Stony Brook University's COVID-19 testing site. Photo by Matthew Niegocki
On Easter Sunday, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) shared more encouraging signs about the battle against the coronavirus.
The number of hospitalizations fell over the last 24 hours, for the first time since the start of the pandemic on Long Island. The number of hospitalizations decreased by 44, to 1,658.
“This is the number that tells me where we are headed,” Bellone said on his daily call with reporters.
Bellone cautioned that it’s unclear whether this individual statistic was a statistical anomaly or part of a trend.
“In the context of where we’ve been and the trajectory, there’s a bit of light in the darkness,” Bellone said. “There’s a real sense of hope about where we are going and what is happening.”
While the number of overall hospitalizations declined, the number of residents in beds in the intensive care unit increased by seven to 548.
“We’re seeing that staying relatively in that flat level,” Bellone said. “We’ll see where that goes over the next few days.”
In the last 24 hours, hospitals in Suffolk County have discharged 160 patients, which is also a positive figure Bellone shared.
The number of people who have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 has increased to 20,934.
The new testing sites in hotspot communities including Huntington Station, Brentwood and Riverhead will be closed tomorrow because of expected heavy winds and rain.
“High winds make it impossible to do this kind of testing,” Bellone said. People who had an appointment would be able to reschedule them.
The virus continues to claim the lives of residents in the county. The number of people who have died from complications related to the coronavirus increased by 60, bringing the total to 518. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this morning the death tole in New York has gone to 9,385.
The county executive extended his condolences to the families who have lost loved ones to the pandemic.
“I never imagined being in the position of reporting the numbers on a daily basis of people who have died in our county from anything like this,” Bellone said. “It drives home the point of why we’re doing all of this.”
Bellone urged people to continue to maintain social distancing and to work from home. While he couldn’t indicate when the county might open up again, he suggested that the economic decision-making process would likely involve regional discussions and coordination.
“We are one region, and when we talk about the economy, that’s important,” Bellone said. “It’s too early to tell the direction of the data.”
Bellone said he would continue to look at hospitalizations, as the hospitals are “strained beyond anything we have ever seen.”
Bellone visited the field hospital that construction workers were building this morning at Stony Brook University and which is scheduled for completion by next Saturday.
“It is our hope that our hospital never sees a single patient,” Bellone said. “If that is the case, it means that everything we have been doing, the sacrifices, the Easter that is different for all of us today who celebrate, that it is working and is saving people’s lives.”
Amid the religious holidays of Passover and Easter, Suffolk County is starting to see some trends that offer some hope to residents.
Some of the numbers have started to move in a favorable direction. The number of people hospitalized with coronavirus increased by 16 over the last 24 hours, climbing to 1,658. At the same time, the number of people entering the Intensive Care Unit only rose by 18 to 541.
In the prior week, hospitals admitted an average of 144 patients per day. The average this week has come down to 35 people per day.
“We’ll be looking forward to this week,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. “Hopefully, we’ll be seeing those numbers come down” even further.
Additionally, the number of people discharged from the hospital who had coronavirus reached 160, which is the highest number since residents with COVID-19 were admitted.
The combination of lower admissions and higher hospital discharges is “great news,” Bellone said.
Bellone said social distancing and keeping residents at home are having a dramatic impact and that it’s unclear whether hospitals in Suffolk County will need all the additional capacity in hospital beds.
Bellone cautioned that some of the recent positive numbers would likely move dramatically against the county if people let their guards down.
“By no means [do these encouraging signs] suggest we are changing course,” he said.
Indeed, the number of positive diagnoses has increased to 20,321, which is a jump of about 1,000 over a number the county adjusted after recognizing some double counting from the day before.
The county is providing new tests in hotspot neighborhoods, including Huntington Station, Riverhead and Brentwood. Later this week, Suffolk County also plans to provide by-appointment testing at Wyandanch and Amityville.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths connected to coronavirus rose another 44, bringing the total to 458.
Bellone offered his condolences to the survivors, adding, “we are thinking about your every day.”
He also thanked schools throughout the county for distributing meals during the public health crisis. Schools have distributed 770,000 meals since the pandemic reached the county, which includes 254,000 meals in the past week.
The county executive also thanked the technology teachers at William Floyd High School who made 550 face shields to protect health care workers who are on the front lines.
Bellone also was asked about the timing to reopen schools amid a back and forth between New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). De Blasio would like to close schools for the rest of the academic year, while Cuomo believes that decision rests with his office and should be made in consultation with other officials in the state and schools in the region.
“We are one New York,” Bellone said. “The regional approach makes sense. We’ll be having those conversations in the coming days and beyond as we look at the data and see where we’re going to make the best informed decision.”
Separately, the 25,000 hospital gowns Bellone sent members of the Department of Public Works to retrieve from Allentown, Pennsylvania arrived yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Suffolk County Police Department has had 72 officers test positive for COVID-19, with 21 of them returning to work.
Suffolk County has had difficulties coming up with PPE devices during the ongoing pandemic. Stock photo
With 20,000 Suffolk County residents testing positive for Coronavirus and 1,642 people in the hospital with symptoms of COVID-19, the pandemic has created a tremendous strain on health care workers, first responders, and on the county’s supply of personal protective equipment.
The latest and strongest need in the county, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters, is gowns.
The county had ordered 25,000 gowns, which were supposed to arrive yesterday. On a follow up call, Bellone learned the gowns were in Allentown, Pennsylvania and were scheduled to arrive April 14, which is not nearly soon enough.
Bellone sent a crew from the Department of Public Works to Pennsylvania to pick up the gowns, which are now expected this afternoon.
Those gowns, however, “will not last long,” especially as the ongoing need for health care services remains high, Bellone said.
The number of fatalities related to complications from COVID-19 climbed another 52 and now stands at 414.
“What is frightening about those numbers is that we know they will continue to rise,” Bellone said.
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) said today he would issue an executive order to bring more funeral directors amid high mortalities in the state.
“This has been a real challenge for funeral directors and the staffs at cemeteries across the county,” Bellone said. Funeral homes are dealing with the “same kind of shortages across the board. That creates issues with the entire system. We are grateful to the governor, who is thinking about these issues and challenges.”
To increase awareness of the ongoing crisis in communities where the infection rate is high, the county recently opened a testing site in Huntington Station. Today, Suffolk also opened sites in Brentwood and Riverhead and is also exploring adding testing facilities at other locations.
The county has added a Spanish language text messaging service with updates on the coronavirus. People who are interested in receiving updates in Spanish can text CovidEspanol to 67283.
Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) directed schools and nonessential businesses to remain close for two more weeks, through April 29th.
New Yorkers can collect an additional $600 in weekly unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks, for a total of 39 weeks.
On Wednesday, the Suffolk County Police Department arrested Richard Green, a resident of Mastic Beach, who allegedly broke into four businesses in Patchogue and Center Moriches over the past few months.
“This should serve as a reminder that while the police department is engaged in COVID-19 responses, they are continuing to do everything they have to do to protect the public and public safety in this county,” Bellone said. “If you are thinking this might be a good time to commit a crime, think again. You will be apprehended and arrested.”
In thinking about a return to a more normal future after social distancing and New York Pause ends, Bellone said the county has engaged and formalized a Suffolk Recovery Task Force, which Deputy County Executive Jon Kaiman will lead.
Kaiman, who is a former North Hempstead Supervisor, has “extraordinary experience in government,” Bellone said, adding that he led Cuomo’s recovery efforts on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy.
COVID-19, a strain of the coronavirus, is now a pandemic. I have been barraged with questions from patients, neighbors and friends. They are right to be asking questions, because there is not enough information being circulated about how to protect yourself and your family.
Key elements
The key weapons we have in this fight against COVID-19 are containment and mitigation. A lot has been shared about containment by the Centers for Disease Control. Containment is reducing the incidence of new cases to a goal of zero, thus flattening the prevalence curve so this virus is no longer infecting anyone. This requires social distancing, hand washing for at least 20 seconds, surface cleaning, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth (1). If you have not already, I encourage you to review the guidelines at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.
There is less information being provided about how we can minimize the severity of the disease if we are infected. This is mitigation. Mitigation is about preparing ourselves, so we experience an asymptomatic or a mild form.
Who is most at risk?
According to a study focusing on Wuhan, China findings, people most at risk are those who have chronic diseases, with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease being the three most common (2). Also at risk are those who are “older,” that is 60 years or older, for they are more likely to have weakened immune systems and increased inflammation.
Managing your immune response
Ultimately, the goal is to have a healthy, appropriate immune system response. If the immune system “under-responds,” the virus’s symptoms will be more severe. Another term for this is immunocompromised.
If the immune system is overstimulated, your white blood cells are more likely to attack healthy tissue and cause further damage, exacerbating the situation. This sometimes happens after a heart attack, where the immune response is overzealous, targets healthy tissue and causes dysfunction in the heart. This process is called remodeling.
The goal is to create a healthy/strengthened immune system — not to boost and not to suppress the immune system. You want the “Goldilocks” of immune responses: not too little, not too much, but just right.
What can be done?
The best methodology here is to lean on what I call the four pillars of lifestyle modification: diet, exercise, stress management, and sleep.
Diet.By implementing a nutrient-dense, whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet or, more specifically, what I call a “Low Inflammatory Foods Everyday (LIFE) diet,” you can rapidly improve or even reverse these chronic diseases, decrease inflammation and strengthen your immune system, which will decrease your chances of dying from the virus.
The Lancet study referenced above found that inflammation and a weakened immune system were central to determining how people will do on entering the hospital.
What I’ve found with the LIFE diet in my practice is that people have white blood cells that are on the low end of the scale, between 2.5-4.5, rather than in the middle or upper range of 6.0-10.8. Typically, my patients’ white blood cells when they get sick stay within the normal range of 3.4-10.8. In fact., I had a patient who recently got a cold virus: their white blood cells were 3.4 before they got sick, and they rose to only 7.8, well within the normal range. This resulted in a targeted response with recovery in a very short time period.
For those with healthy immune systems, if they do get the coronavirus, their response will be more likely targeted instead of a disproportionately large response that starts killing the virus but also the healthy tissue in the lungs, leading to increased inflammation and fluid build-up in the lungs. Dr Fauci has warned this could potentially happen – what is called a cytokine storm – although the chances are very small. Ultimately, the immune system in these situations contributes to the problem, instead of helping.
So, what can you do to incorporate LIFE diet habits into your daily routine?
Focus on fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables and legumes. This is very important. With vegetables, the focus should be on dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, bok choy, kale, broccoli and cauliflower, as well as mushrooms. More is better. You cannot have too much. For fruits, apples have shown to play an important role in lung health, and all types of berries have high anti-inflammatory effects.
WFPB diets ultimately help with inflammation and immune strengthening and also support reduced stress and better sleep. The reason for these effects may have to do with the microbiome, the microbes living in your gut, which are an important determinant of how your immune system functions. Seventy percent of your immune cells are in your gut.
You can test for inflammation by looking at both white blood cell count and high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP). Beta carotene levels in the blood are a way to measure nutrient levels. I recently published a study that showed there is an inverse relationship between beta carotene in the blood and inflammation measured through hsCRP. This showed a 75 percent reduction in inflammation with higher beta carotene levels achieved through a plant-rich diet focusing on dark green leafy vegetables.
Interestingly, you don’t seem to achieve the same reduction in inflammation from vitamins or plant-based powders as you do by eating actual fruits and vegetables and legumes.
Stress management and exercise. Please, don’t panic. When you stress, your body releases cortisol, or internal steroids, that actually weaken the immune system and increase your risk of serious infection. Techniques to reduce your stress include exercise, yoga and meditation.
Mild to moderate exercise can be effective, such as a walk or jog outdoors or up and down the steps of your home. Just because the gyms may be closed in your area does not mean you can’t get exercise. It is spring, let’s take advantage of the weather, which will also help with mood and stress.
You can also exercise your lungs using an incentive spirometer. My personal favorite is the Triflo II version, but there are many on the market. I recommend taking 10 breaths using the incentive spirometer twice a day. This can help expand your lungs and keep the aveoli healthy and open. Aveoli exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules to and from the bloodstream.
Sleep. Exercise will also help with sleep, as will the LIFE diet. Getting enough quality sleep is important to strengthening the immune system. Quality, not quantity, is most crucial.
What if you are infected?
If you are infected, supportive care is most critical: stay hydrated; focus on foods with fluids in them to help with this, like fruits, vegetables, and low-salt vegetable-based soups; and sleep.
Importantly, stay away from NSAIDS. These are mostly over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen, naproxen and even aspirin, but can be prescriptions such as diclofenac. These suppress the immune system, thus making it more difficult for it to fight (3)(4). The mechanism of action for this suppression of the immune system is an anti-inflammatory effect that is different and detrimental, compared to the favorable anti-inflammatory effects of a WFPB diet such as the LIFE diet.
Instead, you want to reduce fever using acetaminophen, or Tylenol. This will not have any effects on inflammation, thus not interfering with the body’s immune system. If you can’t tolerate acetaminophen for fever, some alternatives may be elderflowers, catnip (which is a gentle choice for children), yarrow, white willow bark, echinacea, and lemon balm, although there is little data on their effectiveness.
Do not hesitate to go to the hospital if you have difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in your chest, new confusion or an inability to get up, or bluish lips or face. These are signs of potentially severe and life-threatening COVID-19 symptoms.
To sum it all up, chronic diseases and not managing those four lifestyle pillars are risk factors for dying from COVID-19. You can improve or reverse your chronic diseases, as well as strengthen your immune system and reduce inflammation through a plant-rich dark green leafy vegetable diet like the LIFE diet
References:
(1) cdc.gov/coronavirus. (2) Lancet. Published online March 9, 2020. (3) Lung. 2017;195(2):201-8. (4) Chest. 2011;139(2):387-94
Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com.
Led by Dr. Elliott Bennett-Guerrero, the medical director for perioperative quality and patient safety, the clinical trial for plasma donations is expected to enroll up to 500 patients who are hospitalized with COVID-19. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine
The next piece of personal protective equipment that Suffolk County needs is gowns, as Long Island remains at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Today, the county will receive 25,000 gowns, thanks to the work of the procurement team which has been “scouring the planet for supplies,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters.
While those gowns will help the health care workers who have been helping the influx of patients coming into hospitals, they won’t be sufficient amid the ongoing outbreak.
“The burn rate [for gowns] is absolutely incredible,” said Bellone, who urged residents to donate hospital gowns to the Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services site at 102 East Avenue in Yaphank between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Bellone thanked Onandago County Executive Ryan McMahon, who is sending reinforcements in the form of 22 nurses to Stony Brook University.
“Those nurses will come down here to provide assistance and relief to front line workers who have been going at this nonstop, working shift after shift in an incredibly intense environment,” Bellonme said. “We are extraordinarily grateful.”
Bellone also thanked DS Services of America, a company based in Georgia, who brought a tractor trailer load of bottled water, coffee, tea and a collection of beverages to the county. The county will deliver those donations to first responders and health care workers.
Criminals Caught
While some people have taken the crisis in the county as an opportunity to contribute, others have seen it as a chance to commit crimes.
This week, the Suffolk County Police Department arrested Joseph Porter of Mastic Beach and Rebecca Wood of Lake Ronkonkoma in Bay Shore for a string of 11 burglaries committed between March 9, the day after Suffolk County had its first coronavirus patient, and April 7.
One of the alleged burglars told police he thought he would be able to get away with his crimes because the police were distracted with the virus.
“He was wrong,” Bellone said.
Additionally, police apprehended John Cayamanda, a St. James resident, whom they allege committed several acts of arson since the start of the virus.
“This is a reassurance to the public that our police department and all of our law enforcement agencies are on the job and are able to do their work,” Bellone said.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said the number of domestic violence incidents, which have been climbing nationally amid social distancing and work-from-home arrangements, has climbed 8 percent.
“We have a dedicated unit for domestic violence and they are continuing their outreach, identifying individuals and making sure they get the assistance they need,” Hart said on the call.
Cases Climb
As for the coronavirus tests, the number of confirmed cases continues to climb, rising 1,700 to 18,602 people. The total is about a half of the number reported for all of mainland China, Bellone said.
As of yesterday, the number of Suffolk County Police officers who tested positive for COVID-19 was 62, with 18 of those officers returning to work.
The number of people hospitalized in the last 24 hours showed the smallest increase in recent weeks, rising by 10 people.
“That is a good sign,” Bellone said.
The number of people entering the Intensive Care Unit, meanwhile, rose by 14 people, which is still below a recent high from several days ago.
Overall, the number of hospital beds in the county stands at 3,365, with 750 total ICU beds. Currently, there are 585 hospital beds and 102 ICU beds available.
Over the last 24 hours, 39 people have died from the virus, which brings the total for the county up to 362.
“Our hearts break for those families who have been impacted by this,” Bellone said. “We know we are not at the apex. We are still in the thick of this.”
To reach young people who may not be practicing the same social distancing guidelines, Bellone said he was launching a peer-to-peer Covid challenge. This initiative attempts to tap into the creativity of students to share their stories about what they are doing online and with their peers. He said he hopes those people who follow social distancing guidelines will inspire their peers to do the same.
Seeking Plasma Donors, Saving N95 Masks
Separately, Stony Brook University is looking for donors who have recovered from a coronavirus infection who can contribute plasma that might help others fight the disease.
Led by Elliott Bennet-Guerrero, the Medical Director of Perioperative Quality and Patient Safety, the study plans to treat up to 500 Long Island patients with convalescent plasma, which is rich in the antibodies patients who defeated COVID-19 used to return to health.
Stony Brook University Hospital received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients through a randomized, controlled study. In a typical study, the groups would be evenly divided between those who receive the treatment and those who get a control. The public health crisis, however, has allowed researchers to change that mix, so that 80 percent of the patients in the trial will receive the convalescent plasma.
Also, Stony Brook announced a novel way to disinfect the coveted N95 masks, which have become the gold standard to protect health care workers and first responders.
Ken Shroyer, the Chair of the Department of Pathology, and Glen Itzkowitz, Associate Dean for Research Facilities & Operations, found that masks passed fit tests after they were treated up to four repeated cycles in a dry heat oven at 212 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
In an email, Shroyer explained that temperature control is important because the masks need to be sterilized at the highest temperature possible, although they failed if they were heated above 248 degrees Fahrenheit. Since some ovens might not have accurate thermostats, it would be helpful to confirm the temperature inside the oven with a thermometer.
The procedure involves placing each mask in a paper bag labeled with the name of the health care provider and work location. A technician seals the bags with indicator tape and places them in the oven.
“The team has discussed potential fabrication efforts to construct a sterilizer racking system capable of recycling as many as 8,000 masks a day through the heat treatment,” Itzkowitz said in a press release.
Stony Brook researchers hope hospitals, clinics, or nursing homes could use this technique to protect workers on the front lines of the battle against the virus.
Stony Brook's temporary testing site is being built by the Army Corps of Engineers. Photo by Matthew Niegocki
Matthew Niegocki of the nonprofit group Three Village Dads Foundation took drone footage of the over 1,000-bed hospital being built at Stony Brook University during the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has told Newsday they expect to be open by April 19. Current cost to the contractor, Manhattan-based Turner Construction Co., is for $50 million.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has said the temporary hospitals are to be used once the main hospitals run out of bed space, for doctors not having to travel across the space of the campus to access the temporary hospital.
At the same time, Stony Brook University’s testing site has been running since March 18. So far, every day for the past week, Suffolk County has added an additional 1,000 cases to the total number of positive coronavirus cases. As of April 8, over 36,000 tests have been administered, and 43 percent of those tested come out positive. There are just over 17,000 positive cases in Suffolk County currently.
The first recipe will be Spaghetti and Meatballs inspired by the iconic scene from 'Lady and the Tramp'. Image courtesy of Disney
By Melissa Arnold
With non-essential businesses closed and restaurants limited to take-out and delivery only, many of Long Island’s popular hangouts have gone dark.
The Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington might not be able to show films or hold special events right now, but that’s not stopping them from finding creative ways to bring people together in the comfort of their own homes.
Their newest initiative, “Forks and Films,” invites viewers to open a bottle of wine and settle down for a family-friendly movie, then head to the kitchen to prepare a quick and simple recipe that connects to the film.
The weekly series will be hosted by Jacqueline Strayer, who will introduce the movie and share some fun facts, and Chef Martin Butera, who will prepare the recipes. Strayer will also showcase viewer’s stories, photos and videos in each subsequent episode.
While the CAC doesn’t have the rights to stream the films over the Internet, their selections are all readily available on popular streaming services such as Disney Plus. All of the streaming services offer free trials for new subscribers and can be canceled anytime.
Strayer, a professor at New York University and Columbia University, and Butera, owner of Butera’s Restaurant in Sayville and Woodbury, are both on the CAC’s Board of Directors.
“In 2013, I came up with the idea of showing a film at the center and then cooking some of the foods from the movie,” said Butera, who’s been on the board for 10 years. “It was very successful, and we held a similar event a few years later. I was working on putting another one together not too long before the pandemic.”
As shutdowns rolled through the Empire State last month, Strayer started brainstorming ways they could continue to reach people in the community, including more than CAC 10,000 members and tens of thousands more who visit the theater.“When I realized people were going to be remote, I sent a note to Martin and said, ‘Remember how you always wanted to do another dinner and a movie event? Well, maybe now is the time,” she recalled.
Every Thursday, the CAC will upload the “Forks and Films” video for families to watch and rewatch at their convenience, removing the need for everyone to be available at the same time. It’s a low-key, laid back experience that the staff and board hopes will have a broad appeal to all kinds of people while providing some badly-needed distraction.
“The cinema is a very community-focused organization, and we have personal connections with many of our patrons that we’ve come to view as family,” said Nate Close, CAC director of marketing and communications. “[Before the pandemic] there were some people who were here every single day, watching films, giving us feedback, just wanting to chat. We still want to be there for everyone.”
Butera will be filming from his kitchen, while Strayer will be welcoming viewers to her basement. “Is it going to be perfect? No. We’re not professional television people and we don’t have fancy equipment. But we want to give people a little bit of joy in a time that’s so difficult for all of us,” Strayer said.
Of course, it takes a team effort to spread the word about any event, and “Forks and Films” is no exception. Strayer has enlisted the help of enthusiastic graduate students in her Public Relations and Corporate Communications and Integrated Marketing programs at NYU to promote the event. A group of seven students volunteered to help without any academic incentives, even as they complete coursework remotely.
“I was amazed at how quickly they jumped in and how hard they’re working. We meet over [the video chatting platform] Zoom every few days,” Strayer said. “They’ve been highly engaged and have wonderful ideas to share. And none of them are from New York. I feel so fortunate to have talented students from all over the world.
For Butera, “Forks and Films” will be another way to share his love of cooking with the world.
“I’ve always had a passion and affinity for food as well as an appreciation for film,” he explained. “My wife and I have been members of the CAC for 25 years. The center has been a great place for us to see foreign and independent films … but it’s also been a wonderful place for people to grab a cup of coffee and share their ideas and experiences with a film. It’s a community, and you can’t get that by watching Netflix.”
The first episode, which kicks off tonight, April 9, at 6 p.m., will encourage viewers to watch a beloved Disney classic, Lady and the Tramp. Released in 1955, the animated film follows the blossoming romance between Lady, a lovely Cocker Spaniel from an upper class family, and a scruffy stray mutt named Tramp.
One of the most iconic scenes from the film finds Lady and Tramp sharing a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs by candlelight in the back alley of Tony’s Italian Restaurant while Tony serenades them with the love song “Bella Notte.” Appropriately, Butera will demonstrate how to make his famous chicken meatballs on “Forks and Films.” The episode’s title? “Sunny with a Chance of Meatballs.”
The chef is planning on recreating the classic French stew ratatouille during the April 16 episode to compliment the 2007 Disney Pixar animated film of the same name. The ingredients for each featured dish will be posted on social media a week in advance of each episode,
“I wanted to choose recipes that weren’t too hard to make, but a bit more challenging than just opening a can. Ideally they’ll have all or most of the ingredients at home already, and we’ll release the ingredients list ahead of time,” Butera said. “Cooking has a way of grounding people, of connecting them to good memories and feelings, which we think will be good for everyone.”
“Forks and Films” will be uploaded each Thursday on Facebook.com/CinemaArtsCentre, and on YouTube.com — search for Cinema Arts Centre Huntington.
For other remote opportunities from the Cinema Arts Centre, including staff-curated film recommendations and the opportunity to rent films at home, visit www.cinemaartscentre.org.
To better prepare you for following along as Chef Martin recreates the classic meatballs from Lady and the Tramp, here is the ingredient list:
Moloney’s Funeral Homes are advertising a motorcycle-based farewell ride through town for the recently passed. Photo from Moloney Funeral Homes Facebook
Carla Sciara’s father, former Port Jefferson Station resident Ronald “Ronnie” Scalone, passed away March 17 after a long illness, one unrelated to the escalating coronavirus pandemic.
“It just added to the grief of it all.”
— Carla Sciara
Scalone was a past aeronautical engineer at Grumman, and lived a life bound to nature and the Long Island Sound. In Sciara’s father’s final days, he was living in the Patchogue-based Suffolk Center for Rehabilitation, a nursing home that had decided to close most access to visitors, their residents being especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
Sciara was one of the few people the staff allowed in to visit during her father’s final hours. She walked through halls mostly devoid of the normal family members strolling the halls, with nursing home staff all garbed in masks and gloves. Amidst all the pain and suffering of losing her father, she said dealing with the panic and stress of a pandemic was like “grieving twice.”
For people looking to mourn and memorialize the recently passed, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has upended everything. Places of worship of every denomination far and wide have limited their public services, and with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines having limited the number of people in a room at once, services for the recently passed have become small, solemn affairs.
Sciara had worked with Robertaccio Funeral Home in Patchogue, who she called “amazing” for their work with her father’s cremation, and Infant Jesus R.C. Church in Port Jefferson for either a Mass and funeral arrangements, but she decided to hold off, knowing family who live as far away as Florida shouldn’t be traveling during the ongoing pandemic. She has plans to celebrate his life sometime in the future, after the end of the panic, though it’s hard to say when that will be.
“It just added to the grief of it all,” she said. “We wanted to celebrate his life.”
Beyond the fear and the tragedy of the more than 200 people in Suffolk County who have died from the virus, the act of mourning has become limited. Funeral homes throughout the North Shore have limited the number of people who can be at a service at a time and have looked to offer people as much ability to grieve as they can.
The March 22 executive order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called funeral homes essential businesses, but houses of worship, where many services are held, were not. Not only that, but CDC guidelines advise limiting such occasions to 10 or less people.
“This isn’t what the community wants — this is something that is forced upon us.”
— Peter Moloney
Funeral Homes like M.A. Connell in Huntington Station have severely limited the number of services they host, with arrangements being made by only two or less people or done via phone or email. Services are limited to 10 people or less and to one hour. Only one service is allowed at a time.
Peter Moloney, along with his brother Daniel Moloney Jr., owns Moloney Family Funeral Homes, with eight locations on Long Island including Port Jefferson Station, Lake Ronkonkoma and Hauppauge. The challenge has been allowing people the room to grieve when there are limits on how many people can be in the same place at once.
“This isn’t what the community wants — this is something that is forced upon us,” Moloney said. “The families still need to grieve.”
Moloney’s has established tents at some of their locations for families to hold ceremonies outside. While their website lists a maximum of 10 mourners for each gathering, he said he wouldn’t simply deny a family if they wished to bring in around 20, but the goal is to limit the number of people in the same space. Otherwise, they are providing access for families to listen to the prayers via online streaming. They are also offering alternative services such as a motorcycle-based farewell ride through town.
The facilities are also being sanitized regularly after every service. But the hardest part of these services in the time of a pandemic is watching people necessarily stay apart. Even in tight-knit groups, friends and family not living in the same house often try to keep apart, even when the inclination is to hold each other in times of grief.
“A lot of these people are passing away alone, so it’s really doubly troubling for families and emotional,” Moloney said. “People are keeping their spacing.”
Paul Vigliante, who owns Branch Funeral Homes in Miller Place and Smithtown along with his family, said his locations too have been limited in the number of people who can attend services. These, he added, have been for the most part limited to one a day. They have also set up live streaming of the services through Zoom for extended family and friends, which “has worked well so far.”
Vigliante said they have cleaning staff on hand seven days a week and have worked not just to protect the people coming to grieve but staff as well. The owners have also encouraged mourners to stay six feet apart from each other, even in the chapel.
“It’s a truly heartbreaking time,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can to allow families that time to grieve … It’s very difficult. It’s unfortunate the circumstances we’re living through.”
Despite the hardship of putting off a full service for her father, Sciara still marveled at the work and professionalism of everyone she’s interacted with, from the staff at the nursing home to the funeral home to the church.
“They were willing to do whatever we wanted to do,” she said. “It’s brought out a whole lot of good. It’s incredible how people are still coming together.”
Long Island Cares delivers a shipment of food to Island Heart Food Pantry in Mount Sinai. Director of the pantry Kathy Lahey said they have received a near doubling in clients since the start of the pandemic. Photo by Lahey
This post has been updated April 8 to give information about the Island Heart Food Pantry
By Leah Chiappino
In the wake of COVID-19, local food banks and pantries are struggling to keep up with increased demands, and in some cases decreasing volunteers and inventory.
For instance, Hauppauge-based Long Island Cares, a food bank that operates six distribution centers and has several mobile distribution events, has seen the closure of 44 out of the 349 food pantries to which it distributes. While their donations are down 23 percent, LIC holds more than a million pounds of food in inventory, and anticipates receiving an additional 375,000 pounds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Long Island Cares CEO, Paule Pachter, said the problem does not stem from lack of inventory, but public hysteria.
“With having to limit volunteers, it becomes hard for us to do mass distribution events when you have people in a panic yelling at our volunteers and staff demanding more food.”
— Paule Pachter
“People are starting to panic,” he said. “When you have people hoarding toilet paper, and coming to multiple distribution events, it becomes hard to handle. There are [some] 300 food pantries open that people can access. With having to limit volunteers, it becomes hard for us to do mass distribution events when you have people in a panic yelling at our volunteers and staff demanding more food.”
He added he is confident that school districts mostly have the resources to provide meals themselves, and only need limited help from outside sources. The food bank has responded to almost 650 COVID-19 related calls, and is operating a 24/7 hotline for those in need of assistance. LIC is continuing mobile distributions while practicing social distancing and leaving home delivery donations outside people’s doors.
Island Harvest Food Bank, also from Hauppauge, is seeing a dramatic influx of need, too, due to COVID-19, with donations down about 40 percent, according to Randi Shubin Dresner, the organization’s president and CEO.
The food bank started an emergency response plan about two weeks ago, while trying to still deliver food to local food pantries and community organizations. As more and more places closed, Dresner said the organization began to pursue other avenues to ensure those who are in need still have access to food.
“We have a long list of people waiting to get food from us,” Dresner said. “Every day there is hunger on Long Island, even in normal times. When you couple that with a pandemic, things become very difficult.”
Normally 90 percent of Island Harvest’s inventory is donated, but recently it had to make a $450,000 purchase of food supplies, an amount Dresner said is likely to double in the future. A large portion of the purchases are “family boxes” of food, enough to feed a family of four for four days. Others are individual meals and meals for seniors.
“There are tens of thousands of people that are homebound, and we can’t get to them all,” Dresner said. “We’re going to do as much as we can, and hopefully some of our partner organizations will be able to accomplish what we can’t. These are uncertain times and unchartered waters that we’re dealing with. People are scared, and we want to be responsive to as many people as we can, which is what we always do.”
A food pantry donation. File photo by Elana Glowatz
The organization is working to deliver food to homebound seniors and veterans. It is also partnering with school districts such as William Floyd, Copiague, Brentwood and Wyandanch to help supplement the meals the districts are providing and ensure there is enough to bring home to entire families, not just children.
Dresner said Island Harvest is committed to keeping safe practices. Employees are rotating working from home and going into the office, and field and office workers are separated.
The organization also employs what it calls community resource navigators, to help people apply for food stamps or referrals to other services. Dietitians are on staff to help with nutrition needs.
Dresner said the food bank has not had a problem attracting volunteers, as people who have to stay at home want to find a way to help out.
The CEO added Island Harvest is accepting prepared and unprepared food from various restaurants, caterers and country clubs.
The organization prefers monetary donations over food donations, as the organization specifically can buy bulk food at a discounted price. Monetary donations can be made on the organization’s website at www.islandharvest.org/covid. Those in need should email [email protected] or call the headquarters at 516-294-8528.28
Some local food pantries seem to be operating at a reduced level. The Ecumenical Lay Council Pantry in Northport, whose staple is allowing people to come in and feel as though they are shopping, is still operating during normal hours but by a drive-through process.
The Island Heart Food Pantry, which is located in Middle Island and has operated out of the Mount Sinai Congregational Church for 40 years, has had to reduce its normal bevy of volunteers to just three a day on average, according to director Kathy Lahey. This is the new rule, mostly to maintain social distancing.
Meanwhile, because so many surrounding food pantries have closed, she said they have seen a doubling in the number of people who come to pick up food, especially seeing a large increase in the number of children looking for meals, now that many don’t have access to breakfast and lunch at school.
Before the pandemic, the organization operated as a “client choice” pantry, where people could walk in to choose which foods they got. Now everything is done with the clients inside their vehicles. Volunteers, bedecked in gloves and masks, go to each, in turn, to ask what their preference is, before giving it to them in bags and having them head out as soon as possible.
“We’re adapting and changing things and everyone is getting used to it,” she said. “We want to offer as much compassion and understanding and a smile, especially if they come with kids in the car.”
A sample of foodstuffs at the Island Heart Food Pantry. Photo by Kathy Lahey
Island Heart is currently accepting monetary donations for volunteers to purchase food. They are also accepting food they usually do not receive through Long Island Cares, including tuna, cereal, oatmeal, rice and beans. All these can be dropped off to the Mount Sinai Congregational Church, located at 233 North Country Road in Mount Sinai. While they normally would accept any help in terms of volunteers, they currently wish to practice as much distancing as possible.
The Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry, which normally operates from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. five days a week, is only open Tuesday through Thursday this week, and is leaving bags of supplies at the rear entrance for people to pick up, according to its voicemail. It asks that only one person at a time goes into the location, completely eliminating contact. The pantry will continue to update its policies as time progresses.
Lighthouse Mission, a faith-based mobile food pantry, is also suffering from dwindling volunteers and donations.
“People are afraid,” Pastor Jim Ryan, president of the mission, said. “People are uncertain about their own future and are not thinking about donating. They are making an effort to practice social distancing by keeping people 8 feet away from each other at outreaches and are looking to pre-bag food to limit contact.”
Still, twice a day, Lighthouse Mission’s box trucks cart food, clothing and basic necessities for volunteers to set up in public parking lots, including in Port Jefferson Station and Rocky Point, and give to those in need. For those who choose to listen, a volunteer will give a gospel message and pray with the attendees who ask. The organization, which was started 28 years ago, serves 10 different locations throughout
Suffolk County.
Ryan, who was a 2012 Times Beacon Record Person of the Year, has now begun a program in which volunteers will deliver food to elderly residents at their homes.
“These are people who always come out,” Ryan said. “They may be in a wheelchair or holding an oxygen mask, but they are always there. Now they just can’t come out because they cannot get this virus.” The pastor added that volunteers will leave the items at the door to mitigate contact.
“We will keep operating as long as there’s food to give.”
— Jim Ryan
The mission, which is not publicly funded and runs solely on donations, is urgently in need of food, clothing and supplies. According to its website, it accepts nonperishable food items (canned goods, pasta, cereal, bottled water, etc.); meats (hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, turkeys, etc.); dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables. It does not take cooked meals.
Ryan said that paper items, especially plastic bags, would be helpful. Donations can be dropped off at Lighthouse Mission’s office at 1543 Montauk Highway in Bellport. Monetary donations would be appreciated, as the organization recently had a truck break down and is lacking the funds to fix it.
“I am confident God will send blessings our way,” Ryan said. “We will keep operating as long as there’s food to give.”
Those in need can attend Lighthouse Mission outreaches on Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at 499 Main St., Port Jefferson Station, in the commuter parking lot at the corner of Hallock Road and Route 112; on Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at 683 Route 25A in Rocky Point at the Knights of Columbus front parking lot; or on Fridays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at 2150 Middle Country Road, Centereach in the parking lot near Ocean State Job Lot, on the south side of Route 25.
Those that are elderly and would like food delivered to their homes, as well as people looking to volunteer to deliver the food, can call the office at 631-758-7584.
A blood sample with respiratory coronavirus positive. Stock photo
Starting today, Suffolk County is providing free testing, by appointment only, at Huntington Station as a part of the county’s efforts to develop a hotspot testing program for communities struggling with a higher incidence of coronavirus infections.
Additionally, Suffolk County will open testing sites in Brentwood and Riverhead on Friday and is searching for additional sites.
Hotspot testing is “targeted and focused on those communities where we are seeing higher rates happening,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on a daily conference call with reporters. Testing will hopefully allow the county to get a better understanding of what the numbers are and will help people battling symptoms of COVID-19 to connect with necessary resources.
Bellone thanked Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar, who connected county officials with Reef Technology, which is a large scale logistics company. At no cost, Reef will provide tents and help to handle the logistics at these sites, Bellone said.
“It’s a great example of a private sector business stepping up to help,” Bellone said.
At the same time, another company, called East/West Industries based in Ronkonkoma, which designs and manufactures products for airline crews and has contracts with military and commercial airlines, is working to provide face masks which are in line with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for first responders, police officers, deputy sheriffs. The masks will be cloth masks and will be made of reusable cloth. East/West is also donating the company’s time to produce this protective equipment.
Separately, Bellone said the nonprofit Long Island-based outreach center United Way is collecting donations to help people who are struggling amid the severe economic slowdown. People who are interested in donating to this effort can contact the United Way at UnitedWayLI.org. Those who are interested in accessing those resources can also visit the same site, Bellone said.
The county executive reiterated the county and state government’s 90-day prohibition on evictions.
“We understand that this crisis has created a terrible financial impact for many people, put extreme pressure on landlords” who have bills they have to pay, but “we want to may it clear that evictions are not permissible.”
Bellone highlighted that today marks exactly one month since Suffolk County recorded its first case of the pandemic. The numbers have been climbing since then and have shown some slowdown in recent days.
By the end of the day today, Bellone expects the number of deaths to approach or exceed 300, which is up from 263 yesterday.
The number of confirmed cases is approaching 17,000. Amid a determined effort to increase hospital capacity, the county has increased the number of beds by 1,000 to 3,322. The number of intensive care unit beds is up to 746, which is an increase of 49 from yesterday.
The number of people hospitalized also continued to increase, with 1,585 hospitalized and 517 in the ICU, which is 11 higher than yesterday but still below the peak.
Bellone was pleased to report that 130 residents have been discharged from the hospital in the last 24 hours.
Bellone urged residents to stay the course, even as the temperature climbs, with social distancing.
Meanwhile, Stony Brook University disclosed some of the vast array of donations to its health care workers, who are on the front lines of the ongoing battle to beat back the infection in a county that has more positive tests for the virus than every other state but New York and New Jersey.
Between March 20 and April 4, the University received 201,959 pieces of personal protective equipment, 232 iPads 4,793 comfort care items and 65 foot deliveries. The comfort care items have included fidget spinners, aromatherapy masks, vide messages and stress balls, while patient comfort care has included puzzles, socks, sleep masks, notebooks and pens.
Prev
