CategoryCOVID-19 Newsletters

State Updates  Governor Cuomo Sees Preliminary Success in Flattening the Curve, Announces Extended Unemployment Benefits Today (April 8th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he confirmed that data now indicates that the “NY on PAUSE” social distancing measures were successfully working to reduce the severity and “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 outbreak…

Governor Cuomo Announces Decrease in Average Hospitalizations, Regional Approach to Restarting the Economy Today (April 7th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced further improvements in the status of the COVID-19 outbreak. The three-day average of new hospitalizations has significantly decreased, further supporting the idea that the outbreak may be at or…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Possible Plateau in COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Deaths Today (April 6th), during Governor Cuomo’s COVID-19 press conference, the Governor announced that the death rate from COVID-19 has been effectively flat for the last two days in New York State, and the numbers of new hospitalizations and intubations have decreased. Tentative new…

Federal Updates  Treasury Releases Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Interim Final Rule On April 3rd, the Department of the Treasury announced the implementation of sections 1102 and 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Section 1102 of the Act temporarily adds a new Small Business Administration program, the Paycheck Protection Program,…

Governor Cuomo Addresses Bed Capacity, Staffing Shortages, and Availability of Supplies Today (April 2nd), Governor Cuomo announced at his COVID-19 press conference that all hospitals have increased their bed capacity by 50% as per the State’s recent mandate, and construction has begun on two additional temporary hospitals at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and the Staten…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces New Projections and Preventive Measures, Discusses FY 2021 Budget Today (April 1st), Governor Cuomo announced in his daily COVID-19 conference (available here) that updated McKinsey projections predict a slightly lower and later apex for the COVID-19 outbreak, estimated to be at the end of April. For the first time, these…

Federal Update CMS Lifts Practitioner and Site Restrictions, Waives Oversight Requirements, and Expands Telehealth On March 30th, CMS issued a wide-ranging set of temporary regulatory waivers offering new flexibilities in response to COVID-19. The waivers pertain mostly to Medicare rules, with some Medicaid components, and will go into effect nationwide immediately and last for the…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Statewide Hospital Partnership Today (March 30th), Governor Cuomo announced that the State, in collaboration with its public and private hospitals, will create a central coordination system to handle surging demand due to COVID-19. This is intended to let hospitals who approach their “load threshold” to transfer incoming patients to other…

Governor Cuomo Announces Executive Order 202.11 Today (March 27th), Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.11 (available here), containing new directives intended to address the COVID-19 emergency. The Order states that any guidance issued by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) related to prevention and infection control of COVID-19 will supersede any prior conflicting DOH…

State Update  Governor Cuomo Announces NYC Density Plan and Addresses Federal COVID-19 Response Today (March 25th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference (available here) during which he discussed the continuing efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak. Current projections indicate that the apex of hospital capacity need will occur in approximately 21 days and will be…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Expands Scope of Practice for Physician Extenders Yesterday (March 23rd), Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.10 (available here), containing new directives intended to address the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency. This Executive Order focuses on: Expanding scope of practice and easing limitations on supervision of physician assistants, students, and other extenders; Further increasing…

State Updates  Governor Cuomo Announces Expanded Hospital, Staff, and Lab Capacity In press releases today and over the weekend, Governor Cuomo made several announcements and updates regarding the COVID-19 emergency, including: Hospital Capacity The Army Corps of Engineers will develop four temporary hospital sites at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old…