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Friday, April 10, 2020
Vol. 69, No. 15
ELIMINATE CAP ON TAX W.P. TO HONOR MEDICAL SMALL BIZ LOAN DEDUCTIONS: SUOZZI PROFESSIONALS DAILY PROGRAM FRUSTRATION PAGE 10
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Coronavirus to peak within week: Curran Hospitals still need staffers, supplies BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z
PHOTO COURTESY OF LEE WEISSMAN / NORTHWELL HEALTH
Hundreds of first responders throughout the North Shore cheered on health-care workers at North Shore University Hospital on Tuesday night.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran expects the apex of the coronavirus to hit the county this week as health care resources are being stretched thin. “If you’ve ever been on a roller coaster you know when it goes up steeply, steeply, slowly, slowly, it’s that kind of feeling,” Curran said Saturday, referring to the apex. Two weeks ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he believed the apex of the virus would hit New York in two to three
weeks. While Curran said her prediction was an “educated guess” and followed Cuomo’s timeline, she referred to the increase of confirmed cases, hospital admissions and deaths throughout the county increasing. Curran said 2,684 people were tested in the county last Friday, more than any day since the outbreak began in Nassau March 5. Since Saturday, Curran said, the number of Nassau residents who tested positive for the virus increased from 13,346 to 16,610, the highest three-day Continued on Page 28
School districts brace for state aid cuts BY E M M A J ON ES School districts across Nassau County will take a hit in the 2020–2021 year due to financial uncertainty at the state level
resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. How much schools will be affected is yet to be determined. The Senate passed the New York state budget April 2, two
days after the deadline. The budget outlines $177 billion in spending, just $1 billion short of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s prepandemic proposal, despite the state’s projected $15 billion revenue loss this coming fiscal year. Lawmakers “passed something akin to a wish list and punted to the state budget director to figure out
what can and should happen later,” said Maria Doulis, vice president of strategy, operations and communications for the Citizens Budget Commission. The budget allows the state to receive up to $6.7 billion in emergency federal aid. Cuomo’s original plan included $2.5 billion in yearly Medicaid cuts, and therefore would have rendered New York ineligible for the aid,
which is contingent upon the state preserving its existing Medicaid program standards and eligibility guidelines. Robert Mujica, Cuomo’s budget director, clarified at Cuomo’s news conference on April 2 that the state has merely delayed the cuts until the coronavirus crisis has passed to allow the state to receive federal money. Continued on Page 29
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