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Bud Conway and Kalpana Astras outside the camper where Nic Astras is staying during the ongoing pandemic. Photo by Kyle Barr

At the end of a grueling 12 hour shift as an internal medicine resident at Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue, Setauket resident Nicolas Astras can’t simply enter his home, put his feet up on the couch and relax, not anymore, not since the pandemic hit Long Island hospitals like a tidal wave. 

Drawings Kalpana’s daughter drew for her father. Photo by Kyle Barr

He has a wife and three kids, ages 13, 10 and 5. For all he knows, he is covered in COVID-19. If he wanted to go in and take off his clothes and shower, he knows he could potentially spread the virus to other parts of the house and to his family members.

Astras’ wife, Kalpana, said her husband had few choices. He could have lived in an unused hotel room or house, but that would have been a bitter and depressing pill to swallow, having nobody to come home to, nobody to talk to. 

Then, Kalpana said after friends referred her to Facebook group RVs 4 MDs, the family was given a third option, one that while nowhere near as good as getting to be home with the family, it would offer a degree of separation and homeyness, despite the need to be separated.

“It has given us an area where he can be secluded from us so he cannot give us anything,” Kalpana said. “It makes him feel safe that he’s not spreading it.”

From the street, it seems like the Grey Wolf camper parked in Nicolas and Kalpana Astras’ Setauket driveway would just be a summer getaway vehicle. Though now it has become a saving grace. It belongs to Bud Conway, a Farmingville resident who heard about the Facebook group through a family member. Not having an account, he signed up and put his name down as having a camper. Soon, he was linked with the Astras family, and that was that.

Kalpana, who herself is still working full time at a clinical trials company, takes in her husband’s clothes to be washed, trying to be careful around them. She also stocks up the fridge and makes meals for the doctor when he goes to work. Every time she enters the camper, she wears an N95 mask and is careful when touching anything.

Though it’s not completely isolated. The daughter’s bedroom overlooks the driveway on the second floor, and when the husband walks out to get air in the morning, the daughter talks with him and connects.

Despite how thankful the family is, Conway said it wasn’t much, even with him and an electrician friend traveling there to help fix the camper when something was broken. With him not using it, he said it was the least he could do.

“I’m not the hero here,” he said. “It’s just a camper, not a kidney.”

RVs 4 MDs started March 24 as just Texan Emily Phillips, the wife of an emergency room physician, was convinced to ask the community if anyone had an RV for her husband. Days later she founded the Facebook group,which has since blown out into a nation-spanning movement to connect camper and trailer owners to doctors who need to be able to self-quarantine.

But over a month since that started, as the number of hospitalized patients decline in the county, officials say there is some hope on the horizon. But for hospital workers still in the midst of it, the silver linings usually come not from thinking of work, but with communicating with the family.

“Yesterday he said they extubated some patients, which is good news — it’s a flicker of good news,” Kalpana said. “It’s really to boost his morale, to keep him home with us.”

Inside the camper, a number of index cards lay on the table in the suffused light. They show pictures of rainbows, hearts and messages saying, “We love You” and “Your Our Hero,” all from his kids.

“My 10-year-old, her way of coping is with art,” Kalpana said. “Every time I come in with food, she does artwork, and he just collects them on the table.”

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Despite the worrisome sign that net hospitalizations rose for a second straight day in Suffolk County, the area has still met one of the qualifications for a phased reopening.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that hospitals in an area have a three-day moving average where the number of hospitalizations from COVID-19 declines.

Over the last day, the number of hospitalizations from the coronavirus rose by 18, after inching up by four on Monday, bringing the total to 835 people. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday had declined by 38, which means the three day moving average was a decline of over five people.

“The fact that we’ve had two days in a row of increasing hospitalizations is definitely something I’m concerned about,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. He doesn’t “want to see that trend continuing.”

For the second consecutive day as well, the number of people who were discharged from the hospital increased at a slower pace than it had in the last few weeks, with 37 people heading home to continue their recovery.

“Is this an indication that the people that are in the hospitals, which would be common sense, are people who are more sick?” Bellone said. He suggested that would be “logical,” although he doesn’t have any specific indication behind the numbers about why the net hospitalizations have climbed amid conspicuously lower discharges.

While Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has discussed a phased reopening of the state on May 15, when New York Pause ends, the decision of when to open different regions will depend on the data from those area. Upstate, for example, hasn’t been hit as hard as downstate areas like Nassau and Suffolk County.

“We are doing the work to prepare for that reopening downstate,” Bellone said. While the county executive is hopeful Suffolk County could open as soon as possible, he said the county would have to hit a range of metrics to make that possible.

These measures include a 70 percent or lower use of hospital beds, which is about where the county stands now. That, however, does not include elective surgeries, which, once they start picking up again, will require some hospital bed usage.

Additionally, the number of new hospitalizations in Suffolk County will need to be 30 or lower based on a three-day rolling average. Over the last 24 hours, the number of new hospitalizations from COVID-19 was 50.

“We’re not there yet,” Bellone said.

Amid ongoing testing throughout the county, including in seven hotspot testing sites, the number of new positive tests climbed to 715 to 38,252. The percentage of positive tests is 34.6 percent.

On the positive side, the number of people in the Intensive Care Unit declined by seven, as the number of intubations also fell.

“That’s a very good sign,” Bellone said.

The number of people who have died from complications related to coronavirus climbed by 23, bringing the total to 1,296.

“We know the terrible grief and tragedies that this virus has wrought upon our community,” Bellone said, as residents “haven’t been able to grieve in the way we are accustomed to as a community.”

The American Red Cross is providing crisis counselors who can work with families, supplying emotional and spiritual support.

Residents who would like to receive confidential help can log in to www.redcross.org/nyscovidfamilysupport where they will fill out a nine-question form. Alternatively, residents can call 585-957-8187.

Bellone said New York State and Northwell Health tested 700 police officers yesterday at the Suffolk County Police Academy for the presence of antibodies to the virus.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said the police would use the information to track the location of positive cases to see if there are hotspots within the department.

Finally, Bellone is launching a new space on the county site where residents can share positive stories, at www.suffolkcountyny.gov/dashboardofhope. He is encouraging people to share positive stories about teachers this week, during National Teacher’s Week. Residents can share good news or can link to facebook, twitter, or videos.

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Lindsey David, a Medford EMT, is tested for coronavirus antibodies at New York Cancer and Blood Specialists in Port Jefferson Station. Photo by Kyle Barr

With the amount of testing for COVID-19 still nowhere where it needs to be, locals in emergency service are starting to get such necessary information whether they have COVID-19 or its antibodies from some unexpected places.

Kenneth Spiegel, a Medford volunteer department member, is tested for COVID-19 antibodies. Photo by Kyle Barr

The New York Cancer and Blood Specialists location in Port Jefferson Station started offering tests to firefighters, emergency responders and other essential workers Saturday, May 2. Throughout the morning, cars from districts such as Medford pulled into the parking lot located at 1500 Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station. Many who arrived said this had been their first opportunity to get tested, even though as EMS workers in an ambulance they have been handling COVID-positive patients for nearly the past two months.

Marcia Spiegel, an EMT for the Medford Fire Department, said she had been exposed all the way back in early March when at a surprise party she learned one of the persons there had it, but even close to two months since,she was never able to get tested.

Both her and her husband Kenneth both traveled to Port Jefferson Station to get tested, as did many from her department that morning May 2.

“If we’re in fact negative, it doesn’t mean that we still can’t get sick, but if we know if we have the antibodies, that would be better,” she said.

Staff in full body gear went out to each car to administer the tests, including the notorious long-stemmed nasal swab to test for the virus and drawing blood to test for antibodies. About 35 visitors came to the location last Saturday, including some essential workers from a construction company. NYCBS officials said another 50 would attend next Saturday’s marathon. The testing is held Saturdays at that specific location when no other employees or clients come through, medical workers said.

Lindsey David, a Medford EMT, said she donated blood right at the start of the pandemic, but has been looking for ways to help even more. That would be especially important if she can confirm she may have had the virus and perhaps can donate her blood plasma if she indeed has the antibodies.

“I just want to help any way I can,” she said.

Diana Youngs, a VP of Clinical Operations at NYCBS, said all readings from the tests are being done in-house at the Route 112 location. Fire departments and companies receive their antibody tests within the day, while the virus test is available within the next 48 hours.

Lindsey David, a Medford EMT, is tested for COVID-19 at New York Cancer and Blood Specialists in Port Jefferson Station. Photo by Kyle Barr

Researchers are still trying to understand what are the likelihood of developing antibodies for the virus after infection, but theoretically, Youngs said, if one has tested negative for the virus and for antibodies then likely they have never had the virus.

“They don’t know, and say you call an ambulance to your house, you don’t know if they have it,” Youngs said. “So it works both ways, it helps everybody.”

All testing supplies are coming from the company’s own suppliers.

Such efforts are some of the few non-governmental testing initiatives on the island that specifically offer help to emergency responders. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced plans for testing to be held at local pharmacies, specific details of locations and how those tests will be processed have not yet seen the light. New York state is also offering people the chance to try and get tested, with people able to visit covid19screening.health.ny.gov

Though, barring a vaccine, officials said testing is the only way the economy will eventually be able to safely reopen.

“Increased, reliable testing is going to be the key to reopening businesses, public facilities, and protecting our workers,” Brookhaven town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said in a release. “Offering these tests to our frontline workers is a critical first step.”

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The closely-watched hospitalization rate crept up in the last day, disrupting a streak that had Suffolk County within a day of reaching the critical 14-day declines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended for a phased reopening.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 rose by 4 to 817, as the number of people discharged from the hospital increased by 33, which is about a third of the pace for the last few weeks.

The slight increase in hospitalizations, however, does not reset the CDC guidance clock, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said the state would use a rolling three-day average of hospitalizations.

“We are confident we will meet that metric,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. “Based on what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, my expectation is that will be declining once again tomorrow.”

Cuomo’s daily press briefing outlined the basics for reopening the New York, though downstate counties such as Nassau and Suffolk are going to have to wait longer than upstate, which could see things open much sooner as the May 15 deadline for New York Pause order expires.

The number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds declined by seven to 317.

The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus climbed by 563 to 37,537. Bellone said hotspot testing sites that have also provided food distribution would now include Huntington Station. Last week, the county added food distribution at Wyandanch and Brentwood.

The number of people who have died from complications related to COVID-19 increased by 17 to 1,273, which is lower than recent fatality rates. It still, however, represents the loss of another 17 people.

Separately, Northwell Health and New York State have started the process of antibody testing at the Suffolk County Police Academy for law enforcement today. The health care professionals tested 400 police officers today.

“We will be testing not only police officers, but also correction officers, deputy sheriffs and probation officers,” Bellone said. The testing will expand to include first responders, Emergency Services Staff, fire and essential employees.

Bellone urged anyone interested in joining the county’s Suffolk Forward business initiative, which is a joint effort with Stony Brook University, to reach out through 311.

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A blood sample with respiratory coronavirus positive. Stock photo

Even as Suffolk County moves closer every day to the possibility of restarting the economy and reopening shuttered businesses amid a steady decline in hospitalizations from COVID-19, the number of positive tests for the county as a hole and for hotspot testing sites for the virus continue to increase.

In the last 24 hours, 889 people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total who have tested positive for the virus that has caused the pandemic to reach 36,974, bringing the total above the number of confirmed cases for Switzerland and about 44 percent of the number of confirmed cases out of China, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of positive tests “should be a little bit of a wake up call for people,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on a conference call with reporters. “We know the margin for error in the rate of transmission is not great.”

Indeed, the county executive said the transmission rate for each positive test is about 0.75. If the county rises to 1.1 on the rate of transmission – meaning each infected person passes along the virus to more than one other person – the virus could “spread out of control,” Bellone said. “We don’t have a lot of room to spare in these numbers.”

Bellone urged Suffolk County residents to understand that reopening “has to be done right.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said during his daily press briefing today that he will work to figure out what is causing the new infections, which would enable a more targeted approach to protecting the population, Bellone suggested.

As New York starts the seventh week of the governor’s New York Pause tonight, the number of people who have died in Suffolk County continues to climb. Over the last day, 29 people have died from complications related to Covid-19, bringing the total number of fatalities in the county to 1,256.

“There is not a person in Suffolk County who hasn’t been either directly impacted or knows somebody who has been affected,” Bellone said.

On the positive front, the number of hospitalizations continues its steady decline, with a reduction of 38 residents in the last day, bringing the total to 813. That is a decline of close to 51 percent from the highest coronavirus hospitalizations, which the county reached April 10. If the numbers decline over the next two days, Suffolk County will have reached 14 consecutive days where the net number of hospitalizations from the virus came down. That would meet the guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to start a phased reopening of the economy.

The number of people in Intensive Care Units also declined by three, to 324.

As of today, the number of people in hospital beds and in the intensive care units hovered around 70 percent, which is also a targeted figure from the CDC for reopening, as the health agency would like hospitals to have enough room for any future increase in admissions if the infection rate increases in the fall or winter.

In hotspot testing sites, the number of positive tests was 1,038 out of close to 2,400 results, which brings the positive rate of testing to 43.2 percent. That is still above the rate of 35.3 percent for the rest of the county, but it is a narrowing of the gap, Bellone said.

Bellone’s office distributed 24,000 personal protective equipment yesterday, bringing the total to 3.2 million since the crisis began. Yesterday, the county received 6,250 Tyvec Coveralls from the Federal Emergency Management Association.

As the warmer weather reaches Long Island, the Suffolk County Police Department continues to monitor the activity of people who have been cooped up indoors for weeks, cooking meals, cleaning their homes, and taking care of their children and, to the extent they can, continuing to manage their jobs.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said the volume is up in the parks and outside in general. “Overwhelmingly, people are in compliance” with social distancing guidelines, Hart said. “We’re hoping that’s what we’re going to see moving forward.”

Hart said the police will also continue to monitor any demonstrations in reaction to New York Pause, which is scheduled to end on May 15. She said if the police saw opportunities to provide face coverings to protestors or to remind them to maintain social distancing, the officers would do that.

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The show must go on(line). Theatre Three in Port Jefferson proudly presents Theatre Three Off-Stage/On-Line, an exciting series of short works, each no longer than fifteen minutes. 

In an effort to present original content in a unique way, Theatre Three’s call for scripts garnered over 125 submissions in its first week that can be presented exclusively on-line. The pieces have been written or re-conceived for the online platform, and writers have used the constraints of the format as a different way to tell stories.

The series will debut this Sunday, May 3, at 7 p.m. with the comedy Taking Sum Lumps by Ken Preuss, starring Michelle LaBozzetta and Brian Smith. This will be followed on Wednesday, May 6, at 7 p.m. with Phil Darg’s drama Trajectory, featuring Linda May and Stephen T. Wangner. 

The series is directed by Theatre Three’s Artistic Director Jeffrey Sanzel.  Technical production is by Tim Haggerty and Eric J. Hughes.

Coming soon will be You Give Me Fever by Thomas Pierce; Blinking in Treetops by Shirley King; Future Drew by John Mark Day; and Stage Fights Screen and The Birds Are Feeding Me, both by Rex McGregor, with more plays to be announced.

New premieres will be held every Sunday and Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on YouTube, Facebook and Theatre Three’s website, www.theatrethree.com.

Theatre Three continues to accept submissions; guidelines can be found at https://theatrethree.com/offstage-online.html.

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Even as Suffolk County emerges from the worst of the public health crisis from COVID-19, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) expressed concern about the mental health toll the last few weeks has taken on residents.

“Throughout the crisis, we have talked about mental health,” Bellone said on his daily conference call with reporters. “As we move forward, it’s going to become a more important issue.”

People have been reacting to the crisis and helping others. During these stressors, residents have been “going on instinct” and are “exhausted,” Bellone said. “It’s when you start to slow down a bit or move away, that a lot of what you’ve encountered, what you’ve faced can start to manifest itself.”

He anticipates seeing more mental health challenges as the county moves out of this crisis period.

Bellone said he has encouraged residents to contact his office through 311 if they are dealing with mental health challenges, such as depression or anxiety. The Family Service League has provided health care for first responders, health care workers and veterans through a hotline.

The scale of the losses during the pandemic through April has been enormous, Bellone said. With an additional 26 people dying over the last day from complications related to COVID-19, the number of deaths for the county has reached 1,203.

The number of deaths highlights the reason residents in the county need to follow social distancing guidelines and remain at home, to the extent possible. Each day, the county moves closer to the 14-day period during which hospitalizations from COVID-19 decrease, which the county will reach if the declines continue through May 5.

In the last day, 67 fewer people were in the hospital from the virus, bringing the total to 903. Even as some residents were admitted to the hospital, 98 people left the hospital to continue their recoveries at home.

The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit from the virus has also dropped by 20 to 324.

In the last 24 hours, the county has also distributed 37,000 personal protective equipment, bringing the total to over 3.1 million since the pandemic reached Long Island.

Suffolk Forward Business Programs

Separately, the county executive announced a program to support small businesses called Suffolk Forward. Designed with Stony Brook University College of Business, the programs were created to help Suffolk County businesses respond to the current economic reality and develop ways to use resources.

Businesses will have the chance to gather information about new ways to increase revenue, build on their technology tools, refine business models, and receive individualized expert business advice.

Suffolk County and its partners will send a needs assessment survey to the restaurant, retail, and construction industries. After reading the replies, Stony Brook University will provide needed services and will report and track the results.

The first effort is the Suffolk Forward Gift Card Platform, which provides a one stop shop for Suffolk County residents to pre-purchase goods and services to support local retail and services businesses during the pandemic. The platform, which was created by Huntington-based eGifter, is free for businesses to participate. To purchase gift cards online, or to have your business feature on the web platform, click here.

The second initiative is the Suffolk Forward Job Board, which provides Suffolk County Residents with access to regional job opportunities and businesses with a pool of applicants seeking new jobs. Suffolk County will provide new details over time.

The last three initiative, Tech Enhancement Program, the Suffolk Forward “Pandemic Shift” Business Workshops, and the Suffolk Forward Virtual Expert Network, provide small businesses with Stony Brook support and education services.

Through the Tech Enhancement Program, local businesses can identify their business technology needs and Stony Brook University business, computer science and IT students, under the direction of faculty, will assess the technology needs of each business and advise the owners. Technology can help businesses reopen during the pandemic and stay open.

The Suffolk Forward “Pandemic Shift” Business Workshops, which are coordinated by the Stony Brook University College of Business, offer a series of four 90-minute video workshops and peer support to help small businesses deal with four key steps: hope, survival, focus and pivot.

The Suffolk Forward Virtual Expert Network provides small businesses with complimentary consultation via virtual office hours with Stony Brook University College of Business professors. The free sessions aim to provide business leaders with the tools that could help them tackle ongoing business challenges.

New York Closes All Schools Until End of School Year

With the question hanging above educators heads for the past month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) finally announced all schools in the state will remain closed until the end of the school year due to the ongoing pandemic. The decision applies to both grade school and higher education, and will mandate the use of distance learning for the next several months.

“Teachers did a phenomenal job stepping up to do this,” Cuomo said. “We made the best of a situation.”

The governor added with the number of school districts and children, it mandates precautions to protect young and old during the pandemic. He said it would not be possible to create a system that would socially distance children while also transporting them and keeping them in schools.

The decision also waives the requirement districts have 180 days of learning per school year.

Regarding in-person summer school, the governor said a decision will be made by the end of May.

On the topic of summer camps, Cuomo said just as he was leaving the press briefing that “whatever regional decision will also apply to the summer camps.”

SC Supervisors Discuss Summer

Meanwhile, the Suffolk County Supervisors Association announced a joint planning effort with three Nassau County Town Supervisors to develop ways to coordinate summer programs across all 13 towns. The group, which Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer is leading, is known as the Nassau/ Suffolk County Summer Operations Task Force.

The group, which met on Zoom for the first time today, dealt with a number of issues. They wanted to ensure consistent social distancing guidelines across communities.

They also planned to sync the timing of beach, park and facilities as much as they could, to ensure variation among areas doesn’t lead to a surge in crowding at any location. If they needed to close beaches, they also wanted to prevent crowds from forming in any town.

Uniform policies for beach usage, park activity and playground policies will ensure the safest approach to these areas, the supervisors said.

The group announced a goal of May 18 to issue guidelines the towns could agree on.

“Just as we consider the shared service model for other purposes, from purchasing to relieving overcrowding at our animal shelters, inconsistency in policies can lead to greater demand and greater risk at a single location, which we intend to avoid as the purpose of this collaboration,” said Town of Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R). “Each Town has something to offer from our parks and beaches to our waterfront facilities — we want our residents and their families to enjoy everything our Towns have to offer without adding unnecessary risk.”

Beaches Open for Hiking and Jogging, not Swimming

Meanwhile, Brookhaven Town will open West Meadow, Cedar in Mount Sinai and Corey in Blue Point.

The Town is not opening the beach at these locations. Prohibited items and activities include chairs, umbrellas, blankets, coolers, fishing, congregating and any sporting activity. Dogs are also not allowed. No lifeguards will be on duty.

Residents will be allowed to walk, hike, and jog at these beaches as long as they maintain social distancing. Masks are recommended. Parking will be limited to 50% of capacity. Code enforcement and parks staff will maintain parking limits and patrol areas to ensure social distancing compliance.

The rules allow for passive uses only. People can’t congregate or engage in sports activities, or use playground equipment. People are also not allowed to shake hands or engage in any unnecessary physical contact. There is no fishing, swimming, blankets, coolers, umbrellas or beach chairs. Social distancing requires six feet between people who don’t live in the same home.  When residents can’t social distance, they have to wear face coverings.

Residents with coughs or fever are not permitted. The restrooms are closed. The town encourages people to limit their stays to allow other residents to enjoy the areas. Once the maximum 50% capacity is reached in the parking lots, they will close. As cars leave, others can visit.

With additional reporting by Rita Egan and Kyle Barr

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New York Cancer & Blood Specialists in PJS.

Starting May 2, the Port Jefferson Station location of the New York Cancer & Blood Specialists will begin to offer COVID-19 testing to local fire and ambulance districts.

A spokesperson for the company said multiple local fire departments have committed to be the first groups tested at the site. It is reserved specifically for first responders only. The site will offer both antibody and nasal swab testing for COVID-19, and such results of this testing could also be useful in determining the utilization and allocation of personal protective equipment.

“We are trying to help the fire departments determine who can go back out into the field safely, whether or not members were previously exposed, if they’re not actively infected anymore, or if they have the antibodies so it’s safer for them to go into certain areas,” Diana Youngs, the vice president of clinical operations at NYCBS said in a release.

“Increased, reliable testing is going to be the key to reopening businesses, public facilities, and protecting our workers,” Brookhaven town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said in a release. “Offering these tests to our frontline workers is a critical first step.”

The location which is closed on weekends ensures no potential exposure to patients. Nurses in PPE will test the local fire and EMS volunteers at a designated drawing station in the parking lot. The results are processed within 30 minutes for the antibody test and between 18-24 hours for the nasal swab test.

“Volunteer ambulance workers on Long Island place themselves at risk of contracting this virus every day that they report for duty. Every single call they respond to is a potential COVID-19 positive patient,” said Greg Miglino,  the chief of South Country Ambulance. “We’re grateful to New York Cancer and Blood Specialists for offering testing to these volunteers, who put their lives on the line, not for pay, but to serve the most vulnerable people in our community.”

The location is at 1500 Route 112 Port Jefferson Station.

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Main Street in Port Jefferson. Photo by Sapphire Perara

By Sapphire Perera

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a temporary solution for the climate crisis. For many years, people have sought out various approaches to bring down greenhouse gas emissions and improve the environment through renewable energy sources. However, the coronavirus pandemic has proved to be the most effective solution yet. The earth is finally being allowed to breathe. Many scientists are calling this pandemic a temporary solution to the climate crisis but I believe that we can continue to have air with lower carbon dioxide levels, water that is clear and clean and a healthy environment if we all worked hard to change our daily routine. 

Sapphire Perera

The COVID-19 started healing the environment in China: the most polluted country on earth. Due to the forced closings of factories, shut-downs of manufacturing plants and mandatory quarantines for its citizens, there were reductions in coal and crude oil usage. It resulted in a reduction in CO2 emissions of 25 percent or more, which is approximately six percent of total global emissions. Italy was the country next in line to feel the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic. However, with everyone in quarantine, Italy followed China in terms of environmental revival. In only a few months, the people of Venice were able to see the fish and the bottom of the canals that were once murky and polluted. In India, similar improvements were being seen. The beautiful snow-covered Himalayas were once hidden by smog but after months of quarantine and a strict curfew, they could be seen by the Jalandhar citizens from more than one hundred miles away; they claim that it’s the first time in 30 years that they’ve clearly seen the Himalayas.

These changes to the environment are being seen all across the world. However, once quarantine ends, the earth will be suffocated by humans once again. To prevent this, I believe that more time and resources should be invested in the search for permanent solutions that would ameliorate the climate crisis. In terms of individual change, I know that there are hundreds of ways for us to stop partaking in the activities that promote the oil industry and fossil fuel industry. For instance, we can stop using cruise ships and motorboats for personal entertainment. According to the 2016 Pacific Standard report, “each passenger’s carbon footprint while cruising is roughly three-times it would be on land”. 

In addition to regulating our carbon footprint through marine activities, we can also start placing more emphasis on alternative sports that don’t require corporate culture producers who promote environmentally unfriendly functions and corporations. Also, while this last one might be a small change, it can have a great impact. This change requires us to use less of our private vehicles to get places, and more of the public transport system. Transport makes up about 72 percent of the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. If public transportation is increased to the point that families are taking buses and trains more than their own cars, we might be able to significantly reduce the percentage of gas emissions that come from driving.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY-14 Bronx) Green New Deal reinforces some of these ideas and has already shown results through the pandemic. Some proposals in the Green New Deal include high-speed rail, removing combustible engines from the road, upgrading all existing buildings, and retraining coal workers. 

One very important aspect of this Green New Deal is to reduce air travel. Many people find that to be too drastic a step towards fixing climate change, but is it really? According to a Center for Biological Diversity report, airplanes will generate about forty-three gigatonnes of planet-warming pollution through 2050. But with the current travel restrictions and just a few months of limited air travel, we are seeing clouds of nitrogen dioxide begin to evaporate from places above Italy and China. In addition to being less dependent on air travel, we are now less dependent on the coal mining industries. This has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the employment of coal workers; over 34,000 coal mining jobs have disappeared in the U.S. in the past decade. Fortunately, the Green New Deal focuses on training the coal workers in occupations pertaining to renewable and clean energy, and infrastructure. By eliminating the coal mining industry we would be making great leaps in the fight against the climate crisis. 

Ever since the green revolution, humanity has been taking more than they need from the environment. We have abused Earth’s natural resources and expanded into territories that were inhabited by other species. I hope that this coronavirus pandemic has shown us that humanity doesn’t have to behave like a virus. We don’t have to continue worsening the climate crisis but instead, we could learn from this pandemic and start implementing regulations such as limited air travel and increased public transportations. We can turn consumerism to conservation, capitalism to socialism, and industrialism to environmentalism. 

Sapphire Perera is a junior at Port Jefferson high school. The “Turtle Island,” as the name for this ongoing column refers to the Native American mythology about North America existing on the back of a great turtle that bears every living being on its spine.

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With a reduction of 77 hospitalizations in the last 24 hours from COVID-19, hospitalizations have dropped over 40 percent from their peak on April 10.

Indeed, the number of people in the hospital because of the coronavirus has dropped to 970, which is close to the number who were in Suffolk County hospitals at the start of April.

The end of the month of April “couldn’t be more different than when we started,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. “When we started [April], we had no idea whether that surge that we were talking about for so long would overwhelm” the health care system.

Bellone credited health care heroes with saving people’s lives and holding the line against the surge of people who developed symptoms from the disease.

The county is ending this month “in a far better place than we began,” Bellone added.

Even as hospitalizations have declined, however, residents are continuing to test positive for the virus, as the number of new positive tests increased by 723 to 34,802.

Ever since the county created hotspot testing, the numbers from those seven sites, which now includes Southampton, have been increasing. The county has tested 2,459 people and has positive results on 881 of the 1,868 tests for which results are known.

The number of people with coronavirus in Intensive Care Unit beds also fell by 25 to 344.

Bed capacity is approaching 70 percent, which is the target rate to reopen the economy.

Bellone is also optimistic that the county will continue to move towards the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s target of 14 straight days of declining hospitalizations from the virus. Once the county reaches that level, it can consider reopening the economy.

In the last 24 hours, 114 residents have left the hospital.

Deaths due to complications from the coronavirus continue to climb. The number of people who died in the last day from the virus was 22, bringing the total to 1,177 people.

Bellone said he doesn’t think there’s a resident of Suffolk County who hasn’t been impacted or know someone who lost a family member, friend or loved one to the disease. The county executive mourned the loss of Terri Freda, who worked in the Medical Examiner’s Office. Freda, who was a spokeswoman for the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office in 1997 after the crash of TWA Flight 800, and her husband both lost their battle with the virus.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Terri’s family,” Bellone said.

The county will begin testing law enforcement this Monday and will administer 500 tests at Suffolk County Police Academy. Officers can register starting tomorrow.

Separately, Stony Brook University is urging residents with medical needs unrelated to COVID-19 to reach out to their doctors. People who are having cardiac issues or strokes need rapid-response medical attention, the hospital said.

In a press release, Stony Brook indicated that it has taken numerous steps to protect patients and minimize exposure to COVID-19, including: preventing crowding; adopting CDC guidelines about social distancing and protective equipment; ensuring that staff, doctors and patients are wearing masks; sanitizing facilities; and screening patients the day before their visits. Patients with symptoms of the virus are going to offices designated for COVID-19 care.

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