New story: 9 questions and answers about the South Shore’s designation as an orange zone.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Parts of Staten Island have been designated by state officials an orange-zone coronavirus (COVID-19) micro-cluster, triggering a new wave of restrictions for certain areas.
In addition, state officials announced an emergency field hospital would reopen on the grounds of South Beach Psychiatric Center, as concerns about hospital capacity on the borough rise.
The orange-zone designation for the entire South Shore and parts of some communities on the East Shore were announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a press conference Monday in Manhattan.
Neighborhoods included in the area have some of the highest infection rates in the city, including Great Kills (5.45%), Bay Terrace (5.5%) and Tottenville (5.8%).
The restricted area extends from the east shoreline to south shoreline then to the West Shore Expressway near Muldoon Avenue to the west.
It roughly follows a path along Arthur Kill Road before including parts of Rockland Avenue and High Rock Park.
On the East Shore it includes New Dorp, Richmond, Grant City and parts of Dongan Hills, and includes portions of Midland Beach and Ocean Breeze.
A high-resolution map posted Monday on Twitter by the governor’s office is provided below.
“It’s the infection rate in your community that matters,” said Cuomo, adding the 3% statewide infection rate is deceiving. “You should look at the state in terms of your community. That’s where you shop, that’s where you say hello to your neighbor, that’s where your kids play, that’s who your kids play with.”
The restrictions go into effect Wednesday for businesses and Thursday for schools, according to a spokesman for Cuomo.
“Staten Island is a problem,” Cuomo said. “The number of hospitalizations on Staten Island over the past three weeks have basically tripled.”
Parts of Staten Island not designated as an orange zone will remain a yellow zone.
ORANGE-ZONE RESTRICTIONS
Here are the restrictions for areas included in the orange-zone designation:
- Businesses considered to be high-risk must remain closed;
- Outdoor dining is permitted with a four-person table maximum;
- Closure of public and private schools to in-person learning unless all staff and students receive a COVID-19 test and then 25% of the school population is tested weekly;
- Worship services limited to 33% capacity with a maximum of 25 people;
- Mass gatherings, both indoor and outdoor, are capped at 10 people.
According to Cuomo’s executive order, “non-essential businesses” — those that are considered “a higher risk associated with the transmission of the COVID-19 virus” — that would close in the designated orange zone includes gyms, fitness centers, barbers, hair salons, spas, tattoo and piercing parlors, nail technicians and nail salons, cosmetologists, estheticians and laser hair removal and electrolysis companies.
EMERGENCY HOSPITAL REOPENED
Cuomo said Monday that hospitals on Staten Island have indicated they’re near capacity, prompting the reopening of an emergency field hospital on the grounds of South Beach Psychiatric in Ocean Breeze that was utilized earlier in the pandemic.
The hospital previously handled about 100 patients in the spring when hospitalizations were at their highest, said Gareth Rhodes, deputy superintendent and special counsel for New York Department of Financial Services.
“There’s more capacity than there was last time; I think they only had two floors the last time,” Rhodes said.
Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), which has two locations in Ocean Breeze and Prince’s Bay, is caring for 111 coronavirus patients on Monday, while Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) in West Brighton is caring for 19 patients.
In terms of personal protective equipment and staffing, Cuomo said hospitals are in a much better place than at the start of the pandemic, when he said the nation was unprepared.
“As I’ve said before, we had SARS, MERS, Ebola, dengue, Zika, H1NI, and then we have COVID and this nation was surprised we had COVID,” he said.
Months into the pandemic, however, Cuomo said “we have learned our lesson.”
“We have the PPE that we need, we have the supplies that we need, we have the surge capacity now in the hospital system; we’re using it on Staten Island.”
MESSAGE TO NAYSAYERS ON STATEN ISLAND
At one point during the press conference, Cuomo cited the areas of Staten Island where infection rates are the highest, noting those also are among the areas of New York where local leaders and community activists have shown the most resistance toward state-mandated protocols, including masks, commercial restrictions and school closures.
Cuomo recounted a conversation he had recently with a Staten Islander who told him they were not going to follow the suggestion of city and state officials of keeping Thanksgiving gatherings to no more than 10 people.
“I said, ‘I’ll make you a deal. I’ll exempt you from all the rules, if you agree that if you or anyone in your family gets sick, you’re purely responsible,’” — referring to the burden placed on hospitals, and the risk for emergency medical workers who potentially also could become infected. “It’s not like your actions only affect you.”
Here is the updated map for the Staten Island (Richmond County) cluster.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) November 23, 2020
The cluster has a Yellow Zone and an Orange Zone. pic.twitter.com/NU0sHQ0PDt
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