Updates Made To ALBB's List of COVID-19 Links and Resources Page: PPP and Reopening Pages

A few updates were made to A Little Beacon Blog’s List of COVID-19 Links and Resources page, as you go to keep up with changes rules and guidelines. You can find the full List of COVID-19 Links and Resources here.

The changes are these:

New York State’s Phased Reopening Plan
Industries Reopening By Phase
An updated page of industries with descriptions of the industry, and plans that need to be met by the businesses in order to open.

NY Forward: A Guide To Reopening New York and Building Back Better

The Guide to Essential vs Non-Essential Businesses (from before the NY Forward Reopening Plan)

Paycheck Protection Program
The Overview page for the program. Is updated.

The FAQ page for the program that provides a lot of detailed guidance. Is updated.

5/10/2020 Numbers: Beacon On This Day; Dutchess County Changes Reporting Data For Death Counts, Resulting In Increase

On May 7, 2020, Dutchess County announced that they are changing the way they report data for those who have died from COVID-19, as well as several other key data points that include total number of confirmed cases, and total number of tests completed, to be effective on May 8, 2020. They will be using New York State’s numbers. Results via Google’s search results consistently gave a higher count for Dutchess County.

Of the counties that A Little Beacon Blog tracks for these reports - Orange and Putnam - both matched Google results with the number of deceased. Dutchess County’s was always lower: say 36 in Dutchess County’s Tracker vs 70 in Google’s Tracker.

As explained by Dutchess County in their 5/7/2020 announcement of the change:

The New York State Department of Health has authority and oversight over many of the facilities reporting case data, including hospitals and nursing homes. These facilities are not required to report to local health departments, including the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH). While DBCH does communicate regularly with each of the individual facilities and has been getting some of the data from them, it is difficult to reconcile on a daily basis with the state data and creates confusion for the public. Additionally, State data can include presumed positive cases in fatality numbers, unlike the data reported by local health departments.

DBCH was recently provided access to the New York State Health Emergency Reporting Data System (HERDS), however, the data is reported in the aggregate and does not provide the necessary specificity for county reporting.

Active case data, which are the cases that DBCH are currently monitoring, will continue to be reported by DBCH as well as the breakdown by municipality and number of recoveries...Dutchess County’s COVID-19 Community Impact Data Dashboard will continue to be updated daily, following NYSDOH data updates.

Beacon’s number of Active COVID-19 cases was rising as of 5/10/2020. This last report on 5/10/2020 was at 146. The last time we recorded it in our spreadsheet was 5/4/2020 and the number of active cases was 137. Not a huge difference, but a consistent increase nonetheless.

One might argue: “Well, the number of people tested is going up, so that must be the reason.” And that may be. However, the daily percentage of those who test positive for COVID-19 for the day - of those tested - has remained consistent. We track that number also. The percentage of people who test positive from those tested per day has been at 8%-9% in the last few days. Additionally, the number of tests issued in Dutchess County, according to the tracker, has remained consistent, averaging in the 400s tests given per day.

While some “low-risk” business types can open state-wide in New York on Friday (drive-in movie theaters, landscaping/gardening, tennis) Dutchess County has 3 more criteria to hit before meeting the 7 state requirements to begin reopening, which are:

• 14-Day Decline in Hospital Deaths OR fewer than 5 deaths (3-day average).

• New Hospitalizations (under 2 per 100k residents - 3 day rolling average.

• At least 30 contact tracers per 100k residents.

County Executive Marcus Molinaro has announced, during his 5/11/2020 restarting video, that he will deliver live updates about the data in Dutchess County on Wednesdays and Fridays. This Wednesday, he will host a Town Hall at 5:30pm. Videos are at Facebook, or at at the Dutchess County channel at YouTube.

The last time we published reporting on these numbers was 5/1/2020. This gap of 11 days is for no other reason that Distance Learning started in our home, and while we get into that rhythm of that schooling, finishing articles got a little tricky. We have several unpublished drafts, though!

However, in that time, Dutchess County changed how they are reporting, and New York launched a new regional tracker for the re-opening. So, one must not delay!

Sources:
New York State Tracker: Updated daily.
Dutchess County Tracker: Updated daily, but there could be lags, according to their Source notes.
Orange County Tracker: Updated daily, with the exception of municipality information which is updated every 2-3 days, according to their Source notes.
Putnam County Tracker: Updated daily.
Google via Wikipedia
Testing is limited, which implies that people testing positive for COVID-19 is not total, as many people are not tested.

DUTCHESS COUNTY 5/10/2020

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County:
18,964 (last week 15,558 via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE As Of This Day:
3,359 (last week, 3,049, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested This Day:
471 (last week 473, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE This Day:
47 (last week 48, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
56 (last week 69, via Dutchess County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
101 (last week 38, via Dutchess County Tracker, but Google shows 84 (previous 73)

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon On This Day:
146 (last week 134, via Dutchess County Tracker)

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill On This Day:
174 (last week 175, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill On This Day:
153 (last week 151, via Dutchess County Tracker)

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Town of Wappingers On This Day:
136 (last week 163, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village On This Day:
40 (last week 45, via Dutchess County Tracker)

ORANGE COUNTY 5/10/2020

How Many People Tested In Orange County:
34,404 (last week 28,848, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE In Total:
9,543 (last week 8,910, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested On This Day:
535 (last week 839, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE On This Day:
57 (last week 159, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
99 (last week 147) (via Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
367 (last week 329, via Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh On This Day:
645 (last week 587, via Orange County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh On This Day:
1,314 (last week 1,165, via Orange County Tracker)

PUTNAM COUNTY 5/10/2020

Did not grab data in time for this report.

PHILIPSTOWN
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Total In Philipstown As Of This Day:

Did not grab data in time for this report.

Clearwater To Host A Mother's Day Fundraising Concert In Memory of Toshi Seeger Sunday May 10th

Original, folk and grassroots activist musicians have been the heartbeat of Clearwater’s musical community; and over two dozen artists from around the country will be performing in a 12-hour Mother’s Day Tribute to Toshi Seeger on Sunday, May 10th from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The event will be curated by a favorite Clearwater Festival performer, Fred Gillen Jr.  

Tribute to Toshi Seeger

This Mother’s Day event will be a special tribute to Toshi Seeger, whose creative vision and environmental work made an enormous impact in the Hudson Valley, which lives on in Clearwater’s traditions still today. Beyond being an organizer, mother, road manager, photographer, and camera woman, Pete often credited his wife Toshi as being "the brains behind the operation.” Toshi also served on the Newport folk Festival board from its inception, insisting that they bring the musicians to the stage that were the mentors to the popular folk musicians of the ‘60s. She helped found Folklore Research Films, worked on the Rainbow Quest TV Series, produced by Sholem Rubenstein. Toshi was also the Executive Producer of "The Power of Song." She booked many musicians for Clearwater’s Great Hudson Revival, started the groundbreaking Litter-Picking & Recycling initiative and ensured wheelchair accessibility and ASC Interpretative Signing at the Festival. 

Story tributes to Toshi Seeger will happen throughout the day by musicians, Seeger family members and others.

Facebook Live Concert Lineup

The Facebook Live concert will raise much needed funds for Clearwater’s critical environmental action initiatives and educational programming.  Performers and presenters include: David and Jacob Bernz, Laura Bowman, Tom Breiding, Sarah Browne, Kitama Cahill-Jackson, Julie Corbalis, John Cronin, Moraya DeGeare, KJ Denhert, Emma's Revolution, Susan Fisher Wright, Lori Frazer-Gross, Fred Gillen, Jr, Shirl and Steve Kaplan of Great Blue, Manna Jo Greene, Lisa Gutkin, Reggie Harris, Markley & Balmer, Mel and Vinnie, Rick and Donna Nestler, Tinya Seeger, Carolann Solebello, Spook Handy, and Matt Turk. 

Click here to see the full schedule and concert lineup —  https://www.facebook.com/events/3086082568081247/

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis and leaves many of us unable to be together on Mother’s Day.  We hope to bring families together and share some music in the spirit of Clearwater’s folk and grassroots tradition.

This concert and other Clearwater fundraising efforts support the important environmental work, which includes:

• promoting safe decommissioning of nuclear power plants, including Indian Point. Clearwater sponsored the ground-breaking Fall 2019 Regional Decommissioning Forum whose information was the foundation of legislative policy in 2020 for a state-wide Decommissioning Oversight Board of New York State agencies; 

• opposing new fossil fuel plants such as the proposed Danskammer expansion;

• participating in the investigation of industrial runoff into the Hudson River from riverfront communities;

• promoting the cleanup of PFOS, which contaminated Newburgh’s drinking water supply, from the source at Stewart Air National Guard Base; 

• ensuring accountability in the ongoing participation in the Hudson River PCB remediation;

• and building a renewable energy future with the development of a seven-county Mid-Hudson Regional Renewable Energy Implementation Plan. 

More information about this Mother’s Day Tribute to Toshi Seeger fundraising event will be available at https://www.facebook.com/events/3086082568081247/.

About Hudson River Sloop Clearwater 

Launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champions of the Hudson River. To date, more than half a million people have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the sloop Clearwater.   Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet. For more information, visit www.clearwater.org.  

(5/1/2020) COVID-19 Numbers for Beacon (on the rise), Fishkill, Wappingers, Newburgh, Philipstown

Today was a beautiful day, and tomorrow may be as well. It’s hard to remember about the virus when the weather is so nice. Mask and face coverings by people on Main Street in Beacon has been mixed but good. Social distancing practices encouraged by most eateries and essential businesses has also been good. It should also be noted that we are past the 2 week mark since the Easter and Passover holidays, which is when people may have broken “sphere lock” and joined with family members not normally quarantining together in their homes for a family gathering. Family and friend gatherings, or gatherings in groups like on a bar patio, have been known to be a time period of virus spread.

Active cases in Beacon are on the rise, with today’s Active Case count being 134. When A Little Beacon Blog first started tracking this in our Excel spreadsheet back on 4/25/2020, the Active Case count was 110 just a week ago. The Active Case count is a fluctuating number that can go up or down, and is presumed that the Active Cases are people who continue to test positive and are fighting the virus.

[UPDATE: Edit made to this article based on population of Town of Wappingers].

The number of people testing positive per day has remained in the high 40s for each of Beacon, Fishkill and Wappingers. As for Orange County, who is testing more people than Dutchess County, they continue to see an increase in the number of people testing positive (101 people yesterday, 159 people today), while the Active Case Count remains at 587 in Orange County.

Sources:
New York State Tracker: Updated daily.
Dutchess County Tracker: Updated daily, but there could be lags, according to their Source notes.
Orange County Tracker: Updated daily, with the exception of municipality information which is updated every 2-3 days, according to their Source notes.
Putnam County Tracker: Updated daily.
Google via Wikipedia
Testing is limited, which implies that people testing positive for COVID-19 is not total, as many people are not tested.

DUTCHESS COUNTY 5/01/2020

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County:
15,558 (yesterday 15,085 via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE As Of This Day:
3,049 (yesterday, 3,002, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested This Day:
473 (previous day 443, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE This Day:
47 (previous day 48, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
69 (yesterday 69, via Dutchess County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
38 (yesterday 37, via Dutchess County Tracker, but Google shows 73 (previous 70))

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon On This Day:
134 (yesterday 129, via Dutchess County Tracker)

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill On This Day:
175 (yesterday 171, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill On This Day:
151 (yesterday 146, via Dutchess County Tracker)

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Town of Wappingers On This Day:
163 (yesterday 162, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village On This Day:
45 (yesterday 44, via Dutchess County Tracker)

ORANGE COUNTY 5/01/2020

How Many People Tested In Orange County:
28,848 (yesterday 28,009, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE In Total:
8,910 (yesterday 8,751, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested On This Day:
839 (previously 787, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE On This Day:
159 (previously 101, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
147 (yesterday 147) (via Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
329 (yesterday 329, via Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh On This Day:
587 (587, via Orange County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh On This Day:
1,165 (1,165, via Orange County Tracker)

PUTNAM COUNTY 5/01/2020

How Many People Tested In Putnam County:
4,429 (yesterday 4,170, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE As Of This Day:
1,003 (yesterday 990, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested On This Day:
115 (previously 144, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE On This Day:
13 (previously 20, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
20 (via Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
45 (yesterday 45, via Putnam County Tracker)

PHILIPSTOWN
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Total In Philipstown As Of This Day:
102 (yesterday 98, via Putnam County Tracker)
Putnam doesn’t seem to publish an “Active Cases” per city/town/village number like Dutchess and Orange do. “Active Cases” can fluctuate up or down. “Confirmed Cases” only go up, as they are cumulative.

(4/30/2020) COVID-19 Numbers for Beacon, Newburgh, Fishkill, Wappingers, Philipstown

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Beacon and Wappingers went up by a handful. Newburgh’s active cases continues to rise.

Sources:
Dutchess County Tracker:
Updated daily, but there could be lags, according to their Source notes.
Orange County Tracker:
Updated daily, with the exception of municipality information which is updated every 2-3 days, according to their Source notes.
Putnam County Tracker:
Updated daily.
Google via Wikipedia
Testing is limited, which implies that people testing positive for COVID-19 is not total, as they are not tested.

DUTCHESS COUNTY 4/30/2020

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County:
15,085 (yesterday 14,215, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE As Of This Day:
3,002 (yesterday, 2,881, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested This Day:
443 (previous day 556, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE This Day:
48 (previous day 64, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
69 (yesterday 64, via Dutchess County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
37 (via Dutchess County Tracker, but Google shows 70)

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon On This Day:
129 (yesterday 114, via Dutchess County Tracker)

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill On This Day:
171 (yesterday 170, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill On This Day:
146 (yesterday 152, via Dutchess County Tracker)

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers On This Day:
162 (yesterday 152, via Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village On This Day:
44 (yesterday 42, via Dutchess County Tracker)

ORANGE COUNTY 4/28/2020

How Many People Tested In Orange County:
28,009 (yesterday 26,342, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE In Total:
8,751 (yesterday 8,488, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested On This Day:
787 (previously 606, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE On This Day:
101 (previously 114, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
147 (yesterday 153) (via Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
329 (yesterday 311, via Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh On This Day:
587 (534, via Orange County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh On This Day:
1,165 (1,044, via Orange County Tracker)

PUTNAM COUNTY 4/28/2020

How Many People Tested In Putnam County:
4,170 (yesterday 4,170, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE As Of This Day:
990 (yesterday 970, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested On This Day:
144 (previously 251, via New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE On This Day:
20 (previously 24, via New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 As Of This Day:
NA (via Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths As Of This Day:
45 (yesterday 43, via Putnam County Tracker)

PHILIPSTOWN
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Philipstown As Of This Day:
Putnam doesn’t seem to publish an “Active Cases” number like Dutchess and Orange do.
98 (via Putnam County Tracker)

Nursing Homes In Dutchess County Get COVID-19 Testing Focus - Pilot Program Launching In Beacon's Wingate As Testing Reveals Concern In Ulster

During a time when the press corps covering the daily pandemic briefings from Governor Cuomo pursues the governor with unrelenting questions on the COVID-19 status of nursing home residents and PPE supplies, the death toll of elderly residents mounts in New York City and surrounding counties. Dutchess County announced this week (4/28/2020) a new testing program to test residents living in the 13 nursing homes within Dutchess County.

Citing an uptick in reported COVID-19 cases as a result of recent testing in Ulster County, Dutchess County will begin testing every nursing home resident, beginning with Wingate in Beacon. According to the county’s press release, testing in Ulster County “has heightened concerns about potential spread of coronavirus, as 96 out of 330 residents at two Ulster County nursing homes tested positive for COVID-19 – with many of these cases exhibiting no symptoms (asymptomatic) and the individuals had only been in contact with healthy residents and staff members.”

The number of reported deaths in nursing homes in Dutchess County is 13 people as of yesterday (4/29/2020), as reported by New York State on this daily nursing home tracker. The number of deaths of people in nursing homes or adult care facilities in Orange County is 92 people, and in Putnam County it is 12 people. In Nassau County, it is 424 people, and in Kings County it is 447 people, and in Bronx County it is 570.

Dutchess County will begin releasing testing data from the nursing homes, said Communications Director Colleen Pillus. According to state data, there have been six deaths at the Ferncliff Nursing Home. Any home that has fewer than five deaths is not published at this time by New York State, citing privacy concerns.

The State Of Nursing Homes During The Pandemic

Publications like ProPublica have been covering the story for some time, and recently published this story of a daughter who removed her father from Queens Adult Care Center after he showed symptoms and was being neglected by fearful staff members, according to the article. Reporters at Governor Cuomo’s briefings have been asking for weeks for COVID-19 statistics at nursing homes, which New York State only recently starting releasing. Each day that the statistics had not been made public, Governor Cuomo cited delays from the nursing homes who were overwhelmed with caring for their residents. The total number of deceased people from nursing homes in New York State is 3,688, as of 4/29/2020.

To illustrate how quickly COVID-19 can spread through a nursing home, which Governor Cuomo has likened to a fire spreading through dry grass, Deadline.com has been publishing updates about elderly residents living in The Actor’s Fund Home in Englewood, N.J., a home for retired entertainers, from actors of stage and screen to screenwriters, dancers, producers and directors. The home has been forthcoming to its families with email updates, and to the media. The facilities administrator told NJ Advance Media that as of 4/14/2020, the facility had 12 residents test positive. As of 4/21/2020, 10 residents had died from COVID-19, as reported by Deadline.com, although the first reported death from COVID-19 was recorded on 4/10/2020, according to Deadline.com. About 35 to 40 staff had tested positive, though there have been no reported deaths of employees.

Dutchess County Testing and PPE

County Executive Marcus Molinaro has petitioned Governor Cuomo for 2,000 test kits for Dutchess County’s newly formed Nursing Homes Task Force, according to the county’s press release. “As the initial pilot gets underway,” the press release said, “and as tests are made available from New York State, Dutchess County’s Nursing Home Task Force will collaborate with each of the nursing home facilities’ infection control specialist to plan for each facilities’ specific needs, including providing adequate PPE supplies for staff to ensure there is no cross contamination during testing.”

Testing staff members at the nursing homes will not be included in this targeted testing, “as testing kits are limited,” confirmed Communications Director Colleen Pillus to A Little Beacon Blog when asked for clarification. Reports from outbreaks happening in nursing homes across the state, like this one in Hornell, include a focus on staff members who test positive, as reported by the New York Post.

Currently in Dutchess County, nursing home residents are only being tested when they present symptoms, said Dutchess County’s Communication Director Colleen. Moving forward in this new pilot program, elderly residents will be tested once as opposed to an ongoing way, as testing results take time to come back, said Colleen. Of the 13 nursing homes, one nursing home - Wingate in Beacon - will be the pilot location for this new program.

Who Oversees Nursing Homes?

As explained by Governor Cuomo repeatedly during briefings, nursing homes are generally private institutions that need to follow licensing requirements from New York State. According to The Leader, New York State will open an investigation into nursing homes, led by Attorney General Letitia James, “which will focus on whether nursing homes and adult-care facilities appropriately followed state law and regulation as the coronavirus went on its torrid spread in New York,” stated the article.

According to Dutchess County’s press release on its new testing program program: “Although nursing homes are under the authority and oversight of the New York State Department of Health, County Executive Molinaro established Dutchess County’s Nursing Home Task Force, under the direction of Dutchess Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH), to be in regular contact with nursing home leadership. The Task Force keeps open lines of communications, offers guidance where appropriate, and helps facilities address concerns and emerging issues, convening weekly conference calls with nursing homes.”

The announcement went on to address PPE needs: “Among the pressing needs has been the provision of PPE supplies to meet heightened New York State Department of Health mandates for nursing homes. Dutchess County has worked closely with the nursing homes, providing isolation suits and gowns, eye protection, N95 respirators, surgical masks, as well as hand sanitizer.”

Mental Health Assistance Provided For Nursing Home Staff, By Dutchess County

County Executive Molinaro has a strong track record on mental health for this region. Mental health assistance has been created for employees working in nursing homes. According to the press release: “Staffing has also been a concern for nursing homes. Stress levels and fear for all essential employees remain high and there is always a concern about lack of staff availability should there be large numbers of staff who need to be quarantined. News of deaths in nursing homes in other areas of the state and nation creates anxiety for staff, patients, as well as their families.

”To help combat the extreme amount of stress this pandemic has placed upon nursing home and residential facility staff, County Executive Molinaro and Deputy Commissioner of DBCH Dr. Jacqueline M. Johnson have mobilized the Dutchess County Trauma Team to provide mental health support. This collaborative team of mental health and substance abuse professionals respond to unpredictable and extreme events in Dutchess County. Led by Dr. Ellen Marx, the team will provide an in-service to nursing home staff to discuss the range of emotions the pandemic causes in general, work-related frustration and anxiety, dealing with grief, the importance of self-care, and much more. Individuals are helped to review their situation, encouraged to express the wide range of emotions traumatic events bring up, and identify strengths and ways to cope.”

Nursing Homes in Dutchess County 

This list has been provided by Dutchess County:

ArchCare at Ferncliff (formerly Ferncliff Nursing Home)
21 Ferncliff Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572  (845) 876-2011    

The Baptist Home
46 Brookmeade Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572 (845) 876-2071    

Sapphire Wappingers Falls
37 S. Mesier Ave., Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 (800) 501-3936    

The Eleanor Nursing Care Center
419 North Quaker Lane, Hyde Park, NY 12538 (845) 229-9177    

Fishkill Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing
22 Robert R. Kasin Way, Beacon, NY 12508-1199 (800) 501-3936 

The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation at Pawling
9 Reservoir Road, Pawling, NY 12564  (845) 855-5700  

The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation at River Valley
140 Main St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (845) 454-7600    

Lutheran Care Center at Concord Village
965 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 (845) 486-9494 x215    

Northern Dutchess Residential Healthcare Facility - The Thompson House
6525 Springbrook Ave., Rhinebeck, NY 12572  (845) 871-3760     

Renaissance Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
4975 Albany Post Road, Staatsburg, NY 12580 (845) 889-4500      

The Pines at Poughkeepsie
100 Franklin St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601  (845) 454-4100

Wingate at Beacon
10 Hastings Drive, Beacon, NY 12508  (845) 440-1600    

Wingate at Dutchess
3 Summit Court, Fishkill, NY 12524  (845) 896-1500

UPDATE: 7 Of The 20 People Who Died At Home In Dutchess County Since March 12, 2020 Tested Positive For COVID-19 After Death

In a followup to yesterday’s article on home deaths being tracked in Dutchess County’s Tracker, A Little Beacon Blog has acquired some data on people in Dutchess County who have died at home, and were tested for COVID-19 by the medical examiner’s office after they passed away.

According to Dutchess County, since the week of March 12, 2020, approximately 20 people have died at home, and were subsequently tested for COVID-19 by the Dutchess County medical examiner’s office. Of the 20 people who died at their homes since March 12, 2020, seven of them tested positive for COVID-19, said Colleen Pillus, Communications Director for Dutchess County, who received the number from the medical examiner’s office.

This week on April 27, 2020, the Washington Post reported on a Yale analysis done for that publication that there was a spike in non-COVID-19 tested deaths at home for the period of March 2020 as compared to 2019. The article and analysis do not provide conclusions as to why this spike in deaths has occurred, but does provide insight into different states, including New York, New Jersey and Michigan.

When asked by A Little Beacon Blog if this trend was reflected in Dutchess County, the county’s Communications Director responded that she does not at this time have the comparative data on those who died at home during the same period the previous year. “That would take some significant time to pull, and I am not sure when someone at the ME’s (medical examiner’s) office will have the opportunity to do so,” Colleen said.

It should be noted that Dutchess County has been pulling a significant amount of data during this short period of time, and is making what they can available to the public. They have been responsive to our questions, which has been helpful for reporting.

(4/28/2020) Numbers for Beacon, Fishkill, Wappingers, Newburgh, Philipstown

The number of people newly infected with COVID-19 continues to rise across counties reported on here. We have added Putnam County and Philipstown to this report. If a number has not been updated in a county, we check stats at Google, who is reporting county information, including number of deaths.

Sources: New York State COVID-19 Tracker, Dutchess County COVID-19 Tracker, Orange County COVID-19 Tracker, Putnam County Tracker, Google via Wikipedia
Dutchess County Tracker: Updated daily, but there could be lags, according to their Source notes.
Orange County Tracker: Updated daily, with the exception of municipality information which is updated every two to three days, according to their Source notes.
Putnam County Tracker: Updates regularly and posts PDF of additional breakdowns.
New York State Tracker: Updated daily.
Testing is limited, which implies that people testing positive for COVID-19 are not the total number of cases, as most people are not tested.

DUTCHESS COUNTY 4/28/2020

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County: 14,215 (yesterday 13,649, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Positive So Far: 2,881 (yesterday, 2,817, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today:
556 (previous day 223, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today:
64 (previous day 24, New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now:
71 (yesterday 77) (Dutchess County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far:
36 (no change reported in Dutchess County Tracker, but Google shows 68)

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon As Of Today:
114 (yesterday 114, Dutchess County Tracker, no change reported)

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill As Of Today:
170 (yesterday 174, Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill As Of Today:
152 (yesterday 155, Dutchess County Tracker)

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers As Of Today:
152 (yesterday 155, Dutchess County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village As Of Today:
42 (yesterday 43, Dutchess County Tracker)

ORANGE COUNTY 4/28/2020

How Many People Tested In Orange County: 26,342 (yesterday 25,740, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Positive So Far: 8,488 (yesterday 8,374, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today:
606 (previously 645, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today:
114 (previously 136, New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now:
153 (yesterday 168, Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far:
311 (yesterday 310, Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh As Of Today:
534 (no change reported, Orange County Tracker)
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh As Of Today:
1,044 (no change reported, Orange County Tracker)

PUTNAM COUNTY 4/28/2020

How Many People Tested In Putnam County: 3,919 (yesterday 3,763, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Positive So Far: 946 (yesterday 932, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today:
150 (previously 82, New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today:
14 (previously 7, New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now:
13 (yesterday 16, Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far:
43 (Putnam County Tracker)

PHILIPSTOWN
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Philipstown As Of This Day:
97 (Putnam County)

Are COVID-19 Home Deaths Recorded In Dutchess County Tracker? Yes - Plus The Increase In Deaths Across The U.S. Since March

With new questions and answers evolving around COVID-19 coming out of the medical community almost daily, questions arise about the cause of death of people who died at home, and if they were COVID-19-related. If COVID-19 related, were they tested and included in the Dutchess County death counts?

According to Dutchess County’s Communication Director Colleen Pillus, the answer is yes. “Any positive results received by the medical examiner are included in the Dutchess County Data Dashboard,” she told A Little Beacon Blog by email.

According to Medical Examiner Dr. Dennis Chute, those who die at home and test positive for COVID-19 are being counted. Dr. Chute explained the process to A Little Beacon Blog by way of Colleen: “If an individual dies at home, the death is called into our office and a medicolegal death investigator takes the call, usually from the police dispatcher. If the decedent was on hospice, then our office releases the case, does not respond to the scene, and the death certificate is done by hospice.”

“If the individual is not on hospice care,” he continued, “then the medical examiner responds to the death scene, and either the medical examiner or the private medical doctor must sign the death certificate. In these cases, the medical examiner will decide whether to bring the decedent to the medical examiner's office depending on the circumstances and medical history. In non-hospice cases, if the history is consistent or suspicious for COVID-19, but if there has not been a premortem test done, we will take a specimen for COVID-19 testing.”

Since the week of March 12, 2020, there has been approximately 20 cases tested at the medical examiner’s office. [UPDATE 4/30/2020]: Of the 20 people who died at their homes since March 12, 2020, seven of them tested positive for COVID-19, said Colleen, who received the number from the medical examiner’s office.

We are also awaiting an answer about whether the number of deaths at home is higher than the period compared to the previous year. [UPDATE 4/30/2020]: Colleen has responded that she does not at this time have the comparative data on those who died at home during the same period the previous year. “That would take some significant time to pull, and I am not sure when someone at the ME’s (medical examiner’s) office will have the opportunity to do so.”

Heart Attacks and COVID-19

Recently heart attacks and strokes are being studied as doctors are understanding more about how the disease attacks the body. An article at Kaiser Health News has pulled together two sources, Politico and ABC News, following the question of heart attacks as it pertains to New York and patients here.

Politico published on 4/25/2020 that the first recorded death of COVID-19 was of a woman from San Francisco, CA, who died of a massive heart attack, according to the autopsy conducted by the county medical examiner on February 7, 2020, but not signed until April 23, 2020. According to the article, she “had no coronary heart disease or clotting that would have caused a heart attack.” She was “mildly obese and had a mildly enlarged heart.” She had evidence of the coronavirus infection in her heart, trachea, lungs and intestines, and originally complained of flu-like symptoms in the days before her death.

The Kaiser article also reported on an ABC news report looking at how New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus on March 20, “but city records analyzed by ABC News suggest a crisis swelling far earlier, signaled by a sudden uptick in cardiac arrest cases that experts now say were likely linked to the virus. Emergency calls for cardiac arrest began to climb in mid-February, in close-knit neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens, some of the same local areas that would soon form the "epicenter of the epicenter" of America's coronavirus pandemic. (Pezenik, Katersky, David and Dastmalchi, 4/27)”

Uptick In Home Deaths In U.S. Since March 2020

The Yale School of Public Health conducted an analysis of federal data for the Washington Post, which revealed a spike in deaths during March through April 4, 2020. The Washington Post published those results on 4/27/2020 and included a variety of graphs showing the data for different states, including New York, New Jersey and Michigan.

According to the article: “The analysis also suggests that the death toll from the pandemic is significantly higher than has been reported,” said Daniel Weinberger, a Yale professor of epidemiology and the leader of the research team. “It’s really important to get the right numbers to inform policymakers so they can understand how the epidemic is evolving and how severe it is in different places,” Weinberger said.

The article goes on to suggest that the “national tally also shapes the public’s perception of how serious the disease is, and therefore how necessary it is to continue social distancing despite economic disruption.”

However, it was also noted by the Washington Post: “The excess deaths are not necessarily attributable directly to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. They could include people who died because of the epidemic but not from the disease, such as those who were afraid to seek medical treatment for unrelated illnesses, as well as some number of deaths that are part of the ordinary variation in the death rate.”

As more data comes out, clearer answers to questions like these will come.

(4/27/2020) COVID-19 Numbers for Beacon, Newburgh, Fishkill, Wappingers

Numbers for Dutchess County have decreased since yesterday’s report. The number of tests decreased, and the number of people from the testing group testing positive decreased. So far, the number of deaths remains at 36, and the number of hospitalized decreased to 77 (previously 79).

In Orange County, the number of deaths increased from 299 to 310, and the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Orange County decreased by almost the same amount. The number of tests in Orange County increased yesterday.

Sources: New York State COVID-19 Tracker, Dutchess County COVID-19 Tracker, Orange County COVID-19 Tracker
Dutchess County Tracker: Updated daily, but there could be lags, according to their Source notes.
Orange County Tracker: Updated daily, with the exception of municipality information which is updated every 2 to 3 days, according to their Source notes.
New York State Tracker: Updated daily.
Testing is limited.

DUTCHESS COUNTY 4/27/2020

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County:
13,649 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Positive So Far:
2,817 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today:
223 (previous day 389) (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today:
24 (previous day 64) (New York State Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now:
77 (yesterday 79) (Dutchess County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far:
36 (no change reported) (Dutchess County Tracker)

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon As Of Today:
114 (yesterday 117) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Beacon?
4.04%

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill As Of Today:
174 (yesterday 181) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Fishkill?
6.18%
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill As Of Today:
155 (yesterday 163) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In East Fishkill?
5.5%

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers As Of Today:
155 (yesterday 157) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Wappingers?
5.5%
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village As Of Today:
43 (yesterday 46) (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Wappingers Falls Village?
1.53%

ORANGE COUNTY 4/27/2020

How Many People Tested In Orange County:
25,740 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Positive So Far:
8,374 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today:
645 (previously 587) (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today:
136 (previously 132) (New York State Tracker
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now:
168 (yesterday 183) (Orange County Tracker)
How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far:
310 (yesterday 299) (Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh As Of Today:
534 (no change reported) (Orange County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Orange County, How Many In Newburgh?
6.48%
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh As Of Today:
1,044 (no change reported) (Orange County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Orange County, How Many In City of Newburgh?
12.67%

(4/26/2019) COVID-19 Numbers For Dutchess County (64 new positives today), Beacon (117 infected right now), Fishkill, Newburgh, Wappingers Falls

As Governor Cuomo talks about a gradual reopening of New York, he imagines a regional approach between counties in New York State, as well as with other states neighboring New York, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, since many people commute from state to state, and county to county to work and live. During several briefings, and succinctly by tweet, the governor has stated: “We are taking a regional approach to safely reopening NYS. Each region is facing its own set of facts. Protecting public health comes first and all decisions will be data-driven.”

New York State has its COVID-19 tracker that includes county data. Several counties have made their own daily trackers public, including Dutchess and Orange Counties, that do show some statistics for communities within the counties.

As the CDC’s guidelines have recommended a 14-day decline, with the White House’s recommendation here, realizing the numbers in this region is relevant. A Little Beacon Blog will present select numbers from the state and county trackers as a way to help you have a snapshot view of what is happening, and what happened yesterday and last week. Having context to these numbers going up and down is important.

Keep in mind, testing is limited. There is the base number of how many people are tested, but there is a limited number of tests, which limits the types of people who can get tested. Almost daily, the public and health officials are learning about the coronavirus that may impact how data is collected. Decisions won’t be based on simple numbers either. Communities will be aware of what is happening within their borders.

All numbers have been taken from the Dutchess County Tracker, and the New York State Tracker. Each have their own stipulations as to how they collect data. As of now, the number of deaths per municipality (i.e.town/city/village) is not included in Dutchess nor Orange County trackers. A Little Beacon Blog has confirmed on 4/27/2020 with Dutchess County by way of Colleen T. Pillus, the Communication Director for Dutchess County, that they do have the number of deceased for each municipality, but will not be releasing it at this time.

Sources: New York State COVID-19 Tracker, Dutchess County COVID-19 Tracker, Orange County COVID-19 Tracker

DUTCHESS COUNTY 4/26/2020

How Many People Tested Positive So Far: 2,793 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today: 389 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today: 64 (New York State Tracker)
Percentage of Today’s People Testing Positive: 16.45%

How Many People Tested In Dutchess County: 13,464 (New York State Tracker)
Percentage Of People Testing Positive - Of Those Tested - In Dutchess County: 20.74%

How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far: 36 (Dutchess County Tracker)
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now: 79 (Dutchess County Tracker)

BEACON
Active COVID-19 Cases In Beacon As Of Today: 117 (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Beacon? 4.19%

FISHKILL
Active COVID-19 Cases In Fishkill As Of Today: 181 (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Fishkill? 6.48%
Active COVID-19 Cases In East Fishkill As Of Today: 163 (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In East Fishkill? 5.84%

WAPPINGERS
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers As Of Today: 157 (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Wappingers? 5.62%
Active COVID-19 Cases In Wappingers Falls Village As Of Today: 46 (Dutchess County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Dutchess County, How Many In Wappingers Falls Village? 1.65%

ORANGE COUNTY 4/26/2020

How Many People Tested Positive So Far: 8,238 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested Today: 587 (New York State Tracker)
How Many People Tested POSITIVE Today: 132 (New York State Tracker)
Percentage of Today’s People Testing Positive: 22.49%

How Many People Tested In Orange County: 25,095 (New York State Tracker)
Percentage Of People Testing Positive - Of Those Tested - In Orange County: 32.83%

How Many COVID-19 Related Deaths So Far: 277 (Orange County Tracker)
Note: This number has already changed to 299 by 10 pm tonight 4/27/2020 as we were double-checking numbers before sharing. ALBB will update this once per day in the afternoon, knowing that numbers are updated at these trackers at different times of the day.
Number Of People Hospitalized For COVID-19 Right Now: 183 (Orange County Tracker)

NEWBURGH
Active COVID-19 Cases In Newburgh As Of Today: 543 (Orange County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Orange County, How Many In Newburgh? 6.48%
Active COVID-19 Cases In City of Newburgh As Of Today: 1,044 (Orange County Tracker)
Of the Positive Cases In Orange County, How Many In City of Newburgh? 12.67%

A screenshot of the White House-supported guidelines of reopening America, as of 4/27/2020. Things change daily, and this text on the White House website could also change.
Photo Credit: The White House website

FOOD: Free & Reduced Lunch Plan For Next (or This) School Year Open To More Families Who Lost Jobs

The Beacon City School District has been supplying free breakfasts and lunches to any student in the district by way of grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches, picked up on Mondays and Wednesdays at South Avenue Elementary or Beacon High School. Lunches are prepared and bagged on Mondays and Wednesdays to be made at home over the course of the week. Meals have included pizza, chicken nuggets, baked chicken, broccoli and chicken, pancakes and chicken - lots of options.

As of today (4/27/2020), the Beacon City School District is preparing 9,500 grab-and-go meals per week, and has completed just under 50,000 meals so far, according to Karen Pagano, Director of Food and Nutrition for the Beacon City School District.

When and if school resumes, families who have lost jobs can apply now for the Free & Reduced-Cost Lunch School Meals/Milk program, Karen says. Families who have already applied to the Free Meal program and have been accepted do not need to re-apply.

“Once school resumes, the meal eligibility will be what it was before we closed schools,” Karen told A Little Beacon Blog by email. “But, if they apply now for Free Meals, their new application may then assist with their children’s meals at school for the remainder of this school year and 30 days into the next (2020-2021) school year.”

Karen points out that people who have recently lost income and had not applied before because their income did not qualify them for meal assistance might now qualify. “If they apply now while waiting for supplemental assistance - their income levels may qualify them for the Free Meal program. Therefore, now is the best time to submit an application.”

People out of work are still encouraged to apply if they had a large reduction in income but have started receiving benefits.

How To Apply To The Free Meals Program For Beacon City School District

Download the application at the Beacon City School District’s website here.

Email the complete application to: moustakas.d@beaconk12.org.

Applications will also be available at the two current meal distribution sites - Beacon High School and South Avenue Elementary and can be returned to these sites as well.

Do not download the application if you have already applied and are already in the Free Meals program. Your work is done!

As of now (April 27, 2020) kids meals from the Beacon City School District continue to be free for all kids in the district while school is part of the New York PAUSE status, and no application is required to pick up a free meal. Details about pickup are here, and include delivery options.

County-Wide Siren Salute For COVID-19 Fight - Thursday at 7 pm - Listen For It

On Thursday (4/23/2020) evening at 7 pm, Dutchess County will come together to sound a siren salute using firehouse sirens in unison, according to an announcement from Beacon’s Mayor’s Office. Beacon’s siren will sound from the Lewis Tompkins Hose Co., and will sound for those “working tirelessly in Emergency Services, Health Care, Local Government and all the supporting agencies in our communities,” according to the announcement.

The length of the siren activation will be two cycles. Sirens can be heard occasionally at other times, and sometimes come from across the river, from other municipalities or services.

”This will also be a needed test to determine if the roof siren on Tompkins Hose still works,” noted Beacon’s City Administrator, Anthony Ruggiero.

Debt Collectors Cannot Seize Stimulus Checks In New York - Attorney General Letitia James Announced

The CARES ACT - the $2 trillion dollar stimulus package from the federal government to help Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic - has protections written in to safeguard the money being distributed. However, as this Forbes article points out, the protections against debt collection are at the federal level only. States have been left to make their own rules.

On Saturday (4/18/2020), New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a “hands off” debt collection policy against any debt collector, to make sure money stays in the hands of New Yorkers, as first reported by Gothamist. She specified that this protection does not apply to “any actions to collect past-due child support.”

In her press release, Attorney General Letitia James said: “As the coronavirus crisis continues to wreak havoc on our society, I will do everything in my power to protect the wallets of every New Yorker. Today, we are taking concrete action to ensure debt collectors keep their hands off New Yorkers’ stimulus payments. This official guidance makes clear that banks and debt collectors cannot freeze or seize stimulus funds that are on their way to New York families, and any institution that violates this guidance will face swift legal action from my office.”

A seemingly crowd-sourced or edited list of what other states are doing regarding the stimulus checks can be found here, as reported by Gothamist.

Friday Night Cheer & Candlelight Celebrating Essential Workers; Hope To Businesses; Honoring Those Who Passed

A reader wrote into A Little Beacon Blog, suggesting that the community of Beacon show some cheer and appreciation for essential workers by clapping at a unified time. The medical workers, grocery store workers, mail delivery workers, funeral home workers, dialysis workers, and many more.

The Dedication

We thought about it, and if you’re not already doing something, we are suggesting a Friday Night Cheer Clap Candlelight Night. On Friday nights, as we slide into the weekend, we step out onto the front porch or open your apartment window:

• Applaud essential workers who have been working for us and are about to start a busier Saturday/Sunday.

• Clap for people running closed businesses, who are hoping beyond hope that they can restart.

• Light a candle lit for people who have passed.

The Schedule

7 pm: Clap/cheer (still light, still energetic)
8 pm: Light a candle, give a moment of silence (it will be dark then, and calmer)

If you’re into it, send us pictures or tag @alittlebeacon in Instagram when you do it and we’ll publish. We’ll also publish a candle gift guide roundup for where you can buy beautiful candles in Beacon, many of which have been made in Beacon and smell really good.

They will be shipped to you, or delivered!

This would start this Friday.

We’re going to do it from our porches (Katie in Beacon, Marilyn in Fishkill, and Teslie in Newburgh). Don’t leave us hanging!