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Coronavirus Updates: New York State To Send Test Kits, PPE To Atlanta

By

Jen Chung

Published Jul 15, 2020

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Altanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on a video screen with Governor Cuomo and Secretary to Governor Melissa de Rosa at a dais

 

Governor Cuomo's office

By

Jen Chung

Published Jul 15, 2020

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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Wednesday, July 15th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 3 of reopening now, which includes nail salons, tattoo parlors, and massage facilities as well as recreation like tennis and basketball courts; dog runs are also reopening. A look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he is sending personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits to Atlanta. "During New York's greatest hour of need, other states sent volunteers, masks and equipment to help us flatten the curve and save lives," he said in a statement on Wednesday. "We are incredibly grateful to the 30,000 volunteers and donations that came to us during that hell. Now that we have flattened the curve and our numbers are strong, we are paying it forward to places like Atlanta, where Mayor Bottoms has been an aggressive and effective leader fighting this virus."

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (Democrat) appeared at Cuomo's press conference on Monday, where she discussed the surge in cases in her city. Bottoms, who currently has the coronavirus, wants to roll back the reopening, but Governor Brian Kemp (Republican) said her order is unenforceable and his mandate of keeping the reopening rolling supersedes any decision she makes.

"We had made it into the second phase, but given where we are, I see that capacity is maxed out in some hospitals, by the day we're getting closer to maxing out. The numbers are ticking up," she said on Monday. "I look at the numbers daily. I have seen numbers that I have not seen since April. As of yesterday afternoon, we were up almost 23 percent over a week. We're headed in the wrong direction. So the city, we've recommended we go back to phase one, which is essentially a stay at home order. Also, we've instituted a mask mandate."

She added, "It's very simple, unless we have a coordinated approach across this country we are going to continue to unnecessarily watch people die. And what makes it even more frustrating and even more disappointing, we didn't have to look to Italy, we could look to New York, and you told us very clearly that if we didn't do things differently in our cities and states we will find ourselves in the same situation that New York was facing, and unfortunately you were correct because throughout the south especially we are getting there in rapid order."

New York State will send the following items to Atlanta, to start, according to the governor's office: 7,500 VTM Test Kits; 7,500 Gown; 7,500 Gloves; 7,500 N95 Masks; 7,500 Face Shields; 2.5 pallets of Styrofoam Coolers; and 1,250 Gallons of Hand Sanitizer.

Cuomo also released the latest COVID-related statistics for New York State; the positivity rate ticked down to 1.3% for Tuesday:

Walmart And Sam's Club Will Require Shoppers To Wear Masks

12:30 p.m. Starting on Monday, shoppers at Walmart stores and Sam's Club locations will be required to wear masks or other face coverings.

"As the number of confirmed cases has spiked in communities across the country recently, so have the number and types of face covering mandates being implemented," Walmart, which is the largest retailer in the country, said in a press release. "Currently about 65 percent of our more than 5,000 stores and clubs are located in areas where there is some form of government mandate on face coverings. To help bring consistency across stores and clubs, we will require all shoppers to wear a face covering starting Monday, July 20th. This will give us time to inform customers and members of the changes, post signage and train associates on the new protocols."

Walmart shoppers at the Coconut Creek, Florida location in April, 2020

Larry Marano/Shutterstock

Newly created "Health Ambassadors" will be stationed at Walmart entrances to remind the maskless of the requirement; the release explains, "Our ambassadors will receive special training to help make the process as smooth as possible for customers. The ambassadors, identifiable by their black polo shirts, will work with customers who show up at a store without a face covering to try and find a solution. We are currently considering different solutions for customers when this requirement takes effect."

Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, and other retailers have become the new arena for disputes over mask wearing and social distancing as COVID-19 spreads across the country at greater rates. Last month, a shopper shoved a Walmart employee at an Orlando, Florida store who asked him to wear a mask:

Today the Palm Beach County Sheriff in Florida asked for the public's help in identifying a man who pulled a gun on other Walmart shoppers after a dispute about mask wearing:

The store's surveillance footage reportedly shows the man being wheeled by the suspect pulling up a red kerchief; the suspect also allegedly threatened to killed the masked man he had the dispute with.

There are 3,448,625 coronavirus cases in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins Univeresity.

Judge Won't Allow NJ Movie Theaters To Immediately Reopen

An attempt by a group of movie theater chains and an industry trade group to reopen venues in New Jersey was knocked down by a federal judge on Tuesday. However, the judge is asking for the state to explain why movie theaters should be treated differently than, say, a religious gathering.

An empty parking lot of the AMC movie theatre in Clifton, New Jersey, on April 5, 2020

Ted Shaffrey/AP/Shutterstock

Chains like AMC, Cinemark, Regal, and Bow Tie Cinemas, plus the National Association of Theatre Owners, sued New Jersey last week, claiming that "the government-mandated total closure of movie theaters is neither fair nor reasonable." As the Wall Street Journal reported, "The complaint also zeroes in on [Governor Phil] Murphy’s move to allow churches to host in-person services at limited capacity. In its most recent proposal, New Jersey has said churches could reopen on a limited basis, allowing no more than 100 people or 25% of room capacity. That is particularly unfair to theaters, the association claims, because some exhibitors lend out their auditoriums to church groups that could theoretically meet under New Jersey guidelines."

The lawsuit argued, “A movie theater could host religious services on Sunday morning but would have to close showing movies on Sunday afternoon to an audience of the same size in the same auditorium following the same distancing requirements." The suit also noted that malls have reopened in New Jersey, but the state has not set a date for when movie theaters can reopen.

The group said they proposed safety measures for reopening, but the state "[has] chosen to continue to discriminate against movie theaters and to continue to require the closure of indoor movie theaters. The ostensible reason offered by Defendants is that there are other and virtual ways to watch movies. Defendants have not applied this rationale to the other places of public assembly that Defendants have permitted to reopen.”

Further, the theater owners say that public health experts consider religious gatherings more dangerous for the spread of coronavirus, because there is singing (as well as more speaking than in a movie theater).

In his decision, Judge Brian Martinotti denied the group's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) related to Executive Order 104, which shutdown businesses across the state during the pandemic. The TRO would have allowed them to reopen in some capacity, but Martinotti questioned why the movie theater chains didn't sue after the order was issued in mid-March.

"They had ample opportunities to file a request for a temporary restraining order after the governor’s initial executive order, subsequent modifications thereto, and the filing of this complaint," he wrote. "It is noteworthy that, as plaintiffs file this application, states that initially ordered the re-opening of indoor movie theaters have once again ordered their closure in response to rising COVID-19 infection numbers."

Martinotti gave Murphy and NJ Health Commissioner Judith Perischelli until August 4th to explain why movie theaters should be treated differently than the reduced-capacity religious gatherings and political gatherings.

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COVID-19

covid-19 updates

coronavirus

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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