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Cars line up at the Stony Brook coronavirus testing site. Photo by Kyle Barr

The closely watched number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 fell below 1,400 for the first time in weeks, as 10 percent of the people in the hospital were discharged in the last day.

The net decline in hospitalizations was 57 people, bringing the total to 1,377.

“That’s another positive milestone we are hitting,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters.

The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit also declined by two people, falling below 500.

“This is a continuation of positive signs,” but the county has “a long way to go to beat this thing,” Bellone said.

The number of people who have left the hospital in the last day increased to 141.

“We want to see that number as high as possible,” Bellone said, as he wished those who had returned to their homes a continued recovery.

Meanwhile, the county is adding another hotspot testing site and is planning to open a facility in Coram at the Elsie Owens Health Center this Friday.

The number of people who have tested positive for the virus continues to rise, with 844 people testing positive in the last day, bringing the total positive tests to 29,588.

According to figures on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) web site from the State Department of Health, the number of Suffolk County residents who died in the last 24 hours from complications related to COVID-19 rose by 38 to 926.

The deaths are “beyond anything we could have imagined at the starts of this across Long Island,” Bellone said.

With many groups questioning when the general landscape will open up again, Cuomo announced a new effort to test and trace people to determine who may have COVID-19 and who they may have had contact with. The effort will be headed up by former city mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The governor said it will take an “army” of tracers. Bloomberg is putting up over $10 million for the effort. Over 35,000 SUNY and CUNY medical students will be boots on the ground. The state has 500 tracers currently, but could need many thousands more.

As residents deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic and the shutdown, Bellone urged people to fill out a mortgage relief survey on the county’s web site, at suffolkcountyny.gov. He would like to highlight what financial institutions are doing to “make sure they are doing the right thing,” Bellone said.

He urged residents and businesses to share their situations. If residents are struggling with the site, he suggested they can receive assistance by calling 311.

Bellone cited two recent police actions that resulted in arrests. Police arrested Matthew Christianson, a 21-year old resident of North Babylon. They charged him with nine counts of grand larceny, four counts of criminal possession of stolen property and several other infractions for a crime spree that started on April 14 and ended with his arrest.

In the Deer Park Business District, First Precinct Sergeant Robert Desanto saw a car with inadequate headlights at 12:35 a.m. When he pulled the car over, he saw glass on the back bumper and numerous cartons of cigarettes and boxes of vape pens inside. The 1st Squad detectives arrested 52-year-old Stanley Emerson of Brentwood, 32-year-old Keith Pasha of Bay Shore and 36-year-old Jacqueline DiPalma of Hauppauge and charged them with burglary in the third degree.

Police allege they drove their car through the front window of a store to steal the merchandise.

“To anyone who thinks they will take advantage of this situation, and that somehow the police will be distracted, think again,” Bellone said.

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For the first time in six days, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Suffolk County rose, defying a positive trend for the area.

The number of people hospitalized climbed by 23 to 1,434.

“I wouldn’t put too much stock in one day’s number,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. “The question will be,  ‘are we plateauing at a lower level, or is this a one day blip?’”

The number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds declined by 5 to 501.

On the positive side, 68 people were discharged from hospitals in the county.

“We’re very happy to see that number,” Bellone said, although it is lower than it’s been in the last few days.

The number of people who have died from complications related to coronavirus continues to rise, although that number is lower than it’s been recently as well. An additional 29 people have died in the last 24 hours in the county, bringing the total residents who have died from the virus to 888.

Bellone said the county distributed another 100,000 pieces of personal protective equipment yesterday, bringing the total to 2.5 million since the crisis began.

Bellone thanked all those who have helped provide services through Suffolk 311. The number of calls since the pandemic hit the island on March 9th is now 20,000. On an average day before the crisis, the number was closer to 100 per day, while that has now climbed to closer to 650 per day.

“I want to thank the team that has done a terrific job,” Bellone said.

Bellone thanked Hint Water for donating water to first responders, which his office has helped distribute.

He also thanked the Suffolk County Police Department for continuing to do its job amid the pandemic. Indeed, the department arrested Jesus Vazquez for allegedly committing four burglaries in Bay Shore and Brentwood last week.

Looking for positive signs during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Bellone found it today when he visited Joe Zito of West Babylon, who celebrated his 100th birthday.

For the county executive, the celebration was a “personal sign of hope.”

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Village Fears Future Coronavirus Closure Protests

Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson. File photo by David Luces

Though the majority of local residents are doing their best to practice social distancing and comply with state executive orders, Suffolk County police said others have been belligerent and uncooperative in suppressing the spread of coronavirus.

Police said 6th precinct officers responded to Main Street in Port Jefferson Sunday, April 19, at around 1:30 p.m. There was a report of a large group of people not practicing social distancing. 

Police said one individual refused a request to social distance or put a mask on. He was taken to the Sixth Precinct and was released with a civil summons returnable to the Village of Port Jefferson for failure to comply with the executive order.

Port Jefferson village Mayor Margot Garant said in the April 20 trustees meeting that Sunday saw large groups of people down in Port Jefferson, with many congregating on Main Street and in Harborfront Park. Many were not wearing masks. The park along the waterfront was temporarily closed after the incident when cops arrived.

“Sunday was a very difficult day in the village — it was a sunny day and people had cabin fever,” the mayor said. “Between groups of motorcycles, people showing off muscle cars …  we did have to close down Harborfront.”

She said such actions by locals and visitors means they could be spreading the virus not only to others, but also to police and code enforcement, which she said should be especially respected now since they are “part of the front line.”

The fear, village officials said, was a kind of political backlash and further gatherings. In other states, there have been protests about closures of businesses and amenities. While nearly every state, both Republican and Democrat-led, now has some sort of lockdown laws in place, these protests have taken on a political edge to them, with President Donald Trump (R) in some cases explicitly supporting the rallies, despite health officials warning it may spread SARS Cov-2 even more.

Some of these protests have blocked roadways and reportedly even restricted health care workers from getting to hospitals.

“Knowing there are certain groups that are causing rallies, this will not be getting better for us,” Garant said. “This situation is not going to get better for us, this is a destination village.”

Currently, the village is working on staggered shifts, and suspects some projects slated for 2020 may be put on hold, though the Toast stairway project is moving ahead, with only sprinkler systems yet to be installed.

Otherwise the village has instituted a spending freeze, and any expenditures have to go through administration staff before they get approved.

The mayor added village tax bills are still being generated, and will be due June 1.

 

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Town of Brookhaven's Cedar Beach. Photo by Kyle Barr

As summer approaches, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) is forming a working group to balance between public health precautions and summer recreational activities.

Bellone named Deputy County Executive Peter Scully as the chairman of a working group that will include town supervisors, village mayors in the east and west end of Suffolk and representatives from Fire Island.

The group will “work to develop guidelines and recommendations on reopening of municipal facilities,” Bellone said on his daily conference call with reporters. “We know it’s going to get more difficult as the summer approaches [amid] a strong desire to get back to a sense of normalcy.”

The county executive cautioned that Suffolk would not return to life as it was, as residents will live in a “different environment with different rules,” which will likely include the further deployment of face coverings, which can and have reduce the cost in terms of the number of lives lost to the disease.

“When you ask about whether you should continue those guidelines, think about how many people have died,” Bellone said. Indeed, that number climbed another 34 in the last day to 859.

The county, however, continues to share positive news, as the number of people entering hospitals with COVID-19 is lower than the number who are discharged, which reduces the strain on the health care system.

Another 90 people left hospitals and returned home over the last day. The number of people in the hospital fell by 30 to 1,411 people.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced today a regional group that will explore ways to reopen downstate New York. He also said New York would be working with surrounding states to plan reopening, with an emphasis not only on going back to the same place but improving on what came before.

“Let’s use this crisis, this situation, this time to actually learn the lessons … lets reimagine what we want society to be,” Cuomo said.

That downstate group will include representatives from Cuomo’s offices, Bellone’s offices, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), Nassau County Executive Laura Curran (D) and Westchester County Executive George Latimer (D).

On the economic front, Bellone sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to gain acess to the municipal liquidity facility, which could provide property tax relief to residents in Suffolk County.

“We are very hopeful we will gain access” to the ability of the county to do short term borrowing that would allow the county to provide tax relief for residents, Bellone said.

The county distributed 16,000 pieces of personal protective equipment yesterday, which included N95 masks, ear loops masks, goggles, and isolation gowns. Today, the county is distributing some equipment to east end migrant farm workers, who are a “key part of our economy and we want to make sure we are helping them to reduce the spread of the virus,” Bellone said.

The county executive also highlighted Nature’s Bounty, which donated 1,000 N95 masks last week, which the county has given to first responders and health care workers.

Finally, Bellone said the county continued to monitor a storm that might hit the island with heavy rains and high winds. He said the county would be watching the weather closely through the day and might need to close the hotspot testing sites that opened in the last few weeks if the storm posed a threat to those efforts.

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Rohan Singh and his brother Rishabh holding the masks they have been making on a 3D printer. Photo from Singh

Young Belle Terre resident Rohan Singh, at home during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, told himself he needed to do something to help the surrounding community using GoFundMe and a 3D Printer.

Singh’s father, Ravi, is a doctor working in Patchogue, and so from both him and the news in general, he said he heard about the general lack of personal protective equipment from hospitals all around Long Island. He said, speaking with his dad, he learned of his father’s old colleague from college, who now works at Japan-based company Aizome Bedding. The business originally created pillows and beds, but has since transferred to making N95 masks. 

These masks, in today’s world costs $2.50 each. To get 1,000 of these would require $2,500. Taking to GoFundMe, Rohan made up the amount by donations in five days. He said he plans to distribute the masks to Mather Hospital and Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue, the medical center his father works closely with.

“After talking to my dad, I asked what I can do to help,” he said.

Looking to do more, Singh looked into 3D printing. The first time using the device, he said it was difficult at first, but now with six masks under his belt he is joining the legions of people looking to help hospital workers by producing his own PPE. Each takes about five hours to print, and so far he has produced six masks. 

“This isn’t the first time Rohan has tried to make  a difference. When he was in fifth grade, he won the Suffolk County Social service award for collecting and distributing left over pencils for an orphanage in India,” Singh’s mother Priyanka said. “He manned a Farmers Market stall in Port Jefferson selling Samosas to raise money for a prosthetic foot camp as a sophomore in high school. So during this pandemic it didn’t surprise us that he wanted to use his time in quarantine to try and help people in the front line.”

The Port Jeff high school student said he is also looking long term.

“I want to think of the bigger picture, think of something more like industrial alternative masks that don’t take up as much time to print,” he said.

Singh’s GoFundMe can be found here. More and more people are reaching out and doing their part to support hospitals in their time of need. Visit here to see how locals have been making handmade PPE for hospitals and keep up with TBR News Media to see how locals are giving back to healthcare workers.

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In the last 24 hours, the number of hospitalizations declined by 97 to 1,441 people.

“That is by far the largest drop we’ve seen,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. “That is great news.”

Contributing to that net decline was the discharge of 124 patients from county hospitals.
The number of patients in the Intensive Care Unit also fell by 10 to 508, while the number of people on ventilators also declined.

At the same time, amid expanded testing in hotspot areas, the number of new positive tests increased by 783 to 27,485.

For the past two days, Suffolk County has not been able to report on the number of deaths associated with the pandemic. Today, Bellone said that an additional 132 people had died from coronavirus, bringing the total to 865.

The number of people who have died in connection with the virus is “staggering,” Bellone said.

Separately, over the past week, the county executive has been speaking with other officials in the county about trying to provide temporary property tax relief.

“We have to protect taxpayers in this county and we do that by providing relief and preventing long term damage,” Bellone said.

Bellone has been exploring whether Suffolk County might access some of the relief through the Cares Act that created a new entity called the Municipal Liquidity Facility.

This facility enables states and local governments to borrow money in the short term to address cash flow and the loss of revenue caused by the economic shutdown.

“This is exactly the kind of vehicle we need,” Bellone said.

The problem, however, is that the facility is only available to counties with a population of two million or more, which is above the 1.5 million people living in Suffolk County.

Bellone plans to send a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, asking that guidance for that facility change so that counties the size of Suffolk can access municipal funding that would also provide relief to taxpayers.

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Jennifer McGuigan's five children work on their schoolwork at home. Photo by McGuigan

By Deniz Yildirm

With the arrival of the Coronavirus, New Yorkers have been forced to practice social distancing and with that, so called distance learning. Distance learning is a relatively new phrase which means a method of studying in which lectures are broadcast and classes are conducted over the internet. And while many teachers at Comsewogue are familiar with online tools, there is still a steep learning curve. 

Don Heberer, the District Administrator for Instructional Technology and Frank Franzese, the district’s Educational Technology Specialist teacher have been working tirelessly to help teachers and students shift to distance learning. 

“Everyone is putting in long hours” Franzese said. “There’s no such thing as a one way email. Every teacher is trying to give their classes a first rate education using technology, even when it’s stressing them out. So I’m going to do everything I can to help.”

Despite the speed of setting up this distance learning, the quality of work is really outstanding. “I’m so impressed with the level of collaboration and dedication my teachers have to making this work and connecting with students.” said Terryville elementary Principal Annemarie Sciove, who has has two young children and said she understands how important it is for children to feel connections with their teachers and the challenges of working from home. Despite this challenge, third-grade teachers Mrs. Sciarrino and Ms. Benson are working together to create some of the most comprehensive google classrooms for their students. So far they’ve uploaded countless resources and worksheets even though it’s their first time using google classroom. Sites like xtramath.org, storyonline.net and classroom.magazine.com are just a few of the websites they’ve shared with students to help them continue to grow at home. And even though spring break has been cancelled, these teachers have found a way to make this week extra special by planning a “virtual vacation.” Students will “visit” special places via youtube and google earth then report back to their teachers. 

“It’s a great learning experience and a warm up to our country report project in May,” Sciarrino said. 

Teachers have also been uploading videos of themselves, including teachers Mrs. Dunn and Mrs. Zoccoli who have created videos for their classes where they are offering support and encouragement. 

Physical education teacher Mr. Chesterton posted a video challenging his students to a jumping jack countoff (he got up to 50 while one student reported 100). This kind of teaching is really meaningful to the kids who are stressed out and missing school. 

Just ask Jennifer McGuigan, like so many parents she is facing the challenge of supporting her five children (the oldest John in college, 11th-grader Joe, ninth-grader Lydia, seventh-grader William and fifth-grader Lila.

 “I want them to know it’s okay and it’s easier to do that with the support of the teachers,” McGuigan said. “It can be a lot sometimes, every one of them has at least five classes they have to check in to but it’s a welcome distraction.” 

She also says it’s helpful to establish a schedule and reiterate that no one is looking for perfection, teachers are just looking for students to do their best. 

Superintendent Dr. Quinn couldn’t agree more, as she’s recently said in her call home, “We’re in this together.”

Deniz Yildirim is a librarian at the Terryville Road Elementary School. For students, she has posted a video showing how they can make a temporary library card so they can borrow ebooks.

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Nursing homes have become a hotbed of discussion over the large percentage of their residents who have died from COVID-19 while in New York facilities. Stock photo

Slowly, the numbers in the fight against the coronavirus are moving in a favorable direction.

For the fourth time in six days, the number of hospitalizations in Suffolk County dropped. Residents in hospitals in the county declined by 23 to 1,562. The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit also declined by 16 to 521, while the number of people who are on ventilators also fell by 14 to 445.

“We hope those numbers will continue to go down,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters.

In another positive sign, the number of people discharged from hospitals increased by 122, bringing the total number of people discharged from the hospital due to coronavirus infections to 2,134.

The county continued to provide personal protective equipment to first responders and health care workers. Yesterday, the county handed out 81,000 piece of personal protective equipment to fire, EMS, hospital and nursing homes. The county will hand out another round today.

Suffolk is also delivering additional masks to grocery stores and supermarkets to give to essential employees in order to protect themselves and their customers.

The county purchased 27,000 gowns that are expected to arrive tomorrow. Those gowns came from a domestic provider. Next week, the county is expecting a much larger shipment of 500,000 gowns, which the county bought from an overseas provider.

The gowns should “provide more breathing space for us,” Bellone said.

Bellone said he appreciated the ongoing quick and effective action of emergency services personnel. Several fire departments put out a brush fire in Manorville near Brookhaven National Laboratory, which started yesterday around 12:30 pm.

“Our fire departments and emergency agencies responded to the scene and they did an outstanding job in putting that out,” Bellone said. “Even in a global pandemic, [these emergency crews] are responding every day.”

Responding to questions about whether Long Island beaches and summer facilities would be open this summer, Bellone deferred any such decision until a later date.

“The amount that we have seen change in our understanding of what’s happening and the response and what works and what doesn’t is “dramatic” since the start of social distancing and New York Pause, Bellone said. “We need to tay the course. It appears we are plateauing. We are hopeful we will see the trajectory of the numbers going down.”

Separately, the number of Suffolk County Police officers who have tested positive for coronavirus is 81, with 49 returning to work.

As of Wednesday, the number of times the police have checked on people who might not have been following social distancing guidelines was 618, with 55 who were not in compliance. The police have not issued any summonses during these checks.

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U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said there is need to increase the PPP loan funding, but he and Republicans have disagreed how. File photo by Kevin Redding

The federal Small Business Administration announced the government’s Payment Protection Program, which initially put up $349 billion in funds for small businesses across the country, has run out of funding in just eight days since it came online.

Thousands of loans are still being processed, and both government and small business owners are calling for more funds to be added to the bill, which was meant to stimulate small businesses and help keep more from filing for unemployment.

Around 41,000 loans have been approved for New York State out of 1.7 million. However, many businesses were left short of approval or didn’t manage to file in time. Others, who filed early as possible, found their early attempts confused with both misinformation and lack of clarity from banks and federal agencies.

Bernie Ryba, the regional director of the Stony Brook Small Business Development Center , said during a live stream with the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce April 16 there are growing signs of the economy deteriorating “faster than anticipated,” and the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, passed at the end of March, may not be enough.

He added banks have already been ordered to not accept any more applications.

“It demonstrates the extent of the damage small businesses have experienced over the past three weeks,” he said. 

Ryba said the SBA was not staffed to handle the number of applications. From acceptance of application to approval was going to be 30 days, but he said that number has gone out the window due to the incredible number of applications.

Some have also criticized who have been able to apply for loans, and how quickly they received it. Politico reported that a number of large chain restaurants ate up millions of dollars in loans meant for small businesses. Such chains as the companies behind Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, each received $20 million and $10 million in loans respectively. While the loans were meant for companies with 500 or less employees, this rule was expanded to allow companies to apply as long as they didn’t have more than 500 employees in a single location.

While both Republicans and Democrats agree more funds need to be added, the parties are bickering back and forth about how much. The GOP has proposed an additional $250 billion to the PPP program, but Dems stymied that, arguing the bill, which U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) called CARE 3.5, should also include $100 billion for hospitals, $150 billion for state and local governments and a boost to food assistance. Republicans have blocked that effort in return.

Schumer, the senate minority leader, said in a live streamed conference with Long Island Association President and CEO Kevin Law April 17 that there could be two additional COVID-related bills in the near future.

Meanwhile, Ryba said his small business center, which also has offices in SUNY Farmingdale, will be receiving around $1.1 million in federal assistance so they can hire additional staff in order to handle a larger number of business owners looking for advice.

Law said the thing of biggest importance isn’t the long term of the whole U.S. economy, but making sure that these small businesses and average people have money in their pockets to deal with the short term. He also questioned whether the government may allow some different types of nonprofits to apply for aid through PPP, as currently only 501c3’s are applicable. Schumer said they would look into allowing 501c6’s and others to also apply for any further aid in the future.

Schumer agreed, saying the government’s focus should be twofold, adding the government needs to approve the PPP extension “so their money gets out there faster, it is job number one. Testing — if we don’t get it done we’re not going to recover. Those are the two biggest things.”

More from Schumer and Law’s Conversation

People are facing multiple hurdles during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, but Law said those people need help from the federal government.

With people’s $1,200 checks for people making under $75,000 a year finally going out, Schumer said that should not be the end of such funds to everyday Americans. He added he thought the wage limit should be raised to people making around $99,000 a year.

“If you have a wife who is a hospital worker, you’re making more than [the $75K] but you still need help,” he said.

In terms of mortgages, Law said while there was something being done for those with federally backed mortgages, he asked if there was anything being done for those with more locally or commercially backed mortgages.

“We need some kind of commercial forbearance for both commercial and tenants,” Schumer said. “I pushed for this in CARE 3.” (The bill called the CARES Act passed March 30.)

The LIRR is currently asking for an additional bailout, with ridership now down by 97 percent, but services are continuing for essential workers, especially those working in health care. Schumer said he wants to provide more assistance to both the LIRR and to the Suffolk and Nassau bus systems.

For other municipalities, he said bills he called CARE 4 and 5, the first of which he expected to come up in the first few weeks of May, will also include more money for townships who have also experienced revenue shortfalls from the coronavirus.

Law also suggested the federal government look into creating some kind of public works program in the vein of President Franklin Roosevelt’s post-Great Depression programs in the 1930s and 40s, specifically for public and infrastructure works such as roads, bridges and sewers. Schumer agreed with the idea for when things finally start to open up.

“We’re going to have to stimulate the economy, and the best way to do that is through infrastructure,” the senator said.

 

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Stony Brook's Mobile Stroke Unit is continuing operations despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Photo from SBUH

Amid the start of new coronavirus testing at hotspots including Wyandanch and North Amityville today, the number of residents testing positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 increased by 960 in the last 24 hours to 24,483.

At the same time, hospitalizations have declined by 45 patients to 1,585.

“That is the key number we have been watching,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters.

The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit also fell by 25 to 537, while the number of people intubated also declined.

The drop in hospitalizations marks the third time in five days that the closely watched gauge has declined, while the increases in the previous two days were smaller than the weekly average in the prior week.

Bellone suggested that these numbers could suggest a “leveling off,” albeit at a high level.

Suffolk County continues to add hospital beds, increasing capacity by 39 to 3,425, with 744 ICU beds.

The number of beds available is now 655 overall, with 112 ICU beds.

The “good news,” Bellone said, is that 152 people were discharged from the hospital in the last day.

At the same time, the county continues to suffer losses stemming from the virus. In the last 24 hours, 40 people have died, bringing the number of deaths to 693.

Earlier today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) extended New York Pause to May 15, which means that schools and non-essential businesses will remain shut through at least that period. Starting tomorrow, residents of New York will be required to wear face masks when they are in public places and they can’t maintain social distancing of at least six feet.

Bellone mentioned several initiatives the county has started to manage the economic and employment recovery.

He described the potential need to change the Suffolk County Tax Act, which is a law that’s been on the books for 100 years that blocks the county’s ability to access tax funds until the middle of the year.

“Because of that, the county has to borrow money to get through the first six months of the year,” Bellone said.

Bellone announced that the county has created a COVID-19 Fiscal Impact Panel, which will analyze the ways the virus is causing damage to the county’s finances. Emily Youssouf, who Bellone described as an “expert in private and public sector finance,” will chair that panel. Youssouf had been a board member for the New York City Housing Authority under the Bloomberg Administration.

Stony Brook Announcements

Stony Brook University said it will continue to operate its two Mobile Stroke Units. The specialized ambulances are available every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The units allow patient triage and treatment in the field. Clinicians aboard the ambulances can administer a medication that minimizes brain injury at any location and then, when necessary, can transport the patient to the closest facility.

With a stroke, time is critical to save brain cells, explained Dr. David Fiorella, Director of the Stony Brook Cerebrovascular Center and founder of the mobile stroke centers.

Separately, Stony Brook University Hospital recognizes the anxiety patients feel when each health care professional who comes into their rooms is wearing a mask and, often, a face shield that hides most of their face. In one unit of the hospital, care givers will begin wearing staff ID pictures on their gowns so patients can see the face of the staff member providing care. The idea may extend to other areas of the hospital after a pilot period.

The idea, called the Face Behind the Mask, came from Nurse Practitioner April Plank after she started working in a COVID unit
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