Coronavirus Update, April 1, 2020
New York now has over 83,000 cases of the coronavirus, according to the state department of health. There are 2 confirmed cases of the virus in Schuyler County. In Tompkins County, there are 80 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of now. According to the county health department, 33 of those cases have since seen resolved symptoms and those people have been released from isolation.
According to the Albany Times-Union, at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s press conference Wednesday, he noted that the peak of COVID-19 cases in the state is expected to peak at the end of April. That is based off of the current model of minimal impact from social distancing.
Schuyler Hospital is looking for volunteers at their Montour Falls Mask Production site. Fingerlakes1.com reports that the site will open tomorrow, and will be open weekdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The Montour Falls site is looking for volunteers who can sew as well as non-sewing helpers. Those who can sew are asked to bring their own sewing machines to the facility. The site, located in room 120 of the human services complex in Montour Falls, is the second mask production site in the area. Cornell university is also producing masks in Bartells hall weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Call 607-532-7121 or email volunteer@schuylerhospital.org to schedule a time and check availability.
Two nursing students from Tompkins Cortland Community College were honored on Friday for their volunteer work at the local COVID-19 sampling center. President and CEO of Cayuga Health Martin Stallone commended their work after the sampling center closed for the weekend on Friday.
According to the Ithaca Voice, Dominic Barret and Sara Mckee are both finishing their final semester at TC3. The school requires students to do volunteer work in health care settings. Both student’s clinical hours had been cut short by the Coronavirus pandemic, and so they decided to complete the rest of their clinical hours at the sampling center in the parking lot of The Shops at Ithaca Mall.
Among their duties include working as scribes, taking down and verifying patient information, among other tasks at the sampling center.
Mayor Hartill of Lansing has announced that the village parks will close due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ithaca Times.
Hartill made the announcement yesterday in a letter issued to the Lansing community. The mayor notes saying that it was his responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of the community, especially children and younger citizens.
The Coronavirus pandemic has led to the temporary shutdown of multiple food pantries in Tompkins County. This leaves an approximate 800 households per month losing access to food pantries. To combat this problem Cornell University partnered with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, or GIAC to gather and distribute meals to those in need.
According to the Cornell Chronicle, Cornell Dining is placing orders of 15,000 to 17,000 pounds of food which is up from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds previously. The food is shipped to Robert Purcell Community Center where Cornell Dining staff unload and package the food for families to pick up. The pantry will administer food at GIAC’s basketball courts at 301 west court street. It is open to the community Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-4PM.