Virus Spike Seen in Staten Island

By BOBBIE BELL

Mayor Bill de Blasio warned New Yorkers in his Thursday briefing  — two days after election day — to keep on guard as two zip codes in Staten Island, 10305 and 10314, faced a rise in COVID cases.

“We see kind of the increase that makes us concerned,” he said in reference to the neighborhood Rosebank and Bull’s Head in Staten island.

De Blasio referenced a similar spike throughout neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens last month. However, he said this should be easier to manage. “This is different than what we saw in Brooklyn and Queens, which were extended areas used to the maximum,” he added.

The mayor and his aides announced several measures to help infected persons stay safe, including a free dog walking service through the platform known as WAG!

“We will offer you things like free food delivery, a free hotel stay, help with your medications,” said Dr. Ted Long, Head of Test and Trace Corps, at the briefing. “You will be paired with a resource navigator, to ask what will it take to keep you and your family safe.”

Long said there would be 10 new testing sites in the borough, and rapid 15 minute COVID testing will be accessible at the Ferry Terminal.

While voting in the recent election has proven an increase in COVID cases throughout some parts of the United States, there was no evidence as to what caused the spike of cases in Staten Island.

On Wednesday, Steve Bellone, Suffolk County Executive, said in a Facebook briefing  that six poll workers at a Southampton voting location tested positive for COVID-19.

“We unfortunately don’t have a single common event or a single common exposure that explains the increases,” said Dr. Jay Varma, de Blasio’s Public Health Advisor, at the briefing. Varma attributed the potential spike to be related to more people congregating indoors due to the cold weather.

De Blasio, on the other hand, reminded New Yorkers that now was not the time to slack off on the responsibility to wear masks and social distance. “We know everyone’s fatigued, we know it’s been a very long road; and we constantly have to remind people how important it is to do the basics,” said de Blasio.

Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, Commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, echoed both what the mayor and Varma said at the briefing. “Six feet and a mask is what can separate us from further increases or a second wave,” he said.

“I know it’s hard for us to maintain that vigilance and that discipline, but particularly for the areas that we’re talking about in Staten Island, it is important and urgent for us to recommit to them,” Chokshi continued.

“We never want to see an uptick in any community, but in this case, we caught it early,” concluded Long.