Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 13, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A8 A 8 MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020 ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I COVID-19 PANDEMIC NEW YORK - Despite some hopeful signs that the infection rate is plateau- ing, New York has had its deadliest week since the coronavirus outbreak began. Officials announced Sunday that the state's daily death toll had topped 700 for the sixth straight day. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, two Democrats, remained at odds over the mayor's plan to keep city schools closed through the rest of the academic year, with the governor saying it is too early to make that call. NEW YORK'S WORST WEEK By the end of the day Saturday, New York had recorded 758 more deaths from the virus, another crushing day of losses in a week full of them. At least 5,226 people died in the state in the week that ended Saturday, rais- ing the total number of deaths to 9,385 since the outbreak began. The continuing crush of fatalities has been reflected on the streets of New York City, where refrigerated trailers serving as temporary morgues have become a regular sight outside the hardest-hit hospitals. There have been some signs of prog- ress. The number of people hospital- ized with the virus has stabilized, with around 18,700 patients at the end of the day Saturday. That was up only 73 since the previous day. After visiting a nursing home near Albany and shouting thanks and sup- port to the staff through closed win- dows, Cuomo told reporters back at the state capitol he remains hopeful spring will bring better news. "What spring says to all of us is it's a time of rebirth, that no matter how cold the winter, no matter how barren the landscape got, the earth comes back to life," Cuomo said. "This has been a cold period from a societal point of view. And we've closed down in a way we've never closed down, but we will come back to life and we will have a rebirth. And that's what spring is all about." NURSING HOMES The virus has ripped through New York's nursing homes, with nearly 1,900 patients killed through Saturday. Measures like barring visitors haven't stopped the spread. More than 5,500 residents at 338 nursing homes have tested positive for the corona- virus. There are about 96,000 residents at 613 licensed state nursing homes. More than 2,700 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded at nursing homes nationwide. WILL SCHOOLS STAY CLOSED? Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio remained at odds Sunday over the mayor's announcement that the 1.1 million students in the nation's largest district wouldn't return to classrooms this school year. After Cuomo challenged de Blasio's authority to make that decision unilat- erally, the mayor doubled down Sunday, saying, "We were quite certain it was the right thing to do." "I don't think anyone can make an informed decision right now," Cuomo responded. De Blasio said his goal is to reopen school sites by September, adding that high school graduates may have to go without a commencement ceremony. NOT ENOUGH MASKS? Unions for health care workers con- tinue to decry what they say is a lack of enough protective equipment at hos- pitals. The New York State Nurses Associa- tion reported shortages of respirators, masks, gloves and protective gowns, ac- cording to a letter sent Saturday to the state's health department. Cuomo's top aide Melissa DeRosa said Sunday that the supply chain for those items should have improved by now to the point where hospitals should no longer have to ration supplies. She said state officials are investigat- ing anecdotal reports of rationing to see why it is occurring, and whether the state can help. HOTELS FOR THE HOMELESS De Blasio says the city is going for- ward with a plan to move 6,000 home- less people from shelters to commercial hotels to try to limit the virus' spread. The plan involves moving people who have tested positive or showing COVID-19 symptoms and is also meant to thin out shelters where social distan- cing is difficult to achieve. The city says 20 homeless people have died from the virus. There are about 58,000 people in the shelter system and another 4,000 or so on city streets. -The Associated Press New York suffers deadliest week yet Virus hospitalization rates stabilize in sign of hope N EW YORK - Christians cele-brated Easter Sunday isolated in their homes by the coronavirus while pastors preached the faith's joy- ous news of Christ's resurrection to empty pews. St. Peter's Square was bar- ricaded to keep out crowds, while one Florida church drew a large turnout for a drive-in service in a parking lot. Britain's Prime Minister Boris John- son, released from the hospital after a week of treatment for COVID-19, paid an emotional tribute to the country's National Health Service, saying its doc- tors and nurses had saved his life"no question." He especially thanked two nurses who stood by his bedside for 48 hours"when things could have gone either way." The strangeness of this Easter was evident at the Vatican. St. Peter's Square, where tens of thousands would normally gather to hear Pope Francis, was empty. Francis celebrated Easter Mass inside the largely vacant basilica, calling for global solidarity to confront the"epochal challenge" of the pandem- ic and urging political leaders to give hope and opportunity to people who've lost jobs. Worldwide, families who normally would attend church in their Easter best and later enjoy festive group meals stayed home. Police checkpoints in Eur- ope and outside closed churches else- where left the faithful watching servi- ces online or on TV. Some U.S. pastors went ahead with in-person services despite state or local bans on large gatherings. At the Happy Gospel Church in Bradenton, Florida, about 100 cars carrying 250 people gathered in the parking lot to hear Pastor Bill Bailey's Easter sermon. Some sat in lawn chairs or on tailgates, but families stayed at least 6 feet apart; those in their cars oc- casionally honked to convey agreement with Bailey's remarks. In Louisiana, a pastor who is facing misdemeanour charges for holding ser- vices despite a ban on gatherings, said people from every state and all but one continent attended his Easter service Sunday morning. "My hope is not in a vaccine for a virus, but all my hope is in Jesus," Rev. Tony Spell said during the service shown online at Life Tabernacle Church in the city of Central. Worshipers could be heard clapping, singing and responding"Amen" during the service, though it was not clear how many attended. U.S. President Donald Trump had said he planned to watch an online ser- vice led by the Rev. Robert Jeffress of the Southern Baptist megachurch First Baptist Dallas, although the White House wouldn't confirm whether he did. The pastor, a staunch ally of the president, mentioned Trump in his re- marks. "We are going to get through this crisis with your continued strong leadership and the power of God," Jef- fress said. In their own Easter message, Trump and his wife, Melania, paid tribute to the medical professionals, first responders and other essential workers striving to combat the pandemic. Back on March 24, at a Fox News vir- tual town hall, Trump had broached the possibility that the U.S. could emerge from widespread lockdowns by this weekend. "I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter," he said. "Wouldn't it be great to have all of the churches full?" Trump said in a subse- quent interview. "You'll have packed churches all over our country." Instead, most churches were empty, including St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, which is the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who led a televised Mass, said he was pleased con- gregants could have a virtual celebra- tion. "We miss you though," he added. "We'd rather you be here physically." In the morning, members of churches from across New York sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" from balconies and windows. "Even if you didn't hear everyone, God heard everyone," said Kathy Kel- ler, of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, who helped organize the event online. In Europe, countries used roadblocks, fines and other tactics to keep people from travelling over an Easter weekend with beautiful spring weather. The Italian government said week- end police patrols resulted in more than 12,500 people being sanctioned and 150 facing criminal charges of violating lockdown measures. On the hopeful side, officials said Italy recorded the lowest number of new coronavirus dead in three weeks, with 431 people dying in the past day to bring its total to over 19,800. As hard-hit countries like Italy and Spain see reduced daily virus infec- tions and deaths, economic pressures are mounting to loosen the tight restric- tions on daily life. Southern Europe and the United States, whose death toll of over 22,000 is now the world's highest, have been the recent focal points of the pandemic. But coronavirus hot spots have been shifting, with new concerns rising in Japan, Turkey and Britain, where the death toll passed 10,000. Uncertainties loomed about the months ahead, with a top European Union official suggesting people hold off on making any summer vacation plans. Some European nations started ten- tative moves to ease their shutdowns. Spain, which on Sunday reported its lowest daily growth in infections in three weeks, will allow workers in some nonessential industries to return to fac- tories and construction sites Monday. More than 1.8 million infections have been reported and over 114,000 people have died worldwide, accord- ing to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has the most confirmed cases, over 555,000. The numbers likely don't show the full toll, due to limited testing, uneven counting of the dead and some governments playing down the extent of outbreaks. -The Associated Press Joy of Easter celebrated in solitary Amid pandemic, Christians mark an Easter like no other DAVID CRARY AND NICOLE WINFIELD ANDREAS SOLARO / POOL PHOTO VIA AP Pope Francis delivers his blessing during Easter Sunday Mass inside an empty St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Sunday, as Christians participated in Easter celebrations in isolation. NEW YORK - More than 3,600 deaths nationwide have been linked to corona- virus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, an alarming rise in just the past two weeks, accord- ing to the latest count by The Associ- ated Press. Because the federal government has not been releasing a count of its own, the AP has kept its own running tally based on media reports and state health departments. The latest count of at least 3,621 deaths is up from about 450 deaths just 10 days ago. But the true toll among the 1 million mostly frail and elderly people who live in such facilities is likely much higher, experts say, because most state counts don't include those who died without ever being tested for COVID-19. Outbreaks in just the past few weeks have included one at a nursing home in Richmond, Virginia, that has killed 42 and infected more than 100, another at a nursing home in central Indiana that has killed 24 and infected 16, and one at a veteran's home in Holyoke, Mass., that has killed 38, infected 88 and prompted a federal investigation. This comes weeks after an outbreak at a nursing home in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland that has so far claimed 43 lives. Those are just the known outbreaks. Most states provide only total numbers of nursing home deaths and don't give details of specific outbreaks. Notable among them is the nation's leader, New York, which accounts for 1,880 nursing home deaths out of about 96,000 total residents but has so far declined to de- tail specific outbreaks, citing privacy concerns. Experts say nursing home deaths may keep climbing because of chron- ic staffing shortages that have been made worse by the coronavirus crisis, a shortage of protective supplies and a continued lack of available testing. And the deaths have skyrocketed despite steps taken by the federal gov- ernment in mid-March to bar visitors, cease all group activities, and require that every worker be screened for fever or respiratory symptoms at every shift. An AP report earlier this month found that infections were continuing to find their way into nursing homes because such screenings didn't catch people who were infected but asymptomatic. Several large outbreaks were blamed on such spreaders, including infected health workers who worked at several different nursing home facilities. This past week, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that regulates nursing homes issued recommendations urging nursing homes to use separate staffing teams for residents, and to designate separate facilities within nursing homes to keep COVID-19 positive residents away from those who have tested negative. Dr. Deborah Birx, who leads the White House coronavirus response, suggested this past week that as more COVID-19 tests become available, nurs- ing homes should be a top priority. "We need to really ensure that nurs- ing homes have sentinel surveillance. And what do I mean by that? That we're actively testing in nursing homes, both the residents and the workers, at all times," Birx said. -The Associated Press Virus deaths soar at U.S. care homes BERNARD CONDON AND RANDY HERSCHAFT PIPPA FOWLES/10 DOWNING STREET VIA AP Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks from 10 Downing Street on Sunday praising the National Health Service, after being hospitalized a week recovering from the coronavirus. A_08_Apr-13-20_FP_01.indd A8 2020-04-12 10:56 PM ;