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Gov. Andrew Cuomo

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The pace at which people are leaving hospitals in Suffolk County continues to be higher than the rate at which residents are entering, easing the burden on health care workers and on a system pushed close to capacity two weeks ago.

Over the last day, the number of people in hospitals from complications related to Covid-19 declined by 41 to 1,134.

“That’s still a very big number, but is much lower than its peak level,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters.

The number of people who are using Intensive Care Unit beds fell by 10 to 443.

At the same time, 109 residents have been discharged from the hospital.

“We wish them a speedy, continued recovery,” Bellone said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the initial preliminary plans for reopening the state. Phase 1, he said, would include opening it up for construction and manufacturing with “low risk.” Phase 2 would include a matrix of other nonessential businesses. There would be a two-week period in between each phase to monitor the effects. It would also be in coordination with surrounding states.

No large places that would facilitate gathering would open during that time of transition, the governor said. The first businesses to reopen would likely be upstate, which has seen much less impact than the downstate counties have seen.

Suffolk County delivered another 210,000 pieces of personal protective equipment yesterday. The county also received supplies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which include 7,100 gloves, 800 face shields, 5,000 surgical masks, hundreds of protective suits, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes and ice packs.

Bellone offered his thanks to Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY-1) on delivering personal protective equipment.

The county executive also highlighted the United Way Covid19 Fund, which provides support to people in need who have lost their jobs or have been furloughed. People interested in seeking support from the fund can go to UnitedWayLI.org.

Bellone highlighted the rescue efforts of Matthew Honce of East Patchogue, who pulled a Medford man who was treading water out of Bellport Bay on Saturday. The man had been treading water for 15 minutes when Honce pulled him out.

“I want to say a big thank you to a good samaritan, who is a great example of the kind of people we have in this county,” Bellone said. “What could have been a tragedy [wasn’t]” thanks to Honce and the Suffolk County Marine Bureau.

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Two weeks have made a huge difference for the health care community in the fight against COVID-19.

On April 10, hospitals throughout Suffolk County were struggling as 1,658 residents needed medical help to cope with the symptoms related to COVID-19. At the time, the Army Corps. of Engineers was racing to construct a hospital extension at Stony Brook that might handle more cases if the county continued on its trajectory.

Fortunately, the number of hospitalizations turned around, falling for the first time two days later, beginning a trend, with a few rises here and there, of fewer hospitalizations.

Indeed, over the last day, the number of people in Suffolk County hospitals declined by 143 people to 1,175, which means that, from the peak, the number of people separated from their homes and families has declined by over 29 percent.

This is “ great news,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. Bellone has been in the unenviable position of sharing details about the numbers of people who have been sick or who have died each day. The reduction in hospitalizations is a “huge jump, which is much higher than we’ve seen over the past few weeks,” he said.

Indeed, looking back to the dark days when the county became an epicenter for the virus, Bellone said his team had to discuss where to create a makeshift morgue, in the event that those who died exceeded the county’s capacity.

The county had considered using an ice rink as a temporary facility. Bellone nixed that, recognizing that children would eventually skate on that rink again. Instead, the county found an old processing facility, which they hoped they wouldn’t have to use but “unfortunately we have.”

As the Army Corps. of Engineers completed the construction of the Stony Brook Hospital Extension, Bellone again hoped the county wouldn’t need the additional hospital beds. So far, that has been the case, which, the county executive said, is a tribute to the residents who have respected social distancing rules and who have endured economic hardship as they have shuttered their businesses and remained at home.

The hospital extension is “empty today because of what everyone has been doing, because of the sacrifices that are being made right now,” Bellone said. “We have seen the incredible courage and bravery that has been displayed by health care workers and first responder agencies who have put themselves at risk. That is the reason why that hospital stands empty today.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new testing initiatives for those “essential” employees, including restaurant workers, grocery store workers, banks, laundromats and gas stations, just to name a few examples. The governor added it could be used for health care workers.

Testing of this kind is largely going to be handled by pharmacies. Cuomo said he will be signing an executive order allowing 5,000 independent pharmacies access to the testing.

In the last 24 hours, the number of people who have been discharged from the hospital has increased to 147, which is “another great number and a positive sign,” Bellone said.

The Intensive Care Unit has also experienced a drop in the number of patients, with a decline of 25 to 453.

The number of ICU beds currently available is 179, which is more than four times the number of beds available on April 10th, when the ICU had a low of 43 remaining beds in that unit.

Over the last 24 hours, the number of residents testing positive for Covid-19 has increased by 891 to 32,185, Bellone said. In total, the six hotspot sites have now conducted tests on 1,916 residents.

While the public health trends have been improving, the number of families who have suffered irretrievable losses through the pandemic have also passed a horrific milestone. Over the last 24 hours, the number of people who have died was 49, which means that one Suffolk County resident passed away each half hour. The total number of dead in Suffolk County from complications related to coroanvirus has climbed over 1,000, reaching 1,042.

The number of people who have died “continues to be staggering,” Bellone said, as he offered his thoughts and prayers to those who mourn the loss of family, friends, and neighbors.

Bellone’s office continues to look for personal protective equipment to help first responders and health care workers who are looking to heal and provide comfort to those afflicted with the disease. Bellone’s office has received another 100,000 ear loop masks and 3,000 face shields as a part of the county’s procurement order.

Continuing a process that began yesterday at a Stop & Shop in West Babylon, Bellone distributed cloth face coverings that he received from the federal and state governments to seniors at Leisure Village, Leisure Knolls and Leisure Glen. He was joined by Sarah Anker (D-Mt. Sinai).

“People were very happy to receive those face coverings,” Bellone said. “It’s important to distribute those out to the most vulnerable in our community.”

Bellone said the distribution plan for those face coverings would also include people who live in hotspot communities.

“We will be working with community-based organizations to identify need,” Bellone said.

For those looking to get back on the links, Bellone said golf courses will reopen starting on Monday, in line with the state policy. Golfers will be expected to follow social distancing guidelines and will need to spread out tee times by 15 minutes. Golfers can not use carts.

“If you want to come out, you have to walk the course, follow the additional guidance that is in place to reduce contact and help prevent transmission of the virus,” Bellone said.

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In his ongoing effort to provide temporary property tax relief, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) spoke with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin last night.

Bellone said the conversation was “positive” and he hopes to hear back soon about whether Suffolk County, which is short of the required population size, can access the municipal liquidity fund.

Bellone thanked Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY-1) for facilitating the call and supporting the county’s bid to tap into short term borrowing created by the federal CARES Act.

Bellone also announced that former County Attorney Dennis Cohen would return to his former role.

“This is even more critical to us now because of he crisis and because of the long road ahead on recovery we know we will have,” Bellone said on his daily conference call with reporters.

As testing continues throughout Long Island, including at hotspots including Coram which began today, the number of people who have a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 has continued to climb. For the first time in several days, that number rose by over 1,000, bringing the total to 31,294.

“That is higher than what we’ve been seeing over the last week,” Bellone said.

Bellone also announced that the county was piloting a food assistance program at the Brentwood testing site.

On the state side, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he would soon be making a decision whether schools will be closed for the rest of the school year. The question will depend on where they see the resiliency of the virus, and also ongoing fears for another peak somewhere later in the year. Doctors are concerned that peak could come at a time when the nation would be going through its regular flu season as well.

On the positive side, total hospitalizations continue to decline, driven down by another triple digit number of discharges.

The total hospitalizations fell by 22 to 1,318. The number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds also declined by 16 to 478.

The ICU decline “is very good news,” Bellone said.

The number of people who have left the hospital over the last day was 132.

The number of people who died rose by 34 to 993. That includes the first Long Island Railroad Employee who passed away from complications related to coronavirus.

“I want to acknowledge and thank the employees of the Long Island Railroad today,” Bellone said. They have “stood up and met the challenge” created by COVID-19 and have “done an amazing job.”

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Several weeks after viral hotspot testing sites in Suffolk County opened, the percentage of positive tests is coming back higher than for other areas.

After 1,077 people were tested in six sites, including Huntington Station and Wyandanch, 577 people tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.

“That is definitely a lot higher than the overall number in the county, which stands at 40 percent,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters.

By testing in these communities, the county hopes not only to get an idea of the rate of infection in these areas, but also to communicate the importance of social distancing and isolating for people who have positive tests.

“By doing the testing, we have the direct one-on-one contact with patients and it is with Spanish speaking health professionals who can have an effective dialog,” Bellone said. The communication is “well-received by the patients.”

For some residents who live in more densely populated areas or who share a home with others who might have underlying medical conditions or whose age makes them vulnerable to the virus, the county has offered housing on a case-by-case bases, Bellone said. That has included hotels and shelters.

These situations could include people who are “coming out of a hospital where there is an issue in a home with vulnerable people,” Bellone said. “It’s not just with hotspot areas.”

Bellone also shared the results of broader testing throughout New York that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has conducted to determine the rate of infection, which could include people who were asymptomatic or who had mild symptoms that dissipated quickly enough not to merit testing.

Based on preliminary data, Suffolk County could have about 250,000 people who have the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

If that’s the case, “that tells us that there are a huge number of people who have had the virus and didn’t know they had it,” Bellone said. A scaled up testing program to detect the presence or the virus or of antibodies, along with an aggressive contact tracing program, could enable the county to contain the virus.

That could mean that Suffolk County could “reopen our economy with protective measures in place,” Bellone said. The testing and contact tracing, which former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Johns Hopkins University committed to supporting, are “very good news,” with the caveat that the county needs to “see those full results,” Bellone added.

The number of people who tested positive in the county in the last day was 709, which means that more than 30,000 people have received positive tests for the coronavirus.

The closely-watched hospitalization number dropped again in the last day, falling by 37 to 1,340 residents. The number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds has also declined by five to 494.

For the second straight day, about 10 percent of the population of people with COVID-19, or 131 people, have been discharged from the hospital.

The death toll also continues to climb towards 1,000, with 33 people dying from complications related to COVID-19, bringing the number for the county to 959.

On the supply front, the county executive’s office distributed over 24,000 pieces of personal protective equipment yesterday. The county also received 80,000 ear loop masks from New York State.

The procurement team in Bellone’s office received 27,000 isolation gowns, which have been in short supply and high demand.

The Stony Brook University Hospital extension, which was an all-out effort as the hospitalization was climbing dramatically, is completed. The beds at the facility are not occupied.

“I don’t think there are plans right now” to use those beds, Bellone said. “We are working to prevent a second wave rom happening. We know that has happened in past pandemics.”

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Of all the things that have come undone since the start of the pandemic, one of the worst has been the loss of confidence in the systems that have governed us for so long. 

Our local businesses are experiencing untold hardship. People are suffering at home, furloughed or dismissed from their jobs, and many are having a hard time paying the bills or buying food. 

Beyond all that, people are dying. The most vulnerable —the old and those with underlying medical issues — have been the ones most harmed by the pandemic.

We’ve had a long time to come to terms with the issues in our society, but what the coronavirus has made clear is the brittleness of so many of our institutions. There has been more than one report about how the federal government failed to follow the pandemic response playbook present in prior administrations, and how the U.S., in a bid to tighten the financial belt, eliminated people in government whose job was to identify and mitigate such large-scale viral disasters.

We do not know how the end of this virus will play out. Doctors have said the only way for us to truly break away from the restrictions placed on us by SARS Cov-2 is to either develop a vaccine or have widespread, unprecedented testing of practically every U.S. citizen. States like New York have called for such tests, but the federal government has not yet hinted at doing anything close to what would be needed.

What is needed, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said so succinctly in his April 20 address, is less a reopening, but a reimagining of our systems.

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

The governor cited things like the public transportation system, which has for so long been a bane of so many commuters. The Long Island Rail Road has seen a near 95 percent loss in ridership and now faces real financial collapse. With that in mind, flip that picture, and imagine a service that is both fast and efficient in the vein of Tokyo’s or Seoul’s public transportation system. 

Imagine rent prices not being upwards of $1,500 for a studio apartment. Imagine housing prices that don’t restrict all but the middle to upper class affording a home on Long Island. Imagine young people not being pushed off the Island because of its general unaffordability.

This is what happens during a crisis. We see the things that have exacerbated the pandemic, namely a health care system that is simply not built to give the greatest amount of help to the greatest number of people. 

We witness the outsized unfairness that large businesses with thousands of employees nationwide somehow are allowed to apply for loans designated for small businesses. The Washington Post reported close to 70 large companies applied for and got loans through the payment protection program. While a company like Shake Shack actually returned the $10 million small business loan it received, the fact there were many thousands of businesses that could not get a dime despite applying as soon as they were able shows how high current processes are stacked against them.

We can do better, and if we can build upon the lessons made only more apparent during our time in isolation, we will be safer and prepared for a better world. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.”

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County Executive Steve Bellone, center, SCPD Commissioner Geraldine Hart, left, and Chief of Department Stuart Cameron, right. File photo

Starting tonight, members of the Suffolk County Police Department will be wearing masks in public to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Initially, officers will be wearing surgical masks. They will also have N95 masks when necessary when they are interacting more closely with the public.

Wearing masks in public will become more common for everyone, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that everyone will be required to wear a masks in three days when they can’t be at least six feet away from other people.

“That is part of the new normal,” said County Executive Steve Bellone (D) on his daily conference call with reporters. “The intent is to stop the spread of the virus.”

Amid recent positive signs in the number of hospitalizations, Bellone said the county is having discussions about an eventual reopening of the economy, but the county is “not there yet. The guidance [about social distancing and keeping non-essential businesses closed] will remain.”

Bellone also announced the death of Detective Sergeant John Kempf, a 32-year veteran of the force who died after a battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. A member of the First Precinct, Kempf, didn’t receive the typical funeral and in-person celebration of his life.

With Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart and Chief of Police Stuart Cameron, Bellone watched hundreds of officers line up in front of their vehicles and offer a hand salute as the family and motorcade drove to the cemetery.

The experience was “very different than what the experience would normally be for his police family,” Bellone said. Bellone asked county residents to keep the families of Sergeant Kempf and all the other families who have lost loved ones during this time in their thoughts.

After a two day decline in the number of hospitalizations, the numbers climbed again for a second straight day, albeit at a slower pace than last week.

The number of hospitalizations increased by 22 to 1,630. At the same time, the number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds rose by 31 to 562.

The county currently has 622 beds available, with 94 ICU beds.

The county also reported 832 new positive tests, which brings the total to 23,523. The county has tested over 53,000 residents at this point.

New testing sites will be available, by appointment only, starting tomorrow at Wyandanch and North Amityvlille.

“The good news we like to report is that 174 people have been discharged” over the last 24 hours, Bellone said. That’s the highest number the county executive has reported since residents started needing hospital care to fight off COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency passed a sales tax exemption for manufacturers, supplies and distributors who are switching processes to make personal protective equipment.

“We want to encourage” businesses to provide the necessary protection for health care workers and first responders, the county executive said. “We are grateful to businesses that have already stepped forward to change their operations and adjust to their new environment.”

East/West Industries is making face coverings for law enforcement officers in the county, which will replace the surgical masks.

“Our goal is to give [officers] fabric masks they can launder and reuse,” Cameron said.

By the time of the daily call, Bellone didn’t have any update on fatalities connected to coronavirus.

Separately, the date for the collection of data for the census has moved from August 15th to October 31st.

Bellone welcomed the extension and urged everyone to fill out the correct information because “every person that is not counted means we’ll get short changed on revenue coming back to our state in the form of different programs that are available.”

Residents can access the census through my2020census.gov.

Catholic Health Services Clinical Trials

Meanwhile, Catholic Health Services is enrolling patients for two clinical trials to develop treatments for COVID-19. The health services group is participating in a Mao Clinic trial to use convalescent plasma donated by recovered COVID-19 patients. Convalescent plasma treatments use antibodies from people who have fought off the virus to treat those who have been infected but haven’t yet mounted an immune defense.

Catholic Hospitals are offering convalescent plasma at six hospitals.

The second study will use remdesivir. Gilead Sciences created the drug to treat the Ebola virus. It has shown some efficacy in treating other coronaviruses including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center in Roslyn and Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip are all participating in the remdesivir trials.

Potential donors must be over 18 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. Patients who are at a high risk of disease progression to severe or life-threatening will receive this treatment.

The remdesivir study will occur over 10 days. On the first day, patients receive 200 milligrams of the drug, and on the other days, they get 100 milligrams doses.

Interested donors, who must be symptom free and fully recovered, and anyone else seeking additional information can contact Catholic Health Services at (855) CHS-4500.

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Even as Suffolk County residents dealt with a storm that had knocked out power in 10,000 homes by 3 p.m., hospitals that have been in the center of the coronavirus storm experienced a second straight day of improving numbers.

The number of people hospitalized in the county dropped 19 to 1,595, according to County Executive Steve Bellone (D).

“That is not enough to tell us that we’ve seen the worst of this at this point, but it is another positive indicator,” Bellone said.

The number of residents in Intensive Care Unit beds also declined by nine to 539, while the number of patients who are intubated also declined by one.

“To see all three of those numbers down, however slightly, is a positive,” the county executive said.

Suffolk County, along with the entire State of New York, has been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of people testing positive, sick with the virus, in the hospital, or among those felled by the disease rising rapidly since the first reported positive test on March 9.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said such numbers, while still horrific in seeing the number of deaths from Easter Sunday, represents a “flattening of the curve,” with the increase in deaths finally showing a slow down.

The county bed capacity, meanwhile, continued to rise, as area hospitals follow through on plans to double the bed capacity, particularly if the recent drops in hospitalizations become a momentary pause before more residents need urgent medical care.

In the last day, area hospitals have increased bed capacity by 57, bringing the total to 3,423 for the county, which includes 756 ICU beds. The overall number of beds available is 717, with 103 ICU beds currently vacant.

Adding to the string of positive developments over the last two days, hospitals also discharged 125 patients who had received treatment.

Hospital gowns remains the biggest supplies need for hospitals, Bellone said.

The county has 772 ventilators, with 262 currently available.

“At this point, with where we are with the numbers, unless we see a significant spike [in demand], I am comfortable with where we are on the ventilators,” Bellone said.

In an ongoing trend amid more widespread testing, residents continue to test positive for the virus. Over the last 24 hours, the number who tested positive climbed by over 1,000 to 21,947. Amid the storm today, mobile testing sites in hotspots including Huntington Station, Brentwood and Riverhead were closed, although Bellone is “expecting to have the sites back on track tomorrow.”

The number of people who have died from complications connected to coronavirus continues to rise. An additional 50 people died, bringing the total in the county to 568.

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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.

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