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COVID-19: These 10 Westchester

Communities Have Most Cases,
Latimer Says

Zak Failla ! 03/23/2020 4:40 p.m.

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Westchester County Executive Ge…

Westchester County Executive George Latimer offered an

update on coronavirus. Video Credit: Westchester County
Government

Westchester has been among the counties hit

hardest by the novel coronavirus pandemic,
with nearly 3,000 conJrmed cases of the virus
just three weeks after the Jrst positive test in
New Rochelle.

County Executive George Latimer provided an

update on Monday afternoon, March 23, to
provide details of how the virus has impacted
residents in every Westchester community
since the initial outbreak earlier this month and
what communities have been the hardest hit in
terms of the number of cases.

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“This really began in mid-February, leading into

March, when the Xrst hospitalization happened
in Westchester,” Latimer said. “We call him the
index patient. Only 22 days after the original
patient was identiXed, now you see what we’re
dealing with.”

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In Westchester, there have now been 2,894

conXrmed cases of COVID-19, New York Gov.
Andrew Cuomo said on Monday, trailing only
New York City’s 12,305 cases.

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“Originally, Westchester was the leader for the

most cases in New York State, when it was
identiXed as a hotspot,” Latimer said. “The rest
of the state is starting to catch up to us, and
New York City is now well ahead of us.

___

“The hardest to Xnd communities are now

Xnding that they have positive cases as well.
This is a pandemic. This contagion is not going
to jump by a small hamlet any more than it
would New York City.”

In Westchester, Latimer said the most positive

cases are in:

• New Rochelle (223);

• Yonkers (145);

• Mount Vernon (70);

• White Plains (54);

• Greenburgh (43);

• Scarsdale (35);

• Eastchester (31);

• Port Chester (28);

• Cortlandt (25);

• Mount Pleasant (22)

Latimer also announced some changes to Bee-

Line bus services, which has dropped fares for
riders, who now will have to enter through the
back of the bus to prevent any spread to
drivers.

Additionally, the Westchester County Center will

serve as a temporary space for healthcare
professionals to run a 250-bed hospital in
advance of an assumed spike in coronavirus
cases.

Latimer noted that other county-owned spaces,

such as Rye Playland are being evaluated as
potential temporary locations for doctors
treating the virus.

“The Westchester County Center is now a

source for temporary hospital services,” he
said. “It will be used as a space for additional
hospital beds for those suffering from
coronavirus. Hospitals are preparing for a
surge, and the most vulnerable may need
hospital beds.”

Cuomo noted that the state has been busy

securing emergency supplies for hospital
workers, including 339,760 N-95 masks;
861,700 surgical masks; 353,500 gloves;
145,122 gowns and 197,085 face shields.

“We need to increase hospital capacity as

quickly as we can so that at the apex of the
wave you have the hospital capacity to take
care of the vulnerable people we’ve been talking
about,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to
control the spread of the virus, but you can
reduce the rate of the spread so that you can
handle it in your hospital system.”

New York’s 20,875 cases - which resulted in 157

deaths - are more than ten times more New
Jersey (1,914 cases); California (1,849);
Washington (1,844) and Illinois (1,049). Of the
20,875 cases in New York, 2,645 (13 percent)
were hospitalized, with 621 patients in the ICU.

Latimer noted that the now-reported 20,875

positive tests come just three weeks after the
Xrst positive test.

“We’re in a period of time where the contagion

is growing and we have to slow that growth to
help save lives. All of that is a justiXcation of
the measures we’ve taken.”

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