrant testing, including travel history.
"Go through the right screening process with your doctor to make sure you get the right guidance so the right test can be done at the right time. Hopefully it will be negative. But if it's positive, we are ready to take that on."
Any testing will then be coordinated with a hospital to make sure the patient is properly screened. Gupta adds that these screenings have been opened up so any provider can test a patient if they need to. Meanwhile, county officials will hold a daily Facebook live update around noon to keep the community updated on any developments.
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY TAKES ADDITIONAL PRECAUTIONS
Syracuse University continues to closely monitor developments related to the coronavirus outbreak, and their preparedness and response planning is ongoing. The update came in an update to the unviersity community from Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie.
He says the University has made the decision to cancel all University-sponsored student programs scheduled during spring break, planned for any location away from Syracuse.
In addition, effective immediately, Syracuse University is prohibiting all University-sponsored international travel until further notice. This prohibition extends to all faculty, staff and students.
University officials are also following US Department of Education guidance to institutions of higher learning cautioning against bias, bullying, harassment, and stereotyping directed at Chinese Americans and anyone of Asian descent. Haynie urges all members of the University community to extend care, compassion, and support to each other, especially those who might be targeted because of their ethnicity or country of origin.
SU has launched a comprehensive coronavirus awareness campaign, which includes:
- A new web page, syracuse.edu/coronavirus to serve as the official source of information regarding coronavirus to keep students and the University community informed.
- Campus signage including flyers, door clings, and digital signage in high-traffic locations serving as a reminder of best practices for staying healthy.
- Coronavirus help line for students, parents, families who might have questions (315) 443-8472.
NEW YORK STATE TO MAKE ITS OWN HAND SANITIZER
The head of the state’s Port Authority has tested positive for corona virus, and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s health officials are releasing a plan for possible school closures if a child is found to have the illness. Meanwhile, the state is manufacturing its own hand sanitizer, to deal with the shortage of the disinfectant product.
Cuomo, in what has become a daily briefing on the spread of the illness, says Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has tested positive for the virus. Cotton is in quarantine at his home, where he is recovering. Cuomo says Cotton had been overseeing arrivals at the busy John F Kennedy international airport in recent weeks, and may have contracted the virus there.
“He’s been at the airports, obviously, when many people were coming back with the virus,” said Cuomo who added that Cotton’s senior staff is also being tested and will be on quarantine.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, also at the briefing, released the latest numbers on the illness, and says he’s working with the state education department, or SED , to devise a plan for potential school closures, if a student comes down with the virus. Zucker says the plan is for the affected school to close for 24 hours to do a cleaning and assessment of the situation, and then decide whether to reopen the school or keep it closed for longer.
“You have a positive case, you want someone to go there and clean the environment,” said Zucker, who added that the health department will work with state education officials to investigate where the child caught the virus.
“Let’s try to get a little bit more information,” Zucker said. “That’s the purpose.”
The health department is also working with the federal Centers for Disease Control about a longer closure of public schools in New Rochelle, in Westchester County, where there is a cluster of cases. Cuomo says the region is a “significant hot spot” for the virus.
The governor says while the illness so far has not been severe in children, the strategy is to contain the spread wherever possible so that the vulnerable populations like the elderly and people with underlying medical conditions are not exposed.
“The image in my mind is, 9 year old Johnny goes and kisses his grandmother, and now there’s an issue,” he said.
The governor says he is concerned for his own mother, Matilda Cuomo, who is 88, and he has urged her to keep away from public gatherings.
The state has recommend that nursing homes in New Rochelle suspend access to visitors, and says that other nursing homes around the state consider limiting visitors.
Cuomo says for now, there are no plans to suspend the legislative session or limit crowds at the Capitol, where hundreds often come during session days to lobby and hold demonstrations. He says the strategy is to impose restrictions where there are multiple cases of the illness, and urge caution, including handwashing and social distancing, everywhere else.
The governor also announced a practical solution to the hand sanitizer shortage. Prisoners at the Great Meadows correctional facility will be manufacturing 100,000 gallons of hand disinfectant solution each week. Cuomo, trying to add a light note to grim circumstances, demonstrated the use of the product, saying it is better than what’s on the market, with a 75% alcohol content.
“It comes in a variety of sizes, it has a very nice floral bouquet,” Cuomo quipped.
The hand sanitizer, which costs the state $6 a gallon to make, will be distributed for free to schools, local governments and health care facilities that need it.
And, says he’s sending an expedited bill to the legislature that would guarantee paid sick leave to New Yorkers who are placed on quarantine because of the corona virus.
The governor already included a paid sick leave measure in his state budget proposal. He says now he’s updating the legislation to guarantee workers in New York get paid leave when they are quarantined at home because of the corona virus.
“I think it’s especially important that if government is ordering a quarantine, even a voluntary quarantine, that places a personal hardship on a person,” Cuomo said. “That person should get paid.”
Cuomo says a “significant” number of people are now being quarantined, and he says it’s in the interest of the business community that workers who are sick or may be carriers of the virus stay home and “stop the spread”.
The governor says his staff is looking at whether the measure could be retroactive, to cover those already quarantined.
A spokesman for the state Assembly, Michael Whyland, says lawmakers there are working on a bill with the governor and the state Senate that could be approved in the coming weeks.
