Governor Cuomo Announces Updated COVID-19 Micro-Cluster Focus Zones
On November 23rd, Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced new micro-cluster zones across New York State, including new orange “warning” zones on Staten Island and in Monroe and Onondaga Counties, and new yellow “precautionary” zones in Upper Manhattan and Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The zone changes go into effect on Wednesday for businesses and Thursday for schools. Due to hospital capacity issues on Staten Island, the State will be opening an emergency facility for COVID-19 patients at South Beach at the request of local hospitals. Much of the greater New York City area is in a yellow zone.
The Governor’s press release is available here. Maps of the cluster zones are available here.
New York City public schools closed on November 19th for in-person instruction and all students have been transitioned to remote learning after community testing citywide reached a 3 percent positivity rate.
Governor Cuomo Signs Executive Orders 202.76 and 202.77
On November 23rd, Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.77 (available here), which directs the Commissioner of Health to establish guidelines for nursing homes and adult care facilities on how to accept returning residents after a leave of absence to visit friends or relatives in order to protect the health and safety of other residents at the facility. This includes the ability of nursing homes and adult care facilities to implement transmission-based precautions. Facilities will be required to follow the guidance in accordance with Executive Order 202.30 (available here), which authorizes the Commissioner of Health to revoke the operating certificate of any nursing home or adult care facility that does not comply with any regulation or directive issued by the Commissioner of Health.
On November 20th, Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.76 (available here), which extends several provisions related to the COVID-19 emergency through December 19th. This includes a provision that permits a practitioner to establish a patient relationship using only a questionnaire for the purpose of ordering a clinical laboratory test, which may be administered through an asynchronous electronic interface such as email.
KFF Publishes Issue Brief on State COVID-19 Vaccination Plans
On November 18th, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) published an issue brief giving an overview of state vaccination plan documents published so far in response to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vaccine playbook. Each of the 64 immunization programs in the nation were required to submit a draft plan by October 16th. Although all states noted similar priority populations, with the first priority being health care workers, essential workers, and high-risk individuals (age and/or pre-existing conditions), KFF noted that less than half of the plans reviewed (19 of 47) included a numerical estimate of the number of individuals in priority populations. Less than a third (13 of 47) included an estimate of the number of vaccine providers in the state.
The issue brief is available here.
Updated Guidance Documents
The following New York State and City guidance documents have been recently released
- Revised Guidance on Home Visits for Individuals Residing in OPWDD Certified Residential Facilities (11.21.20)
- Post-COVID Care Clinics (11.19.20)
- Identifying and Triaging Adult Patients at Increased Risk for Severe COVID-19 in Outpatient Settings (11.17.20)
- Interim Guidance Upon Return From Out of State Travel for Child Care Providers, Licensors, Registrars, and Enrollment Agencies (11.17.20)