Coronavirus In Nassau: Mass Layoffs Expected; Cases Top 10,000

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — Hundreds of Nassau County businesses have laid off workers amid the coronavirus crisis and hundreds more are expected to do so in the coming months, according to a survey released by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran Thursday. The dire economic news came as coronavirus cases in the county surpassed 10,000 and the number of deaths neared 100.

There were 10,587 cases as of Thursday, marking the second day in a row of an overnight jump of more than 1,000. There were 19 new deaths since Wednesday: 15 men and four women ranging in ages from 41 to 96 years old. That brought total deaths in the county to 95.

There were 92 confirmed cases in Nassau County police departments (that includes county, village and city police), and 176 police department members in quarantine. There were 12 positive cases in the Nassau County Sheriff's Department and nine inmates at the Nassau County Jail in quarantine.

Both Nassau and Suffolk counties are seeing large numbers of new cases each day, a trend that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called "troubling." He said the state is watching the cases on Long Island.

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The business survey was part of an economic task force that Curran created to assess the economic damage caused by the coronavirus. The plan, she said, is to use the data collected when the county petitions state and federal governments for aid.

According to Curran, 1,141 local businesses, many of which are small businesses with fewer than 25 employees, responded to the survey, which was conducted by Hofstra University. The results were sobering: More than half of the businesses that responded said they have already laid off workers, and nearly all said they would perform layoffs by the end of the year.

More than half said they don't expect to make any profit this year and are barely staying afloat. About 80 percent said they would need to take out loans to stay in business.

"It's painful now, and we know it'll be painful down the road," Curran said.

Curran said she is working with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone to compile regional data for all of Long Island, since the economies of the two counties are closely linked.

At a news conference Wednesday, Cuomo said that models suggested the peak of cases in New York will come at the end of April. That means that many spring holidays, like Easter, Passover and Ramadan, are going to be celebrated differently this year.

Curran, joined by leaders of different faiths, urged residents to celebrate the holidays at home, even if that means celebrating by yourself.

"We can celebrate in our hearts, we can celebrate in our souls, and we can celebrate through technology," Curran said.

With Palm Sunday coming up, many Christians are going to have to change how they receive palms, officials said. Bishop Lionel Harvey of the First Baptist Cathedral of Westbury said his church will prepare individually wrapped palms for parishioners and hand them out in a drive-thru at the cathedral. The people handling the palms will wear masks and gloves, he said. Other congregants will deliver the wrapped palms to the mailboxes of those who can't leave their homes.

The Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre already announced that it will bless the palms and store them until the pandemic is over. Once Masses resume, parishioners will be able to receive their palms.

Passover is quickly approaching, and while Seders with the whole family are the usual practice, Rabbi Anchelle Perl of the Chabad of Mineola urged the Jewish community to have small seders at home and to use technology to reach out to their families.

"I'm no Moses, but I can assure you that keeping social distancing, even at the expense of having people at the Seder table, is now one of the Ten Commandments," Perl said. "At least for the time being."

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