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.”
District Attorney Tim Sini (D). File photo by Victoria Espinoza
By Leah Chiappino
Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini (D) hosted a Town Hall Meeting via Zoom on Thursday, with over 300 constituents in attendance.
Sini first took a moment to acknowledge the difficulties the pandemic is having on people’s mental health and offered condolences to those who know someone who has lost their life to the virus.
“This is more than an inconvenience and will have a long-term impact on mental health, especially with those who have pre-existing conditions and substance abuse disorders,” he said.
The District Attorney, who himself tested positive for COVID-19 March 24, says he has made a full recovery after self-isolating for two weeks, while experiencing mild symptoms such as the loss of smell and taste. He added his diagnosis was not surprising, given the high contact nature of his position
“As of March 16, I was still in court, and doing community outreach and public engagement,” he said. “I am definitely one of the lucky ones.”
Sini is participating in an antibody testing program at Stony Brook Hospital to see if his blood plasma can be found with antibodies for the virus. He encouraged other survivors of the virus to do the same.
Sini reported that violent crime has seen a 24.3 percent reduction, and most other major crimes are down with the exception of commercial burglaries and motor vehicle theft. He says the rise commercial burglaries makes sense, as businesses are shut down and people are taking advantage. His office is coming up with a strategy to address the increase in the coming weeks. However, since March 23, 130 out of 188 handcuffed arrests have been the result of a domestic or child abuse crime.
“We recognize this challenge and we’ll come up with strategies to combat it,” Sini said. He added that prosecutors and victims advocates are mean to get in contact with those who have reported a domestic crime. They are also in coordination with safe shelters for domestic violence victims, most of whom are running and working with hotels if needed. The county has also granted an automatic extension on orders of protection until a victim’s next court date, or until a judge changes it. Victims can text 911 for help or call 631-853-4138 to obtain an order of protection.
The district attorney’s office is assisting enforcement of social distancing guidelines, as part of New York State on PAUSE executive order, made effective March 22. Sini said they would prosecute those who don’t heed warnings by Suffolk County Police, code enforcement officers or village Police, with charges of obstruction of governmental administration and/or disorderly conduct.
“If someone needs to be taught a lesson or made an example of, we’re willing to do that,” he said.
Throughout the call, Sini reassured the DA’s Office will continue operate at its fullest capacity
“We are getting things done,” he said. “You have enough to worry about, whether it be health, homeschooling your children, or finances. One thing you do not have to worry about is whether or not the DA’s office is keeping you safe.”
Sini said his office is continuing to invest in technology and update their protocol to ensure employees can work from home effectively. As of March 16, 80 percent of employees at the DA’s office was working from home, and the entire staff was working from home as of March 17. Suffolk County was the first County in New York state to allow essential hearings and arraignments to be done via Skype, with the necessary paperwork being shared via email.
Sini added the office is taking the time to invest in professional development and zoom-based training. 115 employees have taken Spanish language classes. The bureau is also reviewing strategy, policy development and long-term planning.
According to the district attorney, The Financial and Money-Laundering Bureau is aggressively vetting Personal Protective Equipment suppliers to the county to ensure there are no scams. The county has obtained and distributed 2.2 million pieces of PPE to healthcare workers. Justin Meyers, Sini’s Chief of Staff, is acting as a liaison to the county executive, as well as to hospitals working on expansion and coordinating the implementation of mobile testing sites and PPE Distribution.
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.
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.
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.
Paul Bolliger, a 911 operator, talked a pregnant mom in Bellport through the process of delivery, as an infant girl couldn’t wait for paramedics for her birth.
Yesterday morning at 7:20 am, Bolliger received a call from a woman in labor.
“He quickly realized this delivery was going to happen very quickly,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D), said on his daily conference call with reporters. “He immediately went into action,” providing step by step instructions through the process.
Bellone offered words of thanks to Bolliger and to “all the dispatchers throughout our county who do an incredible ob each and every day, not just during this crisis.”
In a continuing signs of light amid the darkness of the pandemic, Suffolk County reported a gradual continuation of positive trends.
The number of hospitalizations declined for the third day in a row and the fifth day in the last week, falling by 24 to 1,538. The number of residents in the Intensive Care Unit also fell by three, to 518, while ventilator use also declined.
“This is three days in a row where we’ve seen those numbers all going down,” Bellone said. “We’ll see if that trend continues.”
The number of patients discharged from the hospital who can recover at home climbed by 123, also continuing a trend over several days in which over a hundred people can leave hospitals and return to their homes.
Meanwhile, Bellone expressed dismay about a report in Newsday that indicated that some financial institutions are allowing homeowners to miss mortgage payments, but that they are then requiring those payments in a lump sum.
“The notion that there are institutions that would be [requiring a lump sum payment] is deeply disturbing,” Bellone said. “We will be looking at financial institutions and the programs that they are putting in place.”
Bellone said the County Executive’s office would highlight the programs where the banks are “doing the right thing,” while also sharing the names of the those who are putting undue financial pressure on their customers.
The county executive also urged residents who aren’t receiving help during the crisis to reach out to his office by calling 311 and reporting the financial institutions.
“We are going to put together those stories,” Bellone said. He will share information about financial institutions with the public at some point.
Bellone also thanked U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) for his support for local and state governments. Bellone added that the federal government is the only level of government that has the ability to prop up the economy in a time of crisis. When the federal government leaves that responsibility to cash-strapped states and local governments, the local taxpayers bear the burden which is “unacceptable,” Bellone said.
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.
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
All businesses with under 500 employees can apply for the federal loan to rehire employees, but some have experienced issues. Stock photo
Businesses are looking for sanctuary during the absolute tumult caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, some say even with the federal government’s attempt to help keep employees on payroll and businesses running, some question when their submissions will be processed, while others question how much it would help.
The $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which passed congress in March as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act relief bill, was made to offer businesses with 500 employees or less loans up to $10 million specifically to keep on or rehire employees. This is partly to keep those shops afloat while revenues have plummeted and to keep people from being forced to go on unemployment. New York’s unemployment system, in particular, has been overwhelmed, with over 600,000 claims processes and another 200,000 still in partial status. Many people report having to call the unemployment offices dozens or even 100s of times and not getting a response.
“How can you expect us to bring employees back full force if you’re not allowing us to open the doors?”
— James Luciano
But as Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and other states are starting to meet to discuss a timeline for bringing everything back online, businesses still await the loans that will essentially enable them to rehire those employees.
For others, the loans may be too late. Bernie Ryba, the director of the Stony Brook Small Business Development Center, said by the center’s estimates there could be as many as 25 percent of restaurants across the country saying they have likely closed permanently. Another 25 percent, he said, could be also looking at shutting their doors.
“If you have, in the restaurant industry, 12 million that are employed, you’re looking at 6 million that will never go back to work,” he said.
That’s why applying for the PPP loans early is so important, not to mention that the money could eventually run out, though congress is in talks of supplementing the program with additional funds.
The PPP loans of up to $10 million would normally have to be paid off with a 1 percent interest rate over two years, but if 75 percent of funds are used for payroll, keeping staff to pre-pandemic levels for eight weeks after the loan is disbursed, then the loans will be forgiven.
Ryba said it is incredibly important for businesses to apply as soon as possible, adding there have been some businesses who reported to him receiving funds already. However, for businesses who have applied and haven’t heard anything back about their applications, some owners are left with a bad taste in their mouths.
Several have complained the rules of the loan were not well explained, and the timeline for when money can and will be disbursed is hanging in the air, all the while business owners can only sit around in the anxiety of not knowing.
Roger Rutherford, the general manager of Roger’s Frigate in Port Jeff and the president of the PJ Business Improvement District, related it to the disaster loans after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when he said it took him two years and multiple meetings before he ever saw a dime from the federal government. Though he said the timeline for these loans should be much shorter than that disaster, he said his daily calls have not yet resulted in word on the loan.
James Luciano, the owner of the Port Jeff Lobster House and BID secretary, said he, along with most business owners he knows, have applied for the PPP loan. However, he said it could be weeks before he even hears his application was processed, and the guidelines were not clear on what he would get or have to repay.
“They’re keeping up this thing to bring employees back, but how can you expect us to bring employees back full force if you’re not allowing us to open the doors?” he said.
The government has clarified that employees would have to be rehired to levels as of Feb. 15 by June 30.
Such need for clarifications has been constant from the federal government. Problems with the program started on day one, according to the Wall Street Journal which wrote that the nation’s largest banks were unable to take loan applications when it launched April 3 because the government did not send them application documentation until the previous night. Ryba said the institution of the program “took lenders by surprise,” with many having only one week to prepare top accept applicants.
Some businesses have also had issues applying for the loan, especially if they were affiliated with smaller community banks that are not certified with the federal Small Business Administration as an approved lender. Other larger regional and national banks, Ryba said, have focused more on their own customers who do business with them, not even those who may only use the bank to deposit.
“This is very different from 2008 — now you see banks and borrowers working together.”
— Charlie Lefkowitz
In such cases, applying for the loan requires different documentation.
The PPP is just one of several loan systems businesses have been applying to in this time of crisis. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance is supposed to loan businesses up to $10,000 in economic relief. The loan wouldn’t have to be repaid, though. Nationally, businesses have told outlets like The New York Times that such funding has all but dried up.
Luciano said he has received an email saying his PPP loan was approved and to expect paperwork in the next five business days. However, he added he has heard nothing about his disaster loan application, and his accountant told him he “did not expect anyone to see that money.”
In a conference call with businesses March 26, before the final bill was signed, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) held a conference call with local businesses along with the Long Island branch manager of the Small Business Administration Robert Piechota. Piechota said at the time while the bill had yet to be signed, in normal times such loans would take around 21 days for the application to be processed, and another five for the money to be released.
“In good times you’re looking at a month,” he said.
Jennifer Dzvonar, the owner of Bass Electric in Port Jefferson Station and president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, said there is much misinformation out there on the internet, and the best choice for anyone looking to get the loan is to go to the SBA website.
Despite not yet hearing of a single business that has yet received any funds from the loans, Charlie Lefkowitz, the president of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, said there has been a general effort on all levels, whether its regional government down to the community level, to help these businesses in their time of need.
“This is very different from 2008 — now you see banks and borrowers working together,” he said. “This is unprecedented, and across our community … you’re seeing cooperation on all levels.”
Terryville EMS members, including, from left, Lauren Maloney, Andrew Hoyt, Tom Fauteux, Daniel Ortiz, Jacob Parrish and Gina Brett. Photo by Kyle Barr
If we are to keep using war terms to describe the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, calling nurses and doctors “soldiers” who are “on the front lines,” whose personal protective equipment are like “tools” or “weapons” in the fight against COVID-19, then the Emergency Medical service members, whether paid or volunteer, truly are the ones who make first contact with the enemy.
Joe DiBernardo, President of the Lieutenant Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, donates masks to Kyle Matura of the Miller Place FD. Photo from DiBernardo
Though members of local EMS services said they don’t know exactly how to feel about that terminology. If anything, it’s the unknown of every situation that makes the whole thought stick.
“Every patient is a risk,” said Daniel Ortiz, an EMS member of the Terryville Fire Department. “That’s where I guess they say it’s a war zone, because you don’t know what you’re walking into.”
EMS members from all over the North Shore have experienced a heavy time of stress during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, though as the number of cases seems to have plateaued as New York enters the middle of April, these service members, both paid and volunteer, are still asking people to continue their social distancing, as we’re not out of the woods yet.
The emergency service members said they have been wearing much more gear than normal, including masks, head coverings, face shields and eye protection. Every single call they go on is in this gear, since every case is now treated like a COVID-19 situation, despite what might have been said by the caller on the phone.
“We trained for this, and I can honestly say this is the first time in 10 years that I’ve seen anybody suit up other than your annual refresher,” said Terryville member of the EMS squad Andrew Hoyt.
While the Terryville Fire District only covers about eight square miles, the Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps. covers nearly 15 square miles, dipping into both the Huntington and Smithtown townships.
Joseph Vollers, the 3rd assistant chief of the Commack corps., said they have been helping neighboring districts with their call volumes, including Brentwood, which has been a particularly large hotspot for coronavirus cases. With that, they have gone from one to two full crews with a driver and EMT available at all times. Terryville has effectively done the same, moving from one to two ambulances available.
“It’s a pretty big area we have to cover,” Vollers said.
Other fire districts increased the load and numbers of EMTs and paramedics on a shift. The extra hard part has been decontamination, as now after every call both the people on the truck and the truck itself have to be cleaned from top to bottom.
If the job was stressful before, the understanding that one might be potentially taking the virus home with them after each stress only adds to the level of concern. Most agreed they had never seen anything at this scale. While EMS members knew they had to be aware of contractible diseases, such as tuberculosis, flu, scabies or even bed bugs, the pandemic levels of how far the virus has spread, every single person is approached as if they have SARS-CoV-2.
David Sterne, the Setauket Fire District Manager, said there were five cases of COVID-19 in the department, with more staying home with suspected cases. Though as of now, four of those cases have returned to work. In Terryville, they’ve had two cases out of the 15 paid paramedic staff and 25 volunteer EMTs.
“It’s stressful for a lot of reasons,” Sterne said. “We’re in their environment where there could be infectious viral loads. If a patient is sick, it could be 10 or 15 minutes to take them to the hospital … everyone fears bringing it home to their families and loved ones.”
Sterne added the district has had to make do with a lack of certain items, such as the coveted N95 masks for their medical personnel. New policy has been these masks, which are normally only supposed to be used once and then thrown away, have been used multiple times. Setauket FD had been concerned at several points with limited supplies, but with support from Suffolk County, Sterne said they are now in a relatively good spot.
But support for the fire departments are coming from all corners and some unexpected places. On Wednesday, April 15, retired FDNY Deputy Chief Joe DiBernardo, who is president of the Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, worked with y Fire Hooks Unlimited, a company that manufactures tools and supplies for firefighters and police, to deliver 100 N95 masks to the Miller Place Fire Department and 200 to the Setauket Fire Department.
Joe DiBernardo, president of the Lieutenant Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, center, donates masks to the Setauket Fire Department. Photo from DiBernardo
The memorial foundation is for DiBernardo’s son, Joe DiBernardo, who was injured in the line of duty during a tenement fire in 2005. He died as a result from his injuries in 2011. The foundation works to train and equip firefighters in need.
Now the districts have settled into the routine and have seen a small improvement in the number of calls from mid-to-late March, where the number of coronavirus deaths started to rise with startling speed.
With suspected coronavirus patients, it wasn’t so much the usual dealing with people having injuries or back and abdominal pains, it was instead situations where a person might desperately need oxygen. While the numbers of people with heart attacks and other sudden traumas have stayed the same, EMT staff said people calling for respiratory issues tripled in the month of March.
Other, more usual calls of non-life threatening injuries dropped off significantly. EMTs said this was largely because people did not want to go to the hospital where the possibility of viral infection was that much higher.
“I think there’s people afraid to go to the hospital,” said Gina Brett, the Terryville EMS coordinator. “They say, ‘I don’t want to go to the hospital for knee pain, because I might get very sick at the hospital.’”
District officials said that despite the load, they’ve managed.
“Overall it hasn’t been exceedingly stressful where we can’t function,” Vollers said. “Our crews have been amazing at overcoming all stresses, with 2, 3, 4 calls back-to-back, they’ve done a great job.”
Despite the stress, the service members agreed their communities have been excellent in their care and even compassion. The Commack Fire Department, for example, recently held a drive where community members donated over 500 items, both nonperishable food and medical supplies.
Otherwise, EMTs said the best thing for people to do is continue social distancing to help flatten the curve. Another suggestion is after calling 911, people should meet the EMTs and paramedics outside the home in order to best reduce first responders’ interaction with anything that may be contaminated.
“It is an incredibly long time to have that level of awareness and vigilance,” said paramedic Dr. Lauren Moloney, an associate medical director for the Stony Brook University paramedic program. “God knows how long it’s going to go on for. That’s the hardest thing — trying to find what is your date you’re trying to get through.”
This article was amended April 16 to amend the nature of Fire Hooks Unlimited’s operations.
This article was amended April 17 to correct the name of the Commack volunteer ambulance corps.
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