Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Malverne, West Hempstead

The number of cases of Covid-19 in Malverne and West Hempstead has steadily increased over the past month. As the Herald went to press on Monday, Malverne had 114 positive cases, while West Hempstead had 297, according to Nassau County Department of Health records.

The statistics come from the department’s interactive Covid-19 map, which tracks the number of cases by neighborhood. Malverne and West Hempstead’s neighboring community, Lakeview, had 118 cases, and Malverne Park Oaks had 12. The map did not include cases pending confirmation by the state Department of Health.

The county has reported more than 24,000 cases since the coronavirus outbreak began last month, with nearly 2,500 hospitalizations and 910 deaths attributed to the virus.

Malverne Mayor Keith Corbett has continued to urge residents to stay home during the pandemic. “The more we stay home, the quicker we can get through the steepest part of the hill,” he said on April 3, “and more importantly, the steeper the decline will be on the other side.”

First responders, such as the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps, have faced challenges in responding to emergencies. Corps President Areeb Yaseen said there had been several changes in how responders identify suspected Covid-19 calls and treat those patients, and how they transport others who suffer cardiac arrest unrelated to the coronavirus.

“There is confusion with patients and [health care] providers because of their knowledge from the news or friends about the virus,” Yaseen said, “versus ours from the Department of Health.”

He added that the changes in cardiac-arrest protocols would lead to much frustration among health care providers and family members of the patients they treat. “Because of the overcrowding in [emergency rooms], we are told to treat cardiac arrests on scene,” Yaseen explained, “and call our medical control doctor to determine whether we should transport the patient, if they have a good change of living.”

In his recent daily press briefings Gov. Andrew Cuomo has noted that the number of new Covid-19 cases has leveled off, and that discussions about reopening the economies of New York and neighboring states have begun.

“New York believes we have reached a plateau” of new cases, Cuomo said on April 13. “This is relatively good news in a world of bad options.”

He also noted, “We still have a long way to go.”

The governor urged people to continue social distancing and practicing sound hygiene. He said he worried that people would see the death and new hospitalization rates declining and try to return to life as normal too soon. That, he said, would jeopardize the progress the state has made over the past 40 days in containing the virus.

In preparing to reopen the state’s economy, Cuomo said, much more testing, and more federal funding, is needed. He estimated that the state faced a deficit of $10 billion to $15 billion, and that without federal funding, cuts would be likely. School districts across the state, the governor said, could see their state aid slashed by 50 percent in 2020-21 without federal assistance.

Scott Brinton contributed to this story.