Mills Pond Gallery takes heart that some communities across the country are beginning to see fewer cases of COVID-19, but we remain concerned about the well-being of our artists, staff, gallery visitors and families in our communities. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to postpone many of our planned gallery exhibitions. Visit our exhibition page for schedules www.millspondgallery.org.
We have posted our Summer Art Classes Program on our website, offering over 30 creative art classes for children ages 5 and up. Class sizes will be kept small to continue social distancing and strict cleaning and disinfecting procedures will continue throughout the summer.
We recognize this is a challenging time for artists, schools, teachers and communities. At the same time, we are encouraged as we see creativity flourishing everywhere as people quickly adjust to a changing reality.It is certainly reassuring to see so many organizations and families do so much to ensure that arts, culture and creativity remain a part of our lives.
We believe the arts are indispensable in building good character in the citizens of our communities fostering communication, offering new insights on the world and adding to the greater appreciation of both life and society. We look forward to reopening soon, engaging you with the arts so you are able to See What the Arts Can Open Your Eyes To!
We look forward to brighter days, good health and healing for all!
The exterior of Stony Brook Children's Hospital. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine
COVID-19, which was considered especially threatening to the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, may also have triggered an inflammatory illness that is sickening children in several places throughout the world, including in Suffolk County.
An inflammatory illness in children with symptoms that mimic Kawasaki disease has sickened seven in Suffolk County and officials are expecting more cases of the rare condition here and throughout the country.
Stony Brook Pediatric Hospital has admitted two cases of the multi-inflammatory pediatric condition, for residents who are 10 and 19 years old.
With other hospitals showing rare but similar unusual pediatric cases, including in the United Kingdom and New York City, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to release an alert about the inflammatory condition, a CDC spokesman told CNN.
Symptoms of the new illness include an extended fever, a rash, red eyes, red lips, a strawberry tongue, lower blood pressure and abdominal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.
Stony Brook, Pediatric Hospital has been “treating patients like we would treat and approach Kawasaki Disease,” said Christy Beneri, the Fellowship Program Director in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. The hospital has provided intravenous immunoglobulin, a high dose of aspirin and steroids to decrease inflammation and other medications to help suppress the inflammatory syndrome.
This rare inflammatory process in children has developed weeks after a likely mild or asymptomatic case of COVID-19 in mostly healthy younger patients.
Patients can develop symptoms from “days to weeks” after an infection with the virus that has caused the pandemic, Beneri said. The majority of people with this inflammatory reaction are either testing positive for COVID-19 when they come to the hospital or have a positive antibody test, which indicates their immune systems mounted a defense against the virus, Beneri added.
It is unclear to doctors what is causing the progression from a manageable response to the virus to an inflammation that may require a trip to the hospital and to the Intensive Care Unit.
“We are trying to understand how the coronavirus is causing vasculitis,” Beneri said. “It has something to do with how the virus is affecting blood vessels and organs.”
To be sure, Beneri reassured children and their parents that most of the children who are infected with Covid-19 will not develop these inflammatory symptoms later.
“The majority will do well,” Beneri said.
Nonetheless, Beneri anticipated that more pediatric residents in Suffolk County would likely show signs of this inflammatory response.
“If their child is having fever for a number of days, significant vomiting or diarrhea, belly pain, red eyes or a rash, it is important that they speak with their doctor,” Beneri said.
One of the reasons Suffolk County is seeing some cases of this Kawasaki-like response in children now, weeks after the pandemic infected thousands in the area, likely relates to the timing of the peak infections, which occurred in the middle of April.
Based on conversations Beneri has had with other pediatricians who are treating patients with similar symptoms, she said the patients tend to be “healthy kids” who have often had a contact with someone in their house who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19.
The child may have brought the virus into the home and passed it along to a parent, who became sick. The child, however, later develops these multiple-symptom inflammatory issues.
While some children have died from this condition, Beneri said the majority of them are recovering.
The duration of hospital stays has varied, with some patients requiring 10 days in the hospital, while others have recovered within a few days. Beneri said Stony Brook has already sent one patient home.
Beneri added Nassau County has also had several teenage patients come in with the same symptoms. She expects more Suffolk pediatric patients with similar symptoms to come to county hospitals.
Parents should be on the lookout, primarily, for persistent fevers over the course of several days with significant abdominal pain, Beneri said. “If they start developing other symptoms, such as red eyes and a rash and they are not getting better” then parents should contact their doctor or a hospital, Beneri advised.
While public health officials initially expressed concerns for the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Suffolk County has started to see an increasing number of cases of what’s known as Kawasaki disease.
In the county, seven children are currently hospitalized with a disease that doctors believe is linked to COVID-19. One child has died from this disease, which causes inflammation that can require medical attention. Children in Europe and the U.S. including in San Francisco, have exhibited symptoms of this disease.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said today the condition has impacted 100 people and has killed three. Kawasaki disease, also known as pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, affects children mostly between ages 5 to 14, though it has affected some children younger than that.
The pandemic “does impact kids directly,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. Although the county, like New York City which has several cases and deaths as well, “doesn’t completely understand it at this point.” Bellone urged children to wear face masks and practice social distancing in the same way as their parents and grandparents.
“We’ve known from the beginning that kids transmit the virus,” Bellone said. “This is all about protecting everyone as we try to restart our economy.”
In the last day, the number of new positive tests for COVID-19 increased by 150 to 37,062. Those numbers are about 10 percent of the new daily total just a few weeks ago.
Through yesterday, the number of residents hospitalized decreased by 15 to 575, which is “another real indication of the progress we are making.”
The number of people in Intensive Care Units fell by six to 216.
Of the 2,973 hospital beds in the county, 918 are available, while 209 ICU beds are available among the 619 in the county.
Amid a death toll that has risen by another 15 in the last day, bringing the total on Long Island to 1,654, the Association of Mental Health and Wellness is offering bereavement support groups online, starting next Tuesday.
“For those who have lost loved ones, friends, family members, this is there for you,” Bellone said. There are different categories of support groups for grieving adults, peer bereavement, veterans groups and a creative arts bereavement group.
Those interested in these support groups can sign up or register through bereavement.mhaw.org.
At locations in Shirley and Selden, Rite Aid will provide free COVID-19 testing to anyone who is over 18. Interested residents need to pre-register and have identification through the web site riteaid.com.
Ward Melville High School graduates at the 2019 commencement ceremony. Photo by Andrea Paldy
The Three Village Central School District is reimagining graduation.
On May 11, Ward Melville High School seniors and their families were notified that a commencement ceremony of sorts would be held on the school’s grounds in a letter signed by Principal William Bernhard and Assistant Principal Erin Connolly. According to the letter, the decision was made “after careful consideration to the New York State guidelines and the governor’s executive orders.”
Since the traditional outdoor graduation ceremony with hundreds of students and family members cannot be held due to the coronavirus pandemic, the school will hold five separate ceremonies during the week of June 22, and each ceremony will take place with families in their vehicles.
Ceremonies will begin at 5 p.m. with a renditionof the national anthem and speeches by the school’s salutatorian, valedictorian and the senior class president taking place at each individual commencement. Plans are in the works for the speeches to be live-streamed for viewing and broadcasted on the radio. Students will be divided alphabetically to determine which day they attend.
To adhere to social distancing guidelines, families are allowed only one vehicle and will need to stay in their cars. The letter added that after speeches cars will be directed to pull through the bus circle. Seniors will be allowed to get out of the car one at a time where their name will be announced. They will also be able to pick up their diploma jacket and have a photo taken.
Bernhard and Connolly thanked the students and families for their “patience and support during this extremely challenging time.”
TBR News Media talked to a few people in the community who were positive about
the plans.
Parent Jennifer Catalano said while her daughter, Rachael, is heartbroken that she and her classmates won’t experience a traditional graduation, “she’s happy that they came up with a unique experience for their class.”
Senior Alexarose Marcellino said she thought the plans were better than a virtual ceremony, and she appreciated that the school is making an effort to have the speeches heard every night. She said her parents and siblings plan to decorate their car on the day she can receive her diploma.
Both Marcellino and her mother, Allison, said they are grateful that Bernhard listened to students’ concerns. Allison Marcellino said the principal knew from Zoom meetings and talking to students how important it was for all of them to have an in person graduation and how passionate they were about it.
“They had every faith in him that he would do that for them,” the mother said. “He’s that kind of principal. The kids know that he would go out of his way for them.”
The mother said with the high school having more than 500 seniors she and other parents at first didn’t think it was possible to come up with an alternative plan.
“I really think it’s the best of both worlds because the student gets to walk and receive their diploma, and the closest members of the family get to be there to see their child receive their diploma,” she said. “They actually feel like they got as close to possible to their normal graduation.”
A month ago yesterday, the number of people hospitalized in Suffolk County with COVID-19 was at a staggering 1,658, prompting the rapid-fire build up of a hospital extension at Stony Brook.
Yesterday, after further declines in hospitalizations throughout the county, the number of people hospitalized with a virus that has disrupted life across the county and the planet, was 590, which represents a 64 percent decline from the peak a month earlier.
Over the weekend, the total number of residents hospitalized fell by 113, while the number of people in the Intensive Care Units declined by 36, bringing the total number in the ICU to 222.
The number of people discharged from the hospital continued to fall, with 70 leaving discharged on Saturday and 83 leaving the hospitals on Sunday.
Capacity for hospital beds and ICU beds both were around the targeted 70 percent, which means that Suffolk County has met four out of the seven criteria for a phased economic reopening. This is better than a week ago, when the county only met two.
The three criteria the county still hasn’t met include hiring an additional 400 to 450 contact tracers, a reduction in hospital deaths and a reduction to 30 or below in the number of new hospitalizations.
County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters that the last of those, the number of new hospitalizations, is the one he’s most concerned about meeting to reopen the economy.
Over the last 24 hours, the number of people who have tested positive for the virus, excluding the antibody testing, was 209, bringing the number who have tested positive through non-antibody screening to 36,911.
Excluding the antibody test, which screens for the presence of immune cells residents presumably formed to fight off a virus they may not know they had, positive tests in the last day represent just over 10 percent of the total testing.
“That is significantly lower than we’ve seen in the past,” Bellone said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today several upstate regions will be able to begin opening their economies after May 15, when the New York Pause executive order is set to end. Each county is in charge of establishing its own phases for reopening when the time comes.
The virus continues to take the lives of Suffolk County residents, with an additional 22 people losing their battle over the last day, bringing the total to 1,639.
A new dashboard is available to check what criteria Suffolk has made toward its reopening initiatives.
On Wednesday, Bellone will conduct a second Facebook live town hall for veterans. This time, he join Suffolk County Legislator Susan Berland (D-Dix Hills) and former National Football League player and current Jets analyst Marty Lyons.
Through the Marty Lyons Foundation, the group has delivered over 7,900 wishes to sick children since its founding.
Jennifer Hoang and James Labriola at the Acupuncture Tradition in Port Jeff. Photo by Kyle Barr
In the lot of a small medical park in Port Jefferson, people relax in the drivers’ seats of their cars, the subtle smell of lavender wafting from barely cracked windows. In amidst the panic, both of the overriding senselessness of the world being turned upside down, and the smaller, creeping tide of waiting for things to get better, it was as close to an oasis as the current times could see.
Mather OR nurse Olga Turner receives acupuncture by Jennifer Hoang. Photo by Kyle Barr
Done up in mask, gloves, hair cap, goggles and lab coat, acupuncturist Jennifer Hoang, the owner of Acupuncture Tradition in Port Jeff, has been providing small free-of-charge acupuncture sessions to people in the community. It does not matter if they were previous clients of her’s. All are welcome as long as she has supplies.
To her, it’s her way of giving back. As so many people are stuck at home, and many with chronic conditions unwilling to visit the hospitals and possibly contract the virus, the acupuncturist is offering whatever she can to aid people, especially those with anxiety, depression, and may help those in pain who may not have access to prescribed painkillers during the crisis.
“So many doctors are overloaded in their work and have not been able to take care of the patients who are not COVID,” she said. “There’s this whole population who are not being taken care of.”
The nature of the current pandemic makes it especially hard for practices like Hoang’s. Normally a procedure on different parts of the body could take upwards of an hour, but close proximity is not in the cards with the current crisis. Still, doing what she can, she is offering procedures on people’s ears while they remain in the car, and she remains outside.
Olga Turner, an operating room nurse at Mather Hospital, has been a patient of Hoang for a little over a year. She suffers from vertigo, anxiety, depression and upset stomach, but the acupuncture treatments, she said, has helped her immensely. She said being able to return to get any sort of treatment for her ailments, while she returns to work in the hospital, means so much to her.
“We are so used to caring for everybody else, and that’s one of my biggest issues because I have asthma so I couldn’t go into the city,” Turner said. “It just gets me that I can’t help more than I want to.”
Hoang knows of the crisis situations, and the impact such small services can have on the people experiencing it. She knows it from her childhood and from her father, Ngoc Hoang. When she was around 7 years old, her father and their whole family were caught up in the wave of “boat people” fleeing Vietnam after the Vietnam War in the late 1970s. Her father, was a Chinese medicine practitioner provided acupuncture treatments to the refugees right on the ground in the harsh jungle of South Vietnam and Malaysia. She and her brothers and sisters watched their father help others when so few people could.
“There were people who were really sick, and there was no medicine — there were doctors there but without medicine, there was little they could do,” Hoang said. “[My father] was able to help so many people … I would see grown men crying in pain or suffering from something else, and after an hour they walked out, better. That was something so powerful to me. I knew from then I was going to be an acupuncturist.”
The small Port Jeff team seems to have the process down. After filling out paperwork, Hoang performs the procedure, putting the needles in five points in the ear. The person then relaxes for a time after, normally around 30 minutes. On their cars is placed a small sign calling the car a “waiting” or “treatment room,” depending on what step a person is at. Each person is given a cotton ball scented with lavender, plus a small bag containing tea supplies.
Mount Sinai resident James Labriola has started to volunteer and help Hoang during these sessions. First reading about it, he simply called up Hoang and said, “You helped me, can I help you?”
Labriola said his dad had been to several sessions with Hoang before the start of the pandemic. His father, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, would limp into the acupuncture’s office, but the man would leave with a steady gait after treatment. After a few days, the pain would come back, but Labriola said seeing him move freely, even for such a short time, was worth it.
“It would usually last only two days, but it gave him two days of freedom, and that was amazing,” he said.
The acupuncturist has seen an average of 10 cars each day they’ve done the free procedures. Saturday, May 9, she treated a total of 17. Each is done for free, though she has accepted donations to help her afford the materials, especially needles. As long as she has the time and resources, she said she will continue to offer the service as long as the crisis mandates it.
“People are losing their income or falling back into their addictions,” Hoang said. “It’s wonderful to stay connected to the community, to my current patients, and offer some kind of relief.
Acupuncture Tradition, located at 640 Belle Terre Rd. Building D, is hosting other sessions Tuesday, May 12 from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 16 from 1 to 4 p.m.
This article was amended May 14 to correct the experience of Hoang’s father, as well as small details of the services provided.
Siena Figliola gets ready to see participants in her birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Siena Figliola gets ready to see participants in her birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Siena Figliola gets ready to see participants in her birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Siena Figliola receives some presents from a distance during her birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Siena Figliola gets ready to see participants in her birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A participant in Siena Figliola's birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Participants in Siena Figliola's birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Participants in Siena Figliola's birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Siena Figliola receives some presents from a distance during her birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A participant in Siena Figliola's birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Siena Figliola waves to participants in her birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Participants in Siena Figliola's birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
A participant in Siena Figliola's birthday car parade. Photo by Steven Zaitz
Car parades to celebrate birthdays and other momentous occasions have become popular during the pandemic as people look for alternate ways to commemorate their loved ones’ milestones.
On May 9, a short distance from the TBR News Media office, a car parade was held for Siena Figliola who turned five the day before.
In addition to her father, Anthony, mother, Christine, and siblings 7-year-old Anthony and 14-month-old Celine on hand, friends, family members and her fellow Setauket Elementary School pre-K classmates headed down her street.
Her mother said the family had an amazing time.
“It was so wonderful seeing the children with big smiles on their faces,” she said. “For a brief moment parents and their kids were able to forget about what was going on in the world and just be happy. The pre-K class was adorable — the children hanging out of their car with signs, birthday cards and presents. One dad retrofitted his car with microphones and flashing lights.”
Christine Figliola said the hope was to not only celebrate her daughter’s birthday but also give other children a “small break from the lack of normalcy they’ve all been experiencing.” During the birthday parade, participants received curbside favors, treats and goodie bags, handed out from a safe distance.
The mother said her daughter has been taking the recent changes to everyday life in stride and enjoyed her big day.
“I know she will look back on this time, and it will be a birthday for her in the history books,” Figliola said.
People in Port Jefferson line up to eat at Prohibition Kitchen, doing their best to stay six feet apart. Photo by Kyle Barr
An additional 669 people tested positive for COVID-19 through 10 p.m. last night, bringing the total to 42,022.
Of the positive tests, 446 came from antibody tests, which typically test for the presence of antibodies that indicate that a person had the infection and has developed an immune response to it.
Among the examinations at hotspot testing sites, 1,473 positive tests have come back from a total of 3,952 results. Positive tests at the hotspots represent 37 percent of the total, compared with 32 percent for the county as a whole.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) didn’t have an update on the number of hospitalizations, which are a closely watched metric that can help determine when the county can begin to reopen the economy.
Meanwhile, an additional 20 people died over the last day, bringing the total of fatalities that include a COVID-19 positive diagnosis to 1,617.
Meeting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s and New York States criteria to begin the reopening process is still a certain way’s off. Suffolk has to maintain current declines in hospitalizations, as well as double the number of contract tracers it had as of May 8, 230 to around 400 to 450.
With Northwell Health, New York State has been testing Suffolk County police officers for the presence of antibodies. Of the 1,115 results, 65 tested positive, which means that 6 percent of the officers have had the virus.
“That’s an extraordinary number,” Bellone said on his daily conference call with reporters, noting that it was below the 11.4 percent for Long Island overall and 12.3 percent for the state as a whole.
The low rate of infection reflects measures the department has taken “right from the start” to contain the infection among law enforcement, Bellone said.
Over the last 10 days, the number of sworn officers from the Suffolk County Police Department who have tested positive for the virus hasn’t increased at all, with 87 officers testing positive.
Foods that comfort the mind and body protect you from chronic diseases in the long term. Stock photo
Focusing on real ‘comfort food’ will improve your outcomes
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Dr. David Dunaief
I think it’s fair to say that our world has been radically altered by the current COVID-19 pandemic. If you are at home weathering this storm, it can feel like you are in a literal silo.
So naturally, we need to find things that make us feel “better.” Many of us reach for food to help comfort us. Guess which food item has had the largest sales increase in the U.S. from 2019. Here is a hint: it’s not broccoli. It’s frozen cookie dough, where sales are up 454 percent (1).
But there is a difference between food that comforts just the mind and food that comforts both the mind and the body. What is the difference? Let’s look at two recent examples from my clinical practice.
Food that comforts the mind and body
Stock photo
First, let’s look at the results of a 71-year-old male who stopped eating out during COVID-19, like so many of us. Apparently, for this patient, eating out meant indiscretions with his diet. While at home, there was less temptation to stray from his dietary intentions. The results speak for themselves.
In a month, his nutrient level improved, measured using serum beta carotene levels. His inflammation, measured by c-reactive protein (CRP), was reduced 40 percent. What is the importance of inflammation? It is the potential basis for many of the chronic diseases that are rampant in the U.S. (2). His kidney function increased by about 14 percent with an increase in his glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which helps remove waste from the kidney, from 51 to 58. This patient, who suffers from gout, also found his uric acid dropped. Finally, and most importantly, his symptoms improved, and he garnered more energy. He described himself as enjoying food more.
I am not suggesting you don’t order out, but do it wisely. Diametrically opposed is our second example.
Food that comforts the mind only
Stock photo
This 72-year-old female decided to embrace ultra-processed foods, adding cookies, cakes and sour-dough breads to her diet. Her kidney function decreased by more than 15 percent, with the GFR shifting from 88 to 63. Her inflammation, measured by CRP, went up by 75 percent. Her LDL, “bad cholesterol,” increased by more than 20 percent. Her allergy symptoms worsened. She described herself as more sluggish and, to boot, she gained five pounds.
What makes these examples even more interesting is that both patients are deemed in the high-risk category for getting severe COVID-19 and being hospitalized. COVID-19 is associated with elevated CRP, which may increase the risk for more lung lesions and the risk of severe disease (3).
What is the moral of the story? Use this time to focus on foods that comfort both the mind and the body. Make food work for you and against the common enemies of COVID-19 and chronic diseases that are putting people at higher risk for viruses.
What about exercise?
Just because we are cooped up indoors most of the time does not mean we can’t exercise. Time and again, exercise benefits have been shown. Yet, we are sitting more and, with social distancing, we have less incentive to go outside or opportunities to socialize, go to the gym or do many of our usual activities.
However, not to fret. There was a recent small study with eight volunteers equally split between men and women. Results showed that four-minute intervals of exercise throughout the day that interrupted continuous sitting led to a substantial improvement in triglycerides and metabolized more fat after high-fat meals the next day, compared to continuous sitting for eight hours uninterrupted and then eating a high fat meal the next day (4).
The participants used a stationary bike, exercising intensely for four seconds and then resting for 45 seconds, repeating the sequence five times in a row. They completed this four-minute sequence once an hour for eight hours. Their daily intense exercise totaled 160 seconds. This bodes well for very short bursts of exercise rather than sitting for long periods without movement.
Not everyone has a stationary bike, but you can do jumping jacks, run in place, or even dance vigorously to your favorite tunes once an hour.
Ventilator vs. Incentive Spirometer
As I’m sure you’ve been reading, some with severe COVID-19 require ventilators. Unfortunately, the statistics with ventilators are dismal. According to a recent study of 5700 COVID-19 patients in the New York region, 88.1 percent of patients died (5). Hospitals are trying alternate approaches while using oxygen masks not ventilators, such as proning (turning patients on their stomach instead of lying on their backs in bed) and having them sit up in a chair in order to help with oxygenation in the lungs in those who have low oxygen saturation.
However, the ultimate exercise for the lung and the ability to improve oxygenation is an incentive spirometer. This device expands your lungs as you inhale. The more you do it, the better your lung functioning. One study, which I mentioned in previous articles on lung function, involved inhaling a total of 50 breaths a day which in two increments (6).
The brand of spirometer used was a Teleflex Triflo II. This costs less than five dollars online at medicalvitality.com
What about incentive spirometer in sick patients? There was a small study with patients who had COPD exacerbations (7). Those who were given an incentive spirometer plus medical treatment saw a significant increase in the blood gases over a two-month period. Also, the quality of life improved for those using the incentive spirometer.
Remember, one of the factors that may be a sign that someone is at high risk for severe COVID-19 is very low oxygen saturation. If you can improve oxygen saturation with incentive spirometer that is readily available, how can you pass this up?
While it is tempting to gorge yourself with food that comforts the mind, DON’T! Foods that comfort the mind and the body protect you not only in the short term, but also the longer term from the consequences of chronic diseases.
Therefore, focus on DGLV (dark green leafy vegetables) that raise beta-carotene, which in turn lowers CRP. This can be achieved with diet by increasing consumption of beta-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables while limiting consumption of beta-carotene-poor ultra-processed and fatty foods. Interestingly, it is much easier right now to get DGLVs than it is to get certain ultra-processed foods. Add in exercise and an incentive spirometer and you will comfort your body plus your mind.
References:
(1) CNBC.com April 23,2020. (2) Front Immunol. 2018; 9: 1302. (3) Med Mal Infect. 2020 Mar 31;S0399-077X(20)30086-X. (4) Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Online April 17, 2020. (5) JAMA. 2020 Apr 22;e206775. (6) Ann Rehabil Med. Jun 2015;39(3):360-365. (7) Respirology. 2005 Jun;10(3):349-53.
Dr. 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.
Memorial Day Celebrated in Northport in 2018. County Executive Bellone said he is requesting flags be able to be placed on graves to celebrate fallen servicemembers. File photo by Karen Forman
In a year when a world by a pandemic still attempts to acknowledge historical landmarks like the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory over Europe in World War II, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said he strongly believes that Suffolk County’s volunteers can and should be able to place flags on the graves of those who served the country in the military.
“We are asking that there not be a blanket policy, that [the Under Secretary for Veterans Affairs] allow the national cemeteries to make the determination at the local level,” Bellone said on his daily conference call with reporters.
Bellone said he firmly believes the county can figure out how to place those flags safely. Further, he suggested that “we will put in the effort to make this work. This matters to us here.”
As for the update figures on the virus, the county executive reported that an additional 870 people tested positive for COVID-19, which brings the total to 41,353.
As of yesterday, the number of hospitalizations decreased by 16 to 703, which is “good news,” Bellone said, with the number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds declining by 43 to 258.
“That is a great number,” Bellone added. “That’s a number we’re happy to see go down significantly.”
At the same time, however, the virus continues to claim the lives of more residents of Suffolk County. In the last day, an additional 29 people died from complications related to coronavirus, which brings the total to 1,597.
“To all of those who have lost loved ones to this virus, we are thinking of you and we are with you in Suffolk County,” Bellone said.
Bellone’s office distributed 51,000 pieces of personal protective equipment yesterday.
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