Suffolk Coronavirus: 'Severe' Recession Possible

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — As the amount of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus continues to rise across Suffolk, County Executive Steve Bellone said with a recession on the horizon, residents need relief.

Coronavirus cases rose by 960 over the past 24 hours to 24,425, Bellone said. Hospitalizations decreased Thursday of 45, down from 1,630 to 1,585. ICU patients also decreased by 25, from 562 to 537.

"This is very good news," Bellone said, adding that intubations were also down. "We are still at a point where we appear to be plateauing at this high level but we will see what the next few days brings."

Hospital capacity increased by 39; there is currently a total of 3,425 hospital beds and 744 ICU beds countywide; of that number, 655 and 112 are available, respectively.

The good news is that 152 COVID-19 patients were discharged in 24 hours.

But, Bellone said, the current death toll in Suffolk County stands at 653, with that number rising.

Suffolk County, he added, lost one of its own to coronavirus: Ed Keller, a transit worker for the Suffolk County bus system, died, he said. "Ed was one of our best employees. He was respected and liked by everyone he worked with," Bellone said, adding that he'd been with the company since 2005.

"He was a great man, worker, and family man and the work he has done and the impact he has had will not be forgotten," Bellone said. "This is a loss for our county."

As of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases by town was as follows:

• Islip: 6,450
• Brookhaven: 4,634
• Babylon: 3,850
• Huntington: 3,020
• Smithtown: 1,242
• Southampton: 351
• Southold: 252
• Riverhead: 250
• East Hampton: 109
• Shelter Island: 6

For a breakdown by hamlet/ community across Suffolk County, click here.

On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced that an additional 606 had died in 24 hours of coronavirus statewide; of that number, 577 died in hospitals and 29 in nursing homes.

Stay at home order extended to May 15

New York's stay-at-home order was extended through May 15, Cuomo said Thursday.

"It's important that we stay the course," Bellone said.

"Economic devastation"

While the focus has been on the public health crisis sparked by coronavirus, Bellone said local government has been working on the economic aspects of recovery, as well.

"There is economic devastation that is happening as a result of this viral outbreak," Bellone said. On Thursday morning, he said, there was another indication of the "economic calamity this viral outbreak has caused."

The United States Department of Labor, he said, released new unemployment numbers indicating that an additional 5.2 million people filed last week; over four weeks, that total is an "unprecedented" 22 million individuals who have filed, Bellone said. "We've never seen numbers like that. To put it in perspective, that 22 million represents all of the jobs that have been created in the years since the last great recession, following the housing crisis in 2008," he said. "All of those jobs have been wiped out by this global pandemic in a matter of weeks."

Government, Bellone said, needs to do everything possible to support families and individuals suffering through the economic and public health crisis.

One of the ideas discussed is to provide temporary relief for property taxpayers, waving penalties and fees for a few months to give people affected by the crisis some relief.

Suffolk County, Bellone said, created a small business recovery unit to work with financial institutions and get money to those businesses as quickly as possible, without inflicting any long-term damage to taxpayers.

He also spoke of the Suffolk County Tax Act, something he called an "archaic law that's been around for more than 100 years, blocking our ability to provide short term relief for property taxpayers," he said.

When people pay their property taxes in December, that money doesn't get to the county until late June or early July; the county must therefore borrow funds to get through the first six months of the law.

That ends up costing county taxpayers millions of dollars, Bellone said, due to the short term borrowing the county does to meet operating expenses and keep the cash flow going until property tax revenues come in.

Retail sales plummet

Another grim report by the federal government's commerce department, Bellone said, indicates that retail sales have dropped by the steepest amount in any monthly period since those statistics began to be compiled. "This is a frightening indicator of the damage this virus is doing to finances of local governments," particularly county governments that depend upon sales tax revenue, he said.

"A severe recession"

Suffolk County has formed the COVID-19 Fiscal Impact Panel, comprised of experts, to analyze ways the virus is causing damage to county finances and seek solutions. "The road ahead is full of challenges but it's far better to understand what we are facing as early and as quickly as possible," Bellone said.

The recovery task force, he said, will bring together financial experts to work on issues faced due to the "unprecedented nature" of the crisis "and give us a realistic picture of what we are facing immediately and in the next year or two of the county's financial picture. We know this is not going away. We know going to be dealing with this for a long time. From the numbers we are seeing here, it look very much like a severe recession that we are looking at."

Bellone said it is likely the crisis would no doubt impact the county's bond rating.

Hot spot testing expands

New hot spot testing sites in Wyandanch and North Amityville are now open. The mobile, by appointment only sites join those in Riverhead, Brentwood and Huntington Station.

Scammer nabbed

Bellone lauded Suffolk County Police for catching a person who tried to scam $9,500 from a 79-year old man by telling him his grandson had been arrested and needed money.

"There are criminals out there who do not care that there is global pandemic going on and people are dying. They view this as an opportunity to commit crime," Bellone said. "Be on alert. And if anyone is asking you to send money, take pause, contact someone in the family before you do that. There is a very good chance it may be a scam."

Nursing home no longer giving updates on coronavirus patients

Peconic Landing in Greenport will no longer be giving updates on coronavirus among members, the retirement home announced via a public relations firm on Wednesday.

Sales tax exemption

Businesses, Bellone said, have also stepped up to create and deliver supplies of personal protective equipment to front line workers.

To that end, the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency passed a sales tax exemption for manufacturers, suppliers and distributers who are transitioning to make PPE. "We want to encourage that," Bellone said. "We are thankful to those who have stepped up."