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Hidden Germs in the Age of Coronavirus

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Last night my attempts to do some late night stress-free grocery shopping at Fairway were stymied when an unpleasant gentleman proceeded to throw his groceries on top of mine.  I have recently concluded that there is no such thing as supermarket etiquette even during this crisis: as I witnessed a man smell the open bread with his nostrils touching the tips of the baguette; saw a woman sneeze on the produce; and watched a supermarket conveyor belt be hogged by my unapologetic neighbor.  “Three to six feet apart,” I replied, “those are the rules, aside from the fact that it is my turn not yours.”  This got a huge guffaw as he called me every name in the book and mockingly advised I call the police.  I thought about it but decided the cops had more pressing matters to deal with than a rude supermarket customer who had invaded my space, and besides I left my phone at home-the chances someone would lend me theirs during this stressful time were zero.  So I walked home fuming at the abuse I had received while trying to adhere to the government’s guidelines and concluded that perhaps I could make “lemonade out of lemons” by researching the actual levels of contamination in unknown areas.
Believe it or not I was correct in my disapprobation, as grocery conveyor belts are an absolute breeding ground for bacteria.  Shoppers place billions of products on these contaminated areas exposing their families to harmful bacteria.  These belts have a lifespan of 30-plus years since they are constructed from PVC-a petroleum based material that is a magnet for bacteria.  The International Association of Food Protection found that yeast, mold, staph and coliforms were hanging out on this belt.  A study by Michigan State University found these belts were 100% contaminated which was later confirmed by microbiologist Connie Morbach who said she had found “organisms typically associated with open wounds, and infections” on the belt.  Moreover, the belt’s porous nature ensures that even if scrubbed for 24 hours it will never be fully clean.  One solution would be for supermarkets to install antimicrobial covers-but it is doubtful they will do so since this will slow down business.  Unfortunately we are left to grapple with another potential source of Covid-19 as germ paranoia accelerates.
What about shoes are they as toxic as we are now hearing?  There is evidence that the soles of shoes carry more bacteria and fungi than the uppers.  Bacteria found on footwear include E. coli, as well as the bacteria causing pneumonia and respiratory infections.  In fact, a recent study showed shoes average 421,000 units of bacteria, much of which consist of fecal material.   96% of shoes were found to contain fecal bacteria and were transferred to tile at a rate of 90-99%.  Experts are recommending sanitizing shoes with Lysol, vinegar, or mixes of bleach and water, while machine washing others-but frankly who wants to be touching these germs.  The best we can do is leave our shoes at the front door and hope for the best.
There is an undoubtable fear of germs on airplane food trays and bathrooms with flight attendants reporting numerous mother’s changing baby diapers on the tray table. However, there are lesser known areas of contamination such as the open seat pocket that holds in-flight instructions and germs that can last more than four days on the porous material.  A “Today” investigation found the presence of E. Coli, Klebsiella and Acinetobacter-otherwise known as fecal bacteria- on the plastic bins at the security line.  Moreover, the New York Times reported in September 2018 that these trays carried more cold germs than that on a toilet. Washing hands, social distancing and trying not to touch one’s face or mouth during an excursion are all useful tips-however, a certain number of germs are inevitably transferred.
The last bastion of solace, my cell phone, which has gotten me through this pandemic, might be the most toxic of all.  Time magazine reported that people check their phones an average of 47 times a day allowing microorganisms to quickly move to your fingers.  A recent study found more than 17,000 bacterial gene copies on a phone; while University of Arizona scientists said phones had 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats.  Viruses can spread easily by coughing on a phone and then discreetly handing it to a friend.  Thankfully, there are some methods to reduce exposure including not leaving it near a toilet when it flushes or even bringing it into a germ-laden bathroom.  Moreover, wiping phones just a few times a month using a cloth  with 60% water and 40% rubbing alcohol is sufficient-especially if you are a frequent hand-washer.  As the virus hopefully recedes, a new category of fears should be added to the psychiatric journals called “germophobia” with the definition being anyone who was alive during the first months of 2020.

NY Update: Cuomo ” The Arrows are Heading in the Right Direction”- Latest Presser

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Latest Update from NY Governor  Cuomo ,  today we were presented with some good and interesting news, watch the entire press conference below

  • 31,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in New York state, 12% of patients with positive tests are hospitalized, 3% ICU
  • Appx 80% of current infections are self resolved, Appx 15% require hospitalization (this number is holding steady but current rate is lower) 
  • The actual hospitalizations have moved at a higher rate than projection models, Cuomo explained
  • They project 140,000 cases coming into hospitals- with 53,000 current beds   40,000 ICU cases with currently 3000 ICU units
  • We must slow the number of cases coming into the hospitals while raising capacity- all precautions taken from social distancing to business closures have been done to “flatten the curb”
  • A new plan to close streets will be implemented – a pilot program in NYC with coordination with de blasio
  • mandatory social distancing in playgrounds and stopping all close contact sports- such as basketball (voluntary ) – if people do not volunteer to reduce social density they will close playgrounds in NYC
  •  Cuomo believes social distancing is working- last Sunday hospitalizations were doubling every 3.4 days-  on Monday the projecting estimated the number was doubling every  3.4 days – on Tuesday the number estimated is every 4.7 days this is good news 
  • That is almost too good to be true, but the theory is given the density that we are dealing with it spreads quickly but if you reduce the density, you reduce the spread very positive  sign … the arrows are heading in the right direction”
  • “slowing the hospitalization  rates is everything”
  • So far, 40,000 medical professionals have volunteered for a “surge health force” to aid in the growing pandemic, according to New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
  •  the governor noted more than 2200 doctors and 2400 nurse practitioners have signed up to volunteer amid a shortage of health professionals and supplies.
  • More than 6,000 mental health professionals who have volunteered to provide free therapy. Those in need are encouraged to call 1-844.863.9314.

 

 

 

 

 

$2 Trillion Coronavirus Emergency Relief Bill Finally Passes Senate

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The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a $2 trillion relief package Wednesday night designed to alleviate some of the worst effects of the swift economic downturn currently underway as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, NPR reported.

 

Ahead of the 96-0 vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told lawmakers, “Our nation obviously is going through a kind of crisis that is totally unprecedented in living memory.”

The plan marks the largest rescue package in American history. The legislation covers an array of programs, including direct payments to Americans, an aggressive expansion of unemployment insurance, billions of dollars in aid to large and small businesses and a new wave of significant funding for the health care industry, NPR reported late Wednesday night.

  • The plan will rush financial assistance to Americans with direct checks to households in the middle class and in lower income levels, McConnell said. Previously, Republicans said this would amount to $1,200 to most American adults, among other payments.
  • An extended unemployment insurance program for laid-off workers that will allow for four months of “full pay,” according to Schumer, rather than the usual three months for most. It will also raise the maximum unemployment insurance benefit by $600 per week. It will apply to traditional workers for small and large businesses as well as those who are self-employed and workers in the gig economy. This was a key Democratic initiative, which Schumer dubbed “unemployment insurance on steroids.”
  • More than $150 billion for the health care system, including funding for hospitals, research, treatment and the Strategic National Stockpile to raise supplies of ventilators, masks and other equipment. Of that, $100 billion will go to hospitals and the health system and $1 billion to the Indian Health Service.
  • $150 billion to state and local governments to address spending shortages related to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • $350 billion in the form of loans for small businesses impacted by the pandemic; some of those loans could be forgiven.

President Trump and top members of his administration gave their strong support to the bill Wednesday.

The House will have a voice vote on Friday and the president is expected to sign it

The White House and Senate leaders of both parties announced agreement early Wednesday morning  on an unprecedented $2 trillion emergency bill to rush sweeping aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic, AP reported

The urgently needed measure is the largest economic rescue bill in history. It is intended as a weekslong or monthslong patch for an economy spiraling into recession — or worse — and a nation facing a potentially ghastly toll, AP reported

“To the American people, we say, big help, quick help is on the way,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday morning on CNN.

The president had sounded an optimistic tone in his briefing for reporters at the White House on Tuesday evening, though Republicans had been scathing in their criticism of Democrats for blocking Senate passage of a relief bill that had been agreed to by the two parties on Sunday, Breitbart reported the Senate plans to vote later Wednesday on the massive package, which aims to flood the economy with capital by sending $1,200 checks to many Americans, creating a $367 billion loan program for small businesses and setting up a $500 billion fund for industries, cities and states. The House is expected to act in coming days, AP reported

The bill still hit some snags on it’s way to passing the senate

AP reported: Senate leaders raced to unravel last-minute snags Wednesday and win passage of an unparalleled $2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Four conservative Republican senators demanded changes, saying the legislation as written “incentivizes layoffs” and should be altered to ensure employees don’t earn more money if they’re laid off than if they’re working.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont  said he would block the bill unless the conservatives dropped their objections.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said the package “goes a long way.” He said it will require strong oversight to ensure the wealthy don’t benefit at the expense of workers and proposed forgiving at least $10,000 of student loan debt as part of the federal response.

Businesses controlled by President Donald Trump and his children would be prohibited from receiving loans or investments from Treasury Department programs included in a $2 trillion stimulus plan agreed to early Wednesday by White House and Senate leaders in response to the coronavirus crisis, according to Geenwich Time. This had been a major contention from the Democrat party.

The provision, which was touted by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in an early-morning letter to colleagues, would also apply to Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress and heads of federal departments, as well as their children, spouses and in-laws.

During a television interview Wednesday morning, Schumer stressed that the provision applies not only to Trump but to “any major figure in government.”

There are also provisions to ban stock buybacks for the term of government assistance, plus an additional year for any company receiving a government loan from the bill. In addition, it establishes worker protections attached to federal loans for businesses, and it prohibits airlines from using the funds for CEO bonuses, NPR reported.

 

NYC is Eerily Quiet as it Becomes Next Coronavirus Hot Spot

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New York has implemented dramatic restrictions Sunday in an attempt to slow a pandemic that has swept across the globe and threatened to make the state one of the world’s biggest coronavirus hot spots. Photo Credit: AP/Wong Maye E

By: Jim Mustian & Jeffrey Collins

No more play dates, no more picnics in the park with friends, no more pickup games of basketball. No more commuting or using public transport — unless absolutely essential. New York has implemented dramatic restrictions Sunday in an attempt to slow a pandemic that has swept across the globe and threatened to make the state one of the world’s biggest coronavirus hot spots.

As infections soar — or in anticipation that they will — officials worldwide warned of a critical shortage of medical supplies. Spain was erecting a field hospital in a convention center, British health workers pleaded for more gear, saying they felt like “cannon fodder,” and President Donald Trump ordered mobile hospital centers be sent to Washington, California and New York.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all nonessential businesses in the state to close and nonessential workers to stay home starting Sunday night, tightening even further restrictions put in place earlier.

Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also called for getting everything from masks to ventilators, as well as doctors and other medical workers to New York, warning a mounting death toll might grow more steeply without more federal help.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, promised on CBS’ “Face The Nation” that the medical supplies are about to start pouring in and will be “clearly directed to those hot spots that need it most.”

Hours later, Trump said he had ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ship mobile hospital centers to Washington, California and New York.

“No American is alone as long as we are united,” Trump said.

But efforts for a quick aid package from Congress faltered. The U.S. Senate voted against advancing a nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package. Democrats argued it was tilted toward corporations rather than workers and health care providers. But negotiations continued.

The delay shook investors, as futures for U.S. stocks fell sharply at the start of trading Sunday. Futures for the S&P 500 fell by 5%, triggering a halt in trading shortly after opening. Wall Street is coming off its worst week since 2008, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 17%, many restaurants and bars nationwide closed and large swaths of the economy suddenly ground to a halt.

Worldwide, more than 335,000 people have been infected and more than 14,600 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. About 150 countries now have confirmed cases.

There were more than 33,000 cases across the U.S. and more than 400 deaths. New York state accounted for 117 deaths, mostly in New York City.

On Sunday, New York passed Washington state, the initial epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, in the number of fatal cases.

Along with the staggering numbers, there were individual reminders Sunday of the reach of the virus. Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky became the first U.S. senator to announce he was infected. Opera superstar Plácido Domingo announced he has COVID-19, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel put herself into quarantine after a doctor who gave her a vaccine tested positive.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever or coughing. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Some 97,800 people have recovered, mostly in China.

In anticipation that the worst is yet to come for New York, Cuomo has told hospitals to increase their current bed numbers by at least 50%. Predictions from health officials are that COVID-19 cases needing advanced medical care will top 100,000 in the state in the next month or so, potentially overwhelming the state’s hospitals that have about 53,000 regular beds and 3,000 intensive care beds.

Hospitals started to feel the crush Sunday, creating emergency room overflows and dedicating COVID-19 wings, with officials in Brooklyn saying a number were becoming overwhelmed.

Health care workers said they were being asked to reuse and ration disposable masks and gloves.

“The building is on fire,” said Dr. David J. Ores, describing the chaotic and ever-changing guidance medical professionals have been given. “It’s a mad scramble.”

But in the face of an invisible threat rather than billowing smoke or blowing snow, New Yorkers were still gathering in large groups in parks, playing basketball or having block parties.

Cuomo expressed exasperation Sunday that people were still ignoring orders to stay away from one another. Under his order, people need to stay at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) apart when they are outside. Public transit will keep running, but people besides essential workers should only use it when absolutely necessary.

“It’s insensitive. It’s arrogant. It’s self-destructive. It’s disrespectful to other people,” Cuomo said. “It has to stop and it has to stop now.”

Similar scenes played out around the country. Californians headed to beaches and parks on Sunday despite their state’s stay-at-home order, prompting officials to close some strands and trails.

Elsewhere in the world, the coronavirus raged on. Italy and Iran reported soaring new death tolls.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte went on live TV to announce that he was tightening the country’s lockdown. Italy now has more than 59,000 cases and 5,476 deaths.

“We are facing the most serious crisis that the country has experienced since World War II,” Conte told Italians during a broadcast at midnight.

Iran’s supreme leader refused U.S. assistance Sunday to fight the virus, citing an unfounded conspiracy theory that the outbreak could be an American plot. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments came as Iran faces crushing U.S. sanctions over its nuclear actions. Iran says it has 1,685 deaths and 21,638 confirmed cases of the virus — a toll that experts from the World Health Organization say is almost certainly under-reported.

In many parts of the United States, officials were sounding the same not that New York leaders were: Stay away from other people. Officials called them different things — social distancing, sheltering in place, or in the case of Nashville, Tennessee, a “safer at home” order.

“We’re all in quarantine now. Think about it,” Cuomo said.

             (Associated Press)

Army Engineers in NYC to Transform Hotel Rooms, Dorms into Virus Centers

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“With hotels practically empty — the 1,878-room Hilton Midtown is completely shut down — the city’s hospitality business has been hammered by the virus-driven halt in tourism, events and conventions. The drop-off for hotels is worse than after 9/11 or during the 2008 financial crisis, operators say,” according to the New York Post. Photo Credit: Hilton.com

By: Ulysses Bakersfield

New York City’s hotel rooms are occupied – but not in a way that makes any one especially happen.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has announced a strategy that includes commandeering up to 10,000 hotel rooms, college dormitories and other spaces for medical services.

“With hotels practically empty — the 1,878-room Hilton Midtown is completely shut down — the city’s hospitality business has been hammered by the virus-driven halt in tourism, events and conventions. The drop-off for hotels is worse than after 9/11 or during the 2008 financial crisis, operators say,” according to the New York Post.

Additional rooms are to be used at the now-empty dorm rooms at New York University.

The Army Corps wants to contract with hotels, colleges and maybe sports arenas, Army Corps Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite said at a briefing. “We would then take the building over in a period of an exceptionally short amount of days, and we would go in and turn this into an ICU-like facility.”

The Army Corps of Engineers has also been busy making room for the ill with a recommendation that four temporary hospital sites in New York State be opened in an effort to address imminent capacity issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Andrew Cuomo visited the four sites–the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and locations at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old Westbury and the Westchester Convention Center — this weekend.

Hospitals at the SUNY campus sites will be constructed indoors with outdoor tent support and the dormitories on the campuses will be used for healthcare staff to stay while working at the sites.

Cuomo also announced that FEMA will erect four additional federal hospital facilities within the Javits Center, in addition to the temporary hospital to be constructed by the Army Corps. Each of the four federal hospitals will have 250 beds and come fully equipped and fully staffed by the federal government.

Cuomo said the state is continuing to quickly identify sites to repurpose existing healthcare facilities to be used as temporary hospitals. The state on Saturday leased the Brooklyn Health Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare to serve as a temporary hospital with capacity up to 600 beds.

He also called on the federal government to immediately implement the Defense Production Act and nationalize the contracting and acquisition of medical supplies. New York State is already seeing a shortage in medical supplies and personal protective equipment–or PPE–including masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators. This shortage is also impacting other states, leading to price gouging by companies, hospitals competing with one another and states competing with other states and even other countries for supplies. Implementing the Defense Production Act would give the federal government legal authority to mandate private companies to manufacture these critical supplies for all states.

NY’s Northwell Conducts Clinical Trials for Drugs to Treat Coronavirus Patients

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The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the research arm of Northwell Health, said that the enrollment of three clinical trials in the ongoing effort to combat COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Photo Credit: northwell.edu

By: Angelo Cordoza

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the research arm of Northwell Health, said that the enrollment of three clinical trials in the ongoing effort to combat COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.

Feinstein Institutes researchers are teaming up with Gilead Sciences, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi to identify effective treatments for patients currently hospitalized in moderate and severe conditions with COVID-19, the company said in a press statement posted on its web site. The goal is to improve recovery and speed discharge from hospitals. The three Feinstein Institutes trials are offered to patients already admitted to Northwell Health hospitals with moderate to severe COVID-19. The trials are not currently available to the general public.

“We’ve joined with three outstanding companies to immediately begin clinical trials for patients now suffering from COVID-19 and are determined to do all we can to stop the virus in its tracks,” said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health.

While there is a nationwide push for an expedited Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process of these and other experimental COVID-19 therapies, the release said, Northwell Health and the Feinstein Institutes prioritize the safety of patients. The process of these formal trials will lead to accurate testing of these novel drugs prior to mainstream use.

With Gilead, the statement continued, the Feinstein Institutes will conduct two trials looking at the safety and efficacy of remdesivir (RDV), an investigational antiviral drug, designed to reduce the intensity and duration of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. RDV has demonstrated positive effects on other viral pathogens such as MERS and SARS in vitro and in animal models. “The first trial can accommodate up to 400 severe cases of COVID-19 globally and is a randomized study of two different durations of treatment with RDV, delivered intravenously. Researchers will look at clinically relevant endpoints in patients with severe manifestations of disease. The lead investigator on this study is Marcia Epstein, MD, Feinstein Institutes researcher and an infectious disease expert.”

The other RDV trial in collaboration with Gilead is also a phase 3 study that will assess two different durations of treatment with RDV as compared to current standard of care in up to 600 patients with moderate COVID-19 globally, the company pointed out. “Researchers will look at clinical endpoints and time to discharge. The lead investigator on this study is Prashant Malhotra, MD, assistant professor in the Institute of Health Innovations & Outcomes Research at Feinstein, and an infectious disease expert.”

Trump Activates Nat’l Guard in in NY, CA & WA to Combat COVID-19

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By: AP

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the National Guard has been “activated” in New York, California and Washington state to help the three states hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis.

Trump made the announcement during Sunday’s coronavirus task force briefing, adding that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be covering the cost.

A FEMA official at the briefing said that both New York and Washington have already been approved for major disaster declarations to allow the federal government to more seamlessly provide supplies. California’s request is being considered.

Trump also said that the Navy hospital ship Mercy will be dispatched to Los Angeles to help to help relieve the state’s overwhelmed hospitals. Non-coronavirus patients will be treated on board. A similar ship is being sent to New York City.

The FEMA official said the projected need for hospital beds in California is five times greater than it is in Washington

The White House briefing comes as Congress and the Trump administration continue negotiations over a ballooning nearly $1.4 trillion economic rescue package to steady the nation in crisis.

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has indicated a deal is within reach, but congressional Democratic leaders raised concerns after a meeting Sunday at the Capitol.

With a population on edge, societal norms rewritten and financial markets teetering, all sides were hoping for an agreement that would provide some relief against the pandemic’s twin health and economic crises, now believed likely to stretch for several months.

The package could include aid to last the next 10 weeks. Mnuchin told “Fox News Sunday” that there is a “fundamental understanding” reached with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to provide significant aid.

According to Mnuchin, the deal includes federal loans to small businesses so they can retain their workers; cash payments averaging $3,000 for a family of four as well as “enhanced” unemployment insurance.

The package also will allow the Federal Reserve to leverage up to $4 trillion of liquidity to support the nation’s economy, while hospitals will get “approximately” $110 billion to address a crush of people infected with the virus.

Mnuchin says President Donald Trump has “every expectation” the aid package will help workers and the economy improve “four or eight weeks from now,” but if the virus is still raging after 10 weeks, “we’ll go back to Congress again.”

Mnuchin says he expects a Senate vote on the deal on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed cases in the U.S. has exceeded 32,000 and at least 400 people have died in the country as a result of COVID-19, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The tally shows 32 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. have all reported deaths.

Worldwide, Johns Hopkins says over 329,000 cases have been reported, with over 14,300 deaths. Italy’s death toll is the highest with at least 4,825.

  (AP)

NY-Presbyterian Hospital Revises Visitation Guidelines Due to Coronavirus

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Health and safety are always our top priorities at NewYork-Presbyterian. We have been preparing and planning for COVID-19 and will continue to provide the exceptional care all of our patients and families have come to expect from us every day. Photo Credit: weillcornell.org

By: NYP Staff

In response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak and in line with our revised Visitation Guidelines, only select entrances will be open at each Hospital throughout the NewYork-Presbyterian system. All other entrances will be closed and inaccessible to patients, visitors, and staff. The health and safety of our patients, visitors, employees, and our communities remain our top priority at NewYork-Presbyterian. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Health and safety are always our top priorities at NewYork-Presbyterian. We have been preparing and planning for COVID-19 and will continue to provide the exceptional care all of our patients and families have come to expect from us every day.

We have implemented vigorous policies and procedures and are following all governmental recommendations about the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

Many of our patients have reached out with common questions. Below you will find the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including guidance on how to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy.

The CDC recommends everyday preventive actions to help stop the spread of coronavirus, including:

  • Wash your hands thoroughly or use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Stay home when you are sick and encourage family to do the same.
  • Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and immediately wash your hands. No tissue? Cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

How serious is this virus and what are the range of symptoms?

Most people will only have mild symptoms, but some can become very sick. Symptoms can include fever, cough, or shortness of breath.

How long before symptoms of the virus appear?

The CDC believes at this time that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear between two and 14 days after exposure.

What happens if I’ve been exposed to someone with the virus or diagnosed with COVID-19?

If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19 and have symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, before going to a doctor’s office or emergency room, call ahead and tell them about your symptoms and any recent travel. You can also utilize NewYork-Presbyterian’s virtual care platform NYP OnDemand to meet with a doctor by video conference. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your doctor will determine whether or not you need to come in to be evaluated. Avoid contact with others and wear a face mask if you need to leave your home when you are sick.

Can I visit family or friends who are patients at NewYork-Presbyterian hospitals?

Yes, you can still visit family or friends at NewYork-Presbyterian. We understand how important the support of loved ones and friends is to patients during their hospital stay. At the same time, the new coronavirus requires us to temporarily adjust our visiting policy in order to keep our patients and visitors safe from infection. Please see our updated visitor guidelines at: https://www.nyp.org/coronavirus-information/coronavirus-visitor-policy-change

I have a trip planned. Should I cancel it?

The CDC provides recommendations—called travel notices—on postponing or canceling travel. These notices are based on assessments of the potential health risks involved in traveling to a certain area. Here is a list of destinations with travel notices.

For more information:

NewYork-Presbyterian is committed to providing our patients with updated information. Please visit our website nyp.org for the latest news.

If you have concerns regarding COVID-19, please call NewYork-Presbyterian’s hotline at 646-697-4000. This hotline is available as a public service to provide information only and not to diagnose, treat, or render a medical opinion.

If you are not feeling well, consider using NewYork-Presbyterian’s Virtual Urgent Care for non-life-threatening symptoms such as fever, cough, upset stomach, or nausea. Learn more by visiting nyp.org/urgentcare.

            (nyp.org)

DeBlasio: Small Business Loan Program Will be Unable to Cover Demand

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that his city's small-business loan program is going to run out of gas before the finish line. Photo Credit: Wikipedia

By: Howard Riell

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that his city’s small-business loan program is going to run out of gas before the finish line.

The program will be unable to cover demand immediately, he told reporters late last week. His office had previously unrolled a no-interest-loan program that dangled in front of small businesses with fewer than 100 employees as much as $75,000.

According to the mayor’s original promise, New York City would be sending funds to a first group of 400 companies by this coming Friday.

The grants, which aimed at helping New York City businesses with under five workers, were popular, with a reported 466 applicants. According to the mayor’s office, those applications are set to be put through the system by tomorrow.

According to the guidelines announced, local companies should get the monies they seek the very same day. The mayor said that the grants are designed to include as much as 40% of the company’s payroll.

Not surprisingly, firms in all five boroughs that were forced to close have reached out to the mayor’s office for financial help amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

Just before the weekend, the state said it would be pitching in by calling for a temporary end of tenant evictions. Leaders in Albany also said there would be no interest charges or penalties on late sales-tax payments.

At the same time that failed presidential candidate de Blasio has been offering a limited amount of help, he has been begging for assistance from the federal government he had formerly scorned. To ensure the City’s frontline healthcare workers are able to adequately treat COVID-19, the mayor has demanded the federal government replenish the City’s critical medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPEs).

“From the very beginning, New York City has been fighting COVID-19 with one hand tied behind our back,” said de Blasio. “We cannot leave our healthcare workers vulnerable, and we need the federal government to step up and give our frontline workers the tools they need to save lives all across our City.”

Citywide, there are 3,954 positive cases of COVID-19 and 26 fatalities. Currently there are 1,042 cases in Queens, 1,038 in Manhattan, 1,195 in Brooklyn, 496 in the Bronx, and 179 in Staten Island.

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services DCAS will implement an order today to direct agencies to have all employees who are not assigned to perform essential services to work from home. This will allow up to an estimated 250,000 city employees to telecommute. These employees may be called on to perform essential services as needed.

Every agency will take immediate steps to further determine and refine which services it provides that are essential. Essential services generally include responding to the COVID-19 emergency; lifesaving services; life-protecting services that relate to transportation, utility and other critical infrastructure; and workforce and internal service continuity.

NYC Bracing for Economic Hit; 500K Jobs Could be Lost to Pandemic

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New York City could be looking at shedding as many as 500,000 jobs due to the pandemic — and many in Gotham are bracing for the impact. Photo Credit: labor.ny.gov

By: Jerry Cashowitz

New York City could be looking at shedding as many as 500,000 jobs due to the pandemic — and many in Gotham are bracing for the impact.

The Big Apple has, of course, been hit harder than any other major metropolis in the United States. In fact, though numbers are growing quickly, it has been reported that New York City has 15,168 confirmed cases, up 4,812 since Saturday, and New Jersey has nearly 2,000 confirmed cases.

“With many more confirmed Covid-19 cases than anywhere else in the country, business activity all but grinding to a halt and all nonessential workers ordered to stay home, New York’s economy is bracing for a body blow of the magnitude no one has seen before,” reported Crain’s New York Business.

“In a normal downturn, economic activity contracts. But now economic activity is stopping,” Ronnie Lowenstein, director of the city’s Independent Budget Office, told Crain’s. “It’s a whole new world. A whole swath of people are being asked to sacrifice their jobs in the interest of public health.”

Current estimates indicated that up to a tenth of the city’s workforce, roughly half a million people, could soon find themselves without jobs.

Statistics put out by the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs show that 130,000 restaurant workers already find themselves without work.

Disappearing salaries among foodservice workers in New York City may well total $300 to $400 million in one month, Parrott said. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like that,” Parrott said. “The coronavirus crisis triggered the onset of a national recession whose trajectory is unknowable at this point.”

Restaurants across New York City “have already reported decreases in business so severe that they’ve had to let workers go, Patch.com said. “Emmanuel Kavalos, general manager of Kefi on the Upper West Side, has already been forced to lay off half of his staff. “That’s one of the more devastating things because they did nothing wrong.” Kavalos said. “It’s just the present situation.”

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo offered words of inspiration on Sunday, noting: “They talk about the greatest generation, the generation that survived World War II. Dealing with hardship actually makes you stronger. Life on the individual level, on the collective level, on the social level. Life is not about avoiding challenges. Challenges are going to come your way. Life is going to knock you on your rear end at one point. Something will happen. And then life becomes about overcoming those challenges. That’s what life is about. And that’s what this country is about.”

America is America, he continued, “because we overcome adversity and challenges. That’s how we were born. That’s what we’ve done all our life. We overcome challenges and this is a period of challenge for this generation. And that’s what has always made America great and that’s what going to make this generation great. I believe that to the bottom of my soul. We will overcome this and America will be the greater for it. And my hope is that New York is going to lead the way forward and together we will.”

LES’s Rivington House Could Become Treatment Facility for Coronavirus Patients

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The Mount Sinai Health System says Rivington House, a one-time HIV/AIDS nursing home in Manhattan, has been made available to serve as a temporary medical facility to treat Covid-19 patients. Photo Credit: YouTube

By: Howard Riell

The Mount Sinai Health System says Rivington House, a one-time HIV/AIDS nursing home in Manhattan, has been made available to serve as a temporary medical facility to treat Covid-19 patients.

The need for hospital beds in New York State is great. Indeed, both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have been outspoken about that need, and have looked high and low for facilities that could be retrofitted to treat patients if the city’s hospitals are overrun with patients. Cuomo said earlier this week that New York State could require as many as 110,000 hospital beds, roughly double the number that exist at this moment.

“We are making sure that the city and state know about this facility and do with it whatever is best for us to all get through this,” said Dr. Jeremy Boal, president of Mount Sinai Beth Israel and the system’s downtown clinical operations just days ago.

“Mount Sinai is offering—and will continue to offer—any and all assistance possible to the city and state during this crisis, including repurposing and creatively using existing space and creating new space in anticipation of the increase in Covid-19 patients,” a Mount Sinai spokeswoman told Crain’s New York Business. “However, ultimately, it’s the city’s and state’s decision on what will be used and for which purpose.”

Until recently, Rivington House had operated as a specialty nursing home for patients with HIV/AIDS. The building featured in the media for the way city officials handled the sale of the property. In 2015, VillageCare and a small group of nursing home owners applied to lift the deed restriction on the building, allowing it to be transformed from an AIDS nursing home into a residential or commercial property. When the building was ultimately sold for $116 million, Mayor de Blasio drew criticism for straying from his policy to increase affordable housing in the city. It was eventually reclassified and sold to China Vanke Co., Adam America Real Estate, and Slate Property Group for residential development.

Mount Sinai Health System recently implemented extra precautions to provide the safest environment possible and protect our patients, staff and visitors due to the escalating COVID-19 emergency. According to officials, it has begun prohibiting all visitors across the Mount Sinai Health System, including visitors to the emergency departments, inpatients, ambulatory sites and other facilities. “Preventing avoidable exposure is critical to ensure that we can continue to respond to this public health crisis,” officials said in a release.

In January of 2018, the Jewish Voice reported that the Allure Group originally had purchased Rivington House in February of 2015 for $28 million, with promises that the facility would remain an operating nursing home. They then paid the Department of Citywide Administrative Services $16 million to adjust the deed on the facility. Prior to the decision to lift the deed restrictions on the nursing home by the city’s Department of Administrative Services, the site was limited to a not-for-profit residential health-care center.

Shortly after the purchase, the Allure Group, walked off with a $72 million pay day after they sold it to real estate developers for the purpose of building luxury condominiums at the site, The Jewish Voice reported in 2016.

The Wall Street journal reported that Joel Landau who is the public face of the Allure Group, contributed $4950 to the De Blasio campaign in 2013. It has also been reported in the Daily News that James Capalino, an influential lobbyist had placed pressure on the administration to lift the deed requirements in order for one of his clients to turn Rivington House into luxury condos. Capalino was instrumental in acquiring $50,000 in donations to Mayor De Blasio.

The mayor claimed he was misled by the company and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services changed the deed without consulting him.

Top NJ Health Official Says Everyone Will Get Coronavirus

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We are all going to get the Coronavirus, according to New Jersey’s Commissioner of Health Judith Persichilli. “I’m definitely going to get it. We all are,” she said in an interview with NJ.com. “I’m just waiting.” Photo Credit: State.nj.us

By: Hannah Samett

We are all going to get the Coronavirus, according to New Jersey’s Commissioner of Health Judith Persichilli.

“I’m definitely going to get it. We all are,” she said in an interview with NJ.com. “I’m just waiting.”

Speaking alongside the state’s governor, Phil Murphy, Persichilli pointed out that just-released CDC data demonstrates that risk for serious disease and death of COVID-19 among people in the US increases with age, not surprisingly. However, it also indicates severe illness leading to hospitalization, including intensive care unit admissions and death can occur in adults of any age.

“This data did reinforce that most of the serious outcomes occurred among adults 65 and older, with them having hospitalizations of about 45%, 53% ICU admissions, 80% of the deaths occurred among this population,” she said. “So this information is similar to what we’re seeing in China, indicating that more than 80% of deaths occurred among people 60 years and older. In contrast, individuals 19 and younger appear to have milder COVID-19 illness, with almost no hospitalizations or deaths. That’s 19 years and younger.”

In New Jersey, Persichilli noted, “we’re still examining the data and similar to the national trend, information on outcomes is somewhat limited at this time. The median age for our cases is a little bit younger, it’s 52. Of the 139 cases for which we have outcome data, nearly half of them have been hospitalized. So although the median age of our cases is younger than those in the highest risk category, we are still very much focused on those individuals 60 years and older.”

She said she has spoken repeatedly about “our concern for individuals who reside in long-term care facilities, especially our nursing homes. On March 6, I held a conference call with more than 400 facilities to discuss about the COVID-19 preparedness for this vulnerable population. Last week, we sent guidance requiring them to restrict all visitors and also screen all staff as they enter the facility, and all medical staff professionals, including physicians, physical therapists, hospice workers. They were to be screened and are being screened for respiratory virus symptoms, contact with COVID-19 cases, and travel to any of the impacted countries, or where community-based spread is occurring. We’ve also sent information to them on how to handle positive COVID-19 cases in long-term care settings.”

The department has identified positive cases of COVID-19 in six nursing home, assisted living facilities. The commissioner has ordered curtailing admissions, all admissions, to those facilities. “In addition, we are requiring them to use infection preventionists to assess their infection control practices, and they must conduct thorough cleaning not only daily, but frequently during the day. We checked the screening of all of their employees and every vendor that is dropping off or coming past the front doors of their facilities.”

FBI: Doc Says Neo-Nazis Wanted to Spread Coronavirus to Cops & Jews

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White supremacist racist organization Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members are seen during a rally in Madison, Indiana, United States on August 31, 2019. Photo Credit: Getty Images

By: Alex Gregorios

There is something about a physical disease that seems to bring out the worst in those with mental disease.

Case in point: with the Coronavirus pandemic raging, racist extremist groups — think neo-Nazis and various other white supremacists — are calling for their fellow cretins who come down with COVID-19 to give it to law enforcement officers and, of course, Jews.

The information comes from the FBI. ABC News made public an alert it received telling them that these extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the potentially deadly virus via any means possible.

“The FBI alert, which went out on Thursday, told local police agencies that extremists want their followers to try to use spray bottles to spread bodily fluids to cops on the street. The extremists are also directing followers to spread the disease to Jews by going “any place they may be congregated, to include markets, political offices, businesses and places of worship,” reported Yahoo News.

“Anti-government folks in America love to target law enforcement as a symbol of America’s authority,” Don Mihalek, the executive vice president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation and an ABC News contributor, noted. “It’s just sad that that’s their focus at a time of crisis in the nation.”

Federal investigators ae said to have been monitoring communications among white supremacist organizations through Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that has become popular among underground extremist movements, according to dailymail.com. ‘Violent extremists continue to make bioterrorism a popular topic among themselves,’ according to an intelligence brief written by the Federal Protective Service.”

Last year, the FBI made 107 domestic terrorism arrests, on pace with the number of arrests it made for international terrorism, the organization said. Racism and hate-driven ideologies were the driving forces behind most of the ideologically motivated killings and violence in the US in 2018 and 2019, and were the most lethal of all domestic extremism movements over the last 20 years.

Just last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray gave testimony to the House Judiciary Committee that the problem of far-right domestic violent extremism has risen to a “national threat priority” and is now a “steady threat of violence and economic harm” to the United States. “The spate of attacks we saw in 2019 underscore the continued threat posed by domestic violent extremists and perpetrators of hate crimes. Such crimes are not limited to the United States and, with the aid of Internet like-minded hate groups, can reach across borders.”

Amazon Bans Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” Then Quickly Reinstates Them

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Cover of a 1943 edition of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf (Wikki commons)

By: Robert Kotkin

Late last week the online retail-giant Amazon banned the sale of most editions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and other Nazi propaganda books after being pushed to do so for decades by leading Holocaust-education charities and Jewish groups, The Guardian reported, however the NTY Times reported Amazon quietly reinstated most sales of the infamous Nazi manifesto.

Amazon has almost 100% of the online book marketplace at this point. As the NY Times pointed out:” Amazon is under pressure to keep hate literature off its vast platform at a moment when extremist impulses seem on the rise”. At the same time the online giant does not want to be seen as a company that is against the 1st amendment or to be seen as “book burners”

The Ny Times reported: “Over the last 18 months, it has dropped books by Nazis, the Nation of Islam and the American neo-Nazis David Duke and George Lincoln Rockwell. But it has also allowed many equally offensive books to continue to be sold”

It seems that Amazon does not have a clear policy as to what kind of books can be sold on their site and what should be totally prohibited.

Amazon initially informed booksellers that they will no longer be permitted to sell a selection of Nazi-authored books on the website, including Hitler’s autobiography and children’s books that incite anti-Jewish sentiment. In one email sent by Amazon, those selling secondhand copies of Mein Kampf were told that “they can no longer offer this book” because it breaks the company’s code of conduct, JNS reported.

An Amazon spokeswoman said in a statement on Tuesday that the platform provides “customers with access to a variety of viewpoints” and noted that “all retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer”, the NY Times reported.

The NY Times reported: After disappearing for a few days, “Mein Kampf” is once again being sold directly by Amazon. But secondhand copies and those from third-party merchants appear to be still prohibited, a distinction that sellers said made no sense.

But on Amazon’s subsidiary AbeBooks, which operates largely independently, hundreds of new and used copies of “Mein Kampf” are available.

Certain Nazi favorites are already banned such as the infamous “ Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, a fabricated antisemitic book purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination, which every psychotic Nazi in the world quotes essentially as scripture. Amazon has also banned “The International Jew,” the anti-Semitic propaganda published by the automaker Henry Ford in the early 1920s.

Amazon clearly does not have a defined policy as to what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. It seems more of a policy that they will decide on a whim what is hate speech and what is tolerable to be sold on their giant website.

The entire subject raises many hotly debated topics of censorship, hate speech and looking at such writings and hoaxes like “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” from an educational and historical context. People who favor banning hateful books have a seriously valid point, as do those who look at these books as history and can be used to learn lessons and educate. Do we ban Nazi literature to prevent future maniacs or do we allow everyone in plain site to see the hate and look at it, dissect it and learn from it?

NYC Public Schools Scramble to Begin Online Learning

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A student learns on a tablet (Getty images)

By: Robert Kotkin

When it was announced that NYC public schools will be closed until the end of April and now most likely the rest of the school year, the BOE had to scramble to set up this complex system

The new normal of remote learning has been set in place for the city’s more than 1 million public school students and their teachers during the coronavirus pandemic Classrooms are now via computers as the new remote policy went into effect on Monday, a week after closures due to the increase of virus cases citywide.

Training for about 80,000 teachers in the nation’s largest school system began Tuesday in preparation for internet-based lessons slated to start on Monday for most students, according to city Education Department officials as reported by the WSJ.

The city’s goal is to show public-school educators how to transform their curricula into virtual lessons and deliver them to students, city schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said in a news briefing Monday. He warned the task wouldn’t be easy.

“We have a vast array of educators that are prepared on different levels,” in terms of their understanding of remote learning, he said at the briefing. Delivering online classes for so many students, he said, is “just something you cannot do virtually right out of the gate”, Carranza told the press.

The WSJ also reported: many students require special lessons and others may have trouble accessing remote lessons from home without devices provided by the city, said Noliwe Rooks, director of American Studies at Cornell University.

“So while we have to implement online learning, given what’s going on, we need to be figuring out how to actually support those vulnerable students, or we’re going to end up with an academic kind of crisis.”

WSJ stated: School officials will begin to address some of those challenges by distributing 30,000 iPads to students who require them for remote lessons starting Thursday. Eventually, the city will provide 300,000 such tablets, according to Mr. Carranza, who said the city is also working to provide free internet service to students who need it.

This is a very complex process. Not all teachers are comfortable with this. As Rooks stated this can be an educational disaster for the most vulnerable students such as special needs children. This is a tall task and indeed a scramble, as by press online learning will have begun in NYC.

NYC has perhaps the most diverse student base in the country.

One must wonder if the teacher’s union who pushed for the schools to be closed as soon as possible regret it now, as this process will be more work than traditional teaching.

Teacher Jacob Stebel says he was depressed when he was told to develop a virtual learning plan for his high school students at the Cinema School in the Bronx. But now he says he’s optimistic after his first day of classes on Google Meet. Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza says that during this transition his best advice is flexibility and patience, News 12 reported.

Christian Friends of Israel Rally to Help Jewish State Fight Coronavirus

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The number of individuals in Israel diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus rises daily, and pro-Israel Christian organizations have joined the struggle to help contend with the pandemic in the Jewish state. Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS on 23 March, 2020

By: TPS Staff

The number of individuals in Israel diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus rises daily, and pro-Israel Christian organizations have joined the struggle to help contend with the pandemic in the Jewish state.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) has decided to lend a hand in Israel’s fight against the pandemic and approved over the weekend $2 million in special grants to 15 hospitals for respiratory equipment and other lifesaving machinery.

Additionally, The IFCJ purchased 20 special testing devices for Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency medical response organization. The devices will help the staff test patients and reduce the burden on hospitals, preventing unnecessary contact between Coronavirus patients and their surroundings.

The organization says that it has received dozens of requests over the past week from hospitals finding it difficult to manage without some of the required medical equipment. The IFCJ has expedited grant approvals and the hospitals have already begun the procurement process.

The IFCJ has put emphasis is prioritizing hospitals in Israel’s periphery which are at increased risk of collapse in the event of a Coronavirus patient overload.

The assistance to hospitals is part of a $5 million emergency fund that the Fellowship announced earlier this month. The fund also provides basic needs to the elderly who are more vulnerable to the Coronavirus than other age groups.

In support of this effort, the Fellowship started a fundraising campaign, mobilizing thousands of its donors from around the world to raise money for Israelis in need as they cope with the pandemic.

Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the IFCJ, said that “Israel is dealing with an emergency like it has never known, and we are all committed to enlisting and assisting the medical teams that are at the forefront in this struggle. This is an urgent need, and we will go above and beyond in order to help in every way possible.”

Similarly, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) is helping to care for elderly Israelis confined to the homes, including hundreds of Holocaust survivors. “While the government’s measures to fight the Coronavirus is impacting the whole country, I am glad we are still able to help Israel pull through this crisis in a number of ways,” said ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler.

The ICEJ has seven Christian staff and volunteers in Haifa who have been helping to pack and deliver food boxes to hundreds of senior citizens in the city who are confined to their homes as a health precaution.

The ICEJ team also was specially tasked with providing food and daily care, including medical checks, for the 70 residents at its Haifa Home for Holocaust survivors, who must stay in their rooms as well.

In addition, ICEJ staff in Jerusalem packed and delivered food boxes this past week to a number of elderly and disabled Israelis who are regularly cared for by its team of nurses.

This coming week, the Christian Embassy will have staff working with the Israeli charities Latet and Ezrat Avot to pack and deliver food boxes to the front doors of hundreds of Israeli senior citizens who must remain in their homes to avoid the virus.

“We are working within the rules set by the Health Ministry to help Israelis as much as we can in this troubling time confronting the whole world,” said Dr. Bühler. “We know it is in difficult moments like these when our efforts to bless and comfort Israel count the most.”

(TPS)