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The Daily Mail Copyright 2020, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 228, No. 72
All Rights Reserved
Flavor ban Flavored vaping products banned in NYS. Inside, A5
The nation’s fourth-oldest newspaper • Serving Greene County since 1792
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FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2020
Restaurants shaken and stirred
nFORECAST WEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT
SAT
By Sarah Trafton
Columbia-Greene Media Mostly cloudy with a shower
Mostly cloudy
Cool with clouds and sun
HIGH 49
LOW 34
51 29
Complete weather, A2
n SPORTS
Freihofer’s Run falls to COVID Organizers announce that the event’s 42nd edition has been canceled and a virtual 5K option is being offered. PAGE B1
n TEASER HEAD
With bars and restaurants around the state converting to take-out and delivery services, a new era of ordering alcoholic drinks to go is upon us. After Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued the executive order March 16, questions arose about how local businesses would offer this new service while complying with open container laws and ensuring that patrons were not underage. Alcoholic beverages sold for off-premises consumption may be sold in any closed container of any size, provided that the customer also purchases food and that the sale
is consistent with municipal open container ordinances, according to the state Liquor Authority. Businesses that violate the executive order regarding onpremises service can face fines up to $10,000. Crossroads Brewing Company owner Ken Landin is offering curbside pickup at the brewery’s Athens location. “We have the same protocol as if someone is coming in,” he said. “If it’s someone we didn’t recognize or trying to buy something underage, we would card them. You have to exercise the same protocol, you have to be safe. You have
Tribune News Service
Liquor stores were deemed an essential service in the coronavirus pandemic. Local bar and restaurant owners are now turning to takeout and delivery of alcoholic beverages to keep their businesses in operation, with some help from rule changes.
See SHAKEN A2
Leaders see new crisis emerge
NY deaths up, but hospital trends hopeful
By Abby Hoover Columbia-Greene Media
Landscapes of the mind Online exhibitions are available at ASK in April including the works of artist Henry Pfeffer PAGE A8 Courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the number of COVID-19 deaths in New York “breathtaking” during a pandemic briefing in the state Capitol on Thursday. The state saw the highest number of single-day fatalities for the third day in a row Wednesday at 799 fatalities with a death toll of more than 7,000.
n THE SCENE
By Kate Lisa Johnson Newspaper Corp.
Work alone, spark creativity Artists suggest keeping a visual journal, fire up the audiobooks and think inspiring thoughts PAGE A7
n INDEX Region Opinion State/Nation Obituaries Sports Classified Comics/Advice
A3 A4 A5 A5 B1 B4-B5 B7-B8
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ALBANY — The state’s single-day coronavirus fatalities spiked as total hospitalizations declined for the third day in a row, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. New York COVID-19 fatalities reached a daily high point for the third consecutive day Wednesday at 799 deaths. The 24-hour death toll hit 779 virus-related deaths Tuesday up from 731 Monday, which reflects a surge from 594 fatalities Saturday and 599 Sunday. New York had a total of 7,067 virus-related deaths as of press time Thursday — more than twice 9/11’s death toll of 2,753. “Every day is tough on so
many levels,” Cuomo said Thursday during his daily COVID-19 briefing in the state Capitol. “We haven’t lost anyone we could have saved. That is the only solace in these numbers.” More virus patients are leaving state hospitals than are coming in for the fifth day in a row, Cuomo said, adding it means the state’s social distancing mandates are working. About 98% of the nation is under some form of mandated stay-home order, the governor said. Hospitalization rates saw a decline to 200 admitted virus patients Wednesday after 656 hospital admissions Monday and 586 Tuesday, following a
two-day decline over the weekend. State officials project New York City and downstate hospitals have hit their projected peak of virus hospitalizations. Daily ICU admissions decreased Wednesday after a fluctuation over the last several days. The state had 250 new COVID-19 patients enter intensive care Saturday, 128 Sunday and 35 on Monday. That figure spiked Tuesday to 302 — about last week’s daily ICU admission average — and dipped back to 84 Wednesday. The state tested 391,549 people revealing 159,937 positive cases of COVID-19 by Thursday afternoon with 18,279 hospitalized, or 11.4%. Of virus patients in the hospital, 4,925 people
are intensive care and 4,256 are intubated, according to the governor’s office. The state will open five downstate testing locations next week under Cuomo’s initiative to boost testing in minority communities after state Department of Health data showed higher rates of infection in communities of color. Three walk-in testing sites will open at the South Bronx, Jamaica and Brownsville health centers, and two mobile testing sites will open at the Brooklyn Sears department store parking lot and Club House at Aqueduct Race Track parking lot in Queens. The federal government must implement a procedure See HOPEFUL A2
Doctors warn of COVID-related heart disease By Nora Mishanec Columbia-Greene Media
Stroke survivors and people with heart disease are at high risk for complications if they contract COVID-19, doctors from the American Heart Association said Thursday. AHA doctors are urging everyone with underlying conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension or a history of stroke, to stay in contact with their doctor and continue routine care. “Despite the horrific number of deaths [from the virus], cardiovascular disease is still the No. 1 killer,” said AHA Chief Medical Officer for Prevention Eduardo Sanchez. Many high-risk patients are delaying routine care because they are afraid of going to a hospital, said Dr. Mariell
Jessup, AHA’s chief science and medical officer. “Now more than ever, people with chronic cardiovascular disease, including stroke, must keep in touch with their doctors through telehealth,” Jessup said. “By all means, call your doctor or nurse. We are encouraging patients to keep in touch.” As the U.S. enters its third month of the pandemic, hospitals are reporting a 50% decrease in heart attack and stroke patients, causing doctors to worry that those patients are dying at home, Jessup said. She added that New York City first responders have seen a “disturbing” trend of at-home fatal heart attacks. “There may be many patients at home that are dying, that are attributed to COVID-19, but in fact may be
somebody that sat at home for too long, that didn’t want to go to the hospital,” she said. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt not just by patients who contract the virus, but also those who delay medical care or are unable to receive treatment in overcrowded emergency rooms. Jessup urged people to maintain their normal routines during this time of profound social disruption. People who stop exercising, taking their blood pressure or weighing themselves may not notice symptoms as readily, she added. “The threshold for calling your doctor or nurse should be lower if you have underlying cardiac disease,” Sanchez said. “It is better to overreach and make that call.”
The coronavirus has impacted nearly every walk of life in some way, especially vulnerable populations like the homeless. Columbia County Department of Social Services Commissioner Bob Gibson said Sunday the county’s homeless population has risen during the COVID-19 crisis. But Gibson said his department has the resources to meet the challenge. “We’ve taken on 25 additional homeless since the start of this crisis,” Gibson said. “Many are the ‘silent homeless’ who we don’t usually see — they may have been sleeping at a family member’s home, but now are unable to do so owing to social-distancing guidelines. The street is nowhere for them at any point, and particularly now.” Gibson said grocery shopping has been a sticking point for the homeless during the crisis. The elibigility process of recertification of DSS benefits has been streamlined. “Deadlines have been extended by the state, which makes it a lot easier for everyone involved,” Gibson said. “You want to keep a flow of services coming.” Greene County Social Services Commissioner Kira Pospesel said the state requested permission to make the changes to the recertification process from the federal government to prevent work from piling up while local departments are not operating at 100%. “All these families are being affected throughout the state, so they needed to do something to keep moving forward,” Pospesel said. Pospesel said she has not seen a rise in Greene County’s homeless population due to COVID-19, but there is an increase in applications for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits and Medicaid. “The staff is doing an amazing job under pressures I’ve never seen before,” Pospesel said. Columbia County DSS works with the Salvation Army at 40 South 3rd St. in Hudson, which operates the only soup kitchen in Columbia County that serves daily lunches. See CRISIS A2