Westchester Declaring State Of Emergency As COVID Metrics Rise

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Westchester County Executive George Latimer will declare a state of emergency this week as coronavirus infection rates and COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to increase.

At a briefing Monday live-streamed on the government's Facebook page, Latimer said that while Westchester is much better off than this time a year ago, the projection is that the numbers will continue to climb through the holidays. As that happens, he wants the county to have the authority to take any steps that might become necessary.

The comparison between last year and this, with half the active cases, many fewer hospitalizations and far fewer deaths, is a declaration, he said. Two out of three of the people who have died in Westchester County of COVID-19 died in 2020.

"Vaccines have been the single most effective tool in reducing hospitalization, illness and fatality," he said.

Still, he pointed out, the 84 people hospitalized as of Saturday has jumped from 29 a month ago.

And as county executive, he feels the most critical question is, if a Westchester resident needs hospitalization for any reason, is there a bed available, he said. There are 2,700 beds available in the county's 11 hospitals.

He brought in Susan Fox, president and CEO of White Plains Hospital, to talk about the hospital's inclusion in the state's list of those in danger of having to suspend elective surgeries due to a limited number of staffed beds. SEE: HV Hospitals Have Enough Beds To Avoid NY Elective Surgery Order

In the first six weeks of the pandemic White Plains Hospital had 240 COVID-19 patients, compared to 15 today, she said. The hospital needed to flex up to 87 intensive care unit beds from 16. Now just 1 of the 15 patients is in the ICU.

The patients are less sick because of the vaccine, she said. "We've also learned a lot in terms of how we care for patients."

Westchester's almost 93 percent vaccination rate among residents is the best preparation for the expected holiday surge, Fox said.

How these four metrics — cases, infection rate, hospitalizations and deaths — change in the next month will determine what actions the county takes as a government, Latimer said, but it may not have to include the kinds of extreme measures that would have been needed without a vaccine.

"If you prize your freedom, this is the time to act," he said, speaking to both residents and to businesses and organizations about taking steps to protect themselves and their communities. "We reserve the right to mandate anything in the future if it's required ... You'll know I'm not mandating it out of ideology, I'm mandating because the crisis has spun out to a level that can't be managed in other less-intense ways."