Wednesday, April 22
If you have an immediate need, call (607) 288-3252
As always, community members looking for more information on local health resources and resources related to COVID-19 can contact 2-1-1 by calling 1-877-211-8667 or visiting 211tompkins.orgMutual Aid Tompkins Facebook PageMutual Aid Tompkins Facebook GroupMutual Aid Tompkins Immediate Needs Facebook GroupMutual Aid Tompkins Food Systems Facebook GroupMutual Aid Tompkins: Parent Support GroupMutual Aid Tompkins Community FormMutual Aid Tompkins Community Resource FolderDonate
We are neighbors concerned about our communities and helping to make sure those most vulnerable and affected by COVID-19 get the support they need. We are volunteer run, with no paid staff, and our aid comes directly from the community. We have created a PayPal & Venmo account and the money donated is going directly to people who have made requests through our immediate needs page. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fundraiser that is in partnership with Tompkins County Worker's Center, You can also make donations through PayPal here and our Venmo here. Thank you!
Need Help Finding Help? Contact 2-1-1 Tompkins Cortland. I just want to remind people of this help desk and referral service. Callers are referred to service providers according to their needs. 2-1-1 may follow up with callers, when appropriate, to ensure that contact was made and to offer further assistance if needed. Some common questions include locations to find food, legal issues with housing, how to access healthcare, and finding employment. 2-1-1 is active 24 hours a day 365 days of the year. To access 2-1-1 by text, message your zip code to TXT211 or 898211. Texting service is available Mon-Fri 9:00 am – 4:00 pm). You can also access 2-1-1 services by email (iandr@hsctc.org) or by visiting their website.
Local
Tracking
Tompkins County Health Department
Most recent data can always be found on the Tompkins County Health Department website.
Total Tested: 2,996
Pending Results: 172
Positive Test Results:124
Recovered: 94
Currently Hospitalized: 5
Total Deaths: 2 (both non-county residents)
The Cayuga Health Sampling Site is open Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. To pre-register, call Cayuga Health Registration Line at 607-319-5708, or go online to cayugahealthsystem.org.
Need a ride to the Sampling Site? After you have registered, call 2-1-1 to schedule a safe and free ride with ASAP Cab Company. 2-1-1 is available 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. to schedule rides to the Sampling Site
This is a helpful resource built by local resident Marty Hiller (it takes a few seconds to load). She has graphed all the data we have been getting from TC and for Cortland. You can see the classic exponential curve we would expect to see in an infectious disease outbreak with a predictive continued curve had we had no intervention. Mapped on the same graph is the observed curve of spread with the interventions that we as a community have taken.
Wednesday, April 22 — The latest data from the Tompkins County Health Department shows positive cases of COVID-19 have gone up just 1, for a total of 124 positives. Hospitalizations are down by the same margin –– now at 5 as one person was discharged.
News
Cornell University set to receive $12.8 million from CARES act - Cornell University is set to receive $12.8 million as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by the federal government in late March. One of the provisions of the act is that at least 50% of the money received must be reserved to provide students with emergency financial aid grants to help cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus –– Cornell has committed to 100%. Read more here.
Locals work to fight growing food insecurity due to COVID-19 - Physical isolation complicates access to necessities
Health
Cloth Masks Available for Immediate Distribution to Essential Businesses from the Tompkins County Emergency Operations Center
(Ithaca, NY – April 22, 2020) – Essential businesses that need cloth masks for their employees are encouraged to make requests through this form - this was made in partnership with the Tompkins Chamber and other local mask-making efforts. More information and updates available on the Tompkins County Health Department website.
From Tompkins County Worker Center:
You may be eligible for workers' compensation, disability or paid family/sick leave benefits: If you have become ill with COVID-19 as a result of your work you should be eligible for Workers’ Compensation for your lost worktime and medical expenses. Notify your employer immediately and file workers' compensation Form C-3 with the NYS Workers' Compensation Board, doing both as soon as possible. On the C-3 form you will be asked: 1) to describe when your illness started; 2) to provide details about the symptoms you've experienced. Your employer may try to claim that your illness was not a result of your work, but the decision is up to the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board, not your employer. If you need advice or support contact the Occupational Health Clinical Center (funded by NYS Department of Health),
If you contracted COVID-19 away from work, file for NYS disability benefits.
If your job was deemed non-essential and you were laid off, apply for Unemployment Insurance from the NYS Department of Labor.
If you are under an order of mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation for COVID-19 issued by a governmental entity (e.g. Department of Health), file for Paid Family Leave or Paid Sick Leave.
If your minor child is under an order of mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation for COVID-19 issued by a governmental entity (e.g. Department of Health), file for Paid Family Leave.
If you are caring for a family member who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, file for Paid Family Leave.
If your child(ren)'s school was closed and you must care for them, learn more about your eligibility for paid sick leave from your employer under the new COVID-19 federal law.
Find Help & Give Help
New Resources for Food Delivery and Safe Rides to Covid-19 Testing: Local residents have new options for food delivery and transportation to the Cayuga Health Sampling Site due to recent actions taken by a group of transportation service providers and partner agencies including United Way of Tompkins County, Food Bank of the Southern Tier, Human Services Coalition, Tompkins County Health Department, TCAT, Center for Community Transportation and Way2Go.
Free and safe rides in a sanitized vehicle now are available for individuals scheduled for COVID-19 testing at the Cayuga Health Sampling Site located at The Shops at Ithaca Mall. Individuals first must register for testing online at or by calling 607-319-5708, then call 2-1-1 between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm to schedule a ride with ASAP cab company. There is no charge for this service.
For emergency or regular food delivery, individuals should call 2-1-1 between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm for assistance. Emergency food requests will be directed to the United Way of Tompkins County which is organizing deliveries from the food hub via Gadabout.
To support these efforts, individuals may volunteer to deliver goods by bicycle, and can be set up with a bike delivery rig if one is needed. More information is available here.
Way2Go is a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County that works to keep the Tompkins County community informed of the various transportation changes and emerging solutions arising in response to COVID-19. Visit Way2Go.org for news and updates. We ask that you do your part to share this information with your staff, clients and neighbors to ensure anyone in need has access to these resources.
Activities and Events
30th anniversary Grassroots Festival postponed to July 2021
Organizers of Grassroots Festival have announced that the 30th-anniversary installment of the festival, set for this summer, will be pushed off to 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rumors swirled Tuesday evening after an email went out to vendors registered for this year's festival informing them of the changes, though the announcement had not been made to ticket holders or the public yet. A request for comment Wednesday morning directed the Ithaca Voice to the festival's website, where a video message and letter were posted making the announcement. Read more here.
State
Updates from Governor Cuomo:
A new nation-leading COVID-19 contact tracing program to control the rate of infection of the virus. This program will help us control the infection rate of Coronavirus and will be executed in coordination with New Jersey and Connecticut. It will serve as an important resource to gather data and be a model to replicate across the country. Bloomberg Philanthropies is committing $10.5 million, along with organizational support and technical assistance, to help build and execute this new program, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will build an online curriculum and training program for contact tracers. This program will be crucial as we start our work to safely reopen our economy. I thank former Mayor Michael Bloomberg for this exciting partnership.
While New York is on PAUSE, families of public employees won't need to wait to access retirement benefits. A recently signed Executive Order waives the 15-day waiting period. This allows families who may lose a relative to Coronavirus to receive these benefits sooner.
The New York State Department of Financial Services announced new measures to help hospitals. DFS will direct health insurers to provide financial and administrative relief to New York State hospitals in response to COVID-19. Health insurers will be required to immediately pay out claims to hospitals and to work with the neediest hospitals to provide additional financial assistance. That means hospitals can focus more on life-saving medical care.
The NY National Guard Civil Support Team is helping test medical workers for COVID-19. The 22 Soldiers and Airmen on the team are trained to detect the presence of biological, chemical and radiological hazards using a sophisticated mobile laboratory. They have adapted this technology to run COVID-19 tests, and are now testing on-site medical workers stationed at the Javits Center, which has been used as an overflow facility for COVID patients.
The State's antibody testing survey results will be announced in a few days. Earlier this week, New York began administering the survey in supermarkets and other locations statewide. The results of the random testing will show us for the first time what percentage of the population has actually had the virus and will help us to reopen and rebuild without jeopardizing what we've already accomplished.
National
"Trump heralds states ‘safely coming back,’ but local concerns mount"
Quint Forgey for POLITICO
"President Donald Trump on Wednesday applauded certain states for taking steps in recent days to begin reopening their economies, as the mostly Republican governors who have slackened coronavirus mitigation measures continued to face criticism from local leaders and public health experts." Read more here.
