Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - Reopening of New York State is still on track to be allowed after May 15th on a regional basis as they meet seven guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control(CDC)
The Western New York region has only met three of the seven criteria for reopening so far and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has indicated he feels reopening in Erie County is more likley by June 1st.
Cuomo late Friday issued an executive order extending some abstract aspects of the NY Pause order, however it doesn't impact regional ability to begin reopening if the guidelines are met.
New York State Secretary Melissa Derosa issued the following statement Saturday clarifying the executive order:
"Yesterday's Executive Order extended the underlying legal authority for the Emergency Order, but did not change the text of any of the directives in NY ON PAUSE and so the expiration date of May 15 still stands until further notice. At that time, new guidance will be issued for regions based on the metrics outlined by Governor Cuomo earlier this week."
The State Department of Health is investigating several cases of severe illness in children and child deaths that may be related to COVID-19. There have been 73 reported cases in New York where children are experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19, and on Thursday a 5-year-old boy passed away in New York City from these COVID-related complications. The Governor has directed the Department of Health to work with the CDC to develop a case definition for this illness to determine whether the remaining cases under investigation are definitively associated with the syndrome.
At the direction of Governor Cuomo, the State Department of Health has issued an advisory about this serious inflammatory disease, called "Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19," to inform healthcare providers of the condition, as well as to provide guidance for testing and reporting. Health care providers, including hospitals, are required to report to the Department of Health all cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with COVID-19 in those under 21 years of age.
New Yorkers should seek immediate care if a child has:
Prolonged fever (more than five days)
Difficulty feeding (infants) or is too sick to drink fluids
Severe abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting
Change in skin color - becoming pale, patchy and/or blue
Trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly
Racing heart or chest pain
Decreased amount of frequency in urine
Lethargy, irritability or confusion
"There's still so much we don't know about COVID-19, and in the beginning we were led to believe that the good news about this virus was it didn't affect children," Governor Cuomo said. "Now we have a new issue that we're looking at where some children affected with the COVID-19 virus are becoming ill with symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome. This would be really painful news and would open up an entirely different chapter in our fight against this virus, and the State Department of Health is currently investigating these cases to learn more. In the meantime, we are cautioning all people to look out for the symptoms of this serious illness and to seek help immediately if your child is sick."
