July 2nd Newsletter

July 2, 2020

Federal Update

HHS Spokesman Says Public Health Emergency to Be Renewed

On June 29th, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesman Michael Caputo stated on Twitter (available here) that HHS expects to renew the federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration before its current expiration date of July 25th. This would extend current federal flexibilities, including on patient privacy, telehealth, hospital capacity, and many others, as well as the enhanced Medicaid funding supplied to states by the federal COVID-19 relief packages. The previous renewal was officially announced on April 21st, five days before the original expiration date. 

State Updates

Governor Cuomo Announces Steady Status of COVID-19 in NYS, Warns of “Slipping Compliance”

On July 1st, Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced that the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York remains steady. While many other regions of the United States have seen significant increases in the last weeks, New York’s hospitalizations, deaths, and positive tests have not detectably risen. Yesterday, there were 879 total hospitalizations and the three-day rolling average of deaths was 10. Of the 56,710 individuals tested for COVID-19 across the state yesterday, 625 (1.1 percent) were positive. The positive test rate in New York City remains steady at around 1 percent.

However, the Governor reiterated his concerns concerning the reopening process, particularly in New York City. These include “slipping” citizen compliance with, and enforcement of, social distancing and the potential spread of COVID-19 from other states. Consequently, while New York City is on track to enter Phase 3 of reopening on Monday, its Phase 3 will not yet include indoor dining. The Capital Region has been cleared to enter Phase 4 of reopening today.

New York State Department Releases Study on Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children

On June 29th, the New York State Department of Health (DOH), in collaboration with the University of Albany School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released a study (available here) on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19. The study evaluated 99 cases of MIS-C and concludes that the emergence of the condition in New York State followed widespread COVID-19 transmission. Of the 99 patients evaluated, 36 had a pre-existing condition, the most common being obesity, and there were two fatalities. The condition is reportedly often associated with cardiac dysfunction. Further research may explore whether a post-SARS-CoV-2 inflammatory syndrome exists among adults.

The DOH press release is available here. 

DOH Permanently Adds Severe or Novel Coronavirus to Communicable Disease Reporting

Today, DOH posted a Notice of Adoption in the State Register (available here, pg. 6) which amends Title 10 of the NYCRR to require physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostic and treatment centers, and clinical laboratories to report instances of severe or novel coronavirus. On February 6th, the Public Health and Health Planning Council adopted emergency regulations that added “severe or novel coronavirus” to the reportable disease list. This amendment permanently adopts the emergency regulation and adds severe or novel coronavirus, including SARS-CoV-2 (including MIS-C), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and other related conditions to the list of reportable communicable diseases. The amendment also permits DOH to systematically monitor for the disease and allows for decisions about isolation or quarantine of suspected or confirmed cases to be made on a timely basis.

Updated Guidance Documents

Recently released New York State and City guidance documents are listed below: