NY NIGHTMARE: Gov. Kathy Hochul Orders Halt On Elective Surgery Amid COVID, ‘Omicron’

Who’d have imagined someone so bad could make mass murdering Cuomo look good?

The Democrat are literally killing people.

Gov. Kathy Hochul orders halt on elective surgery amid COVID spike, Omicron

By: Carl Campanile, NY Post, November 30, 2021:

ADVERTISEMENT

Here we go again.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Friday to postpone elective hospital surgeries — something that hasn’t been done since the worst of the initial coronavirus outbreak last year.

Hochul said she made the move to deal with staffing shortages and boost bed capacity amid an anticipated “spike” in new cases and the emergence of the new Omicron variant in South Africa. The strain is named after a letter of the Greek alphabet.

“We’ve taken extraordinary action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and combat this pandemic. However, we continue to see warning signs of spikes this upcoming winter, and while the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it’s coming,” Hochul said.

“In preparation, I am announcing urgent steps today to expand hospital capacity and help ensure our hospital systems can tackle any challenges posed by the pandemic as we head into the winter months. The vaccine remains one of our greatest weapons in fighting the pandemic, and I encourage every New Yorker to get vaccinated, and get the booster if you’re fully vaccinated.”

The edict curbing non-essential surgeries will kick in for hospitals with a limited capacity — defined as at or below 10 percent of available staffed bed capacity.

ADVERTISEMENT

The new protocols will take effect on Friday, Dec. 3, and will be re-evaluated based on the latest COVID-19 data on Jan. 15.

The executive order will also enable the state to more quickly any critical supplies to combat the pandemic, she said.

Hochul’s action comes as her upstate neighbors have been ignoring her pleas to get vaccinated.

The upstate regions have both the highest COVID-19 positivity rates and stubbornly lowest vaccination rates compared to New York City, state Department of Health Department data reveal.

The new protocols will take effect on Friday, Dec. 3, and will be re-evaluated based on the latest COVID-19 data on Jan. 15.

The executive order will also enable the state to more quickly any critical supplies to combat the pandemic, she said.

Hochul’s action comes as her upstate neighbors have been ignoring her pleas to get vaccinated.

ADVERTISEMENT

The upstate regions have both the highest COVID-19 positivity rates and stubbornly lowest vaccination rates compared to New York City, state Department of Health Department data reveal.

While advising residents to continue mask-wearing indoors and to practice good hygiene and get tested for COVID-19, she added, “The vaccine also remains one of our greatest weapons in fighting the pandemic, and this news further emphasizes the need for each of us to get vaccinated and get the booster if you’re fully vaccinated.”

But the COVID-19 positivity rate has been soaring upstate entering the Thanksgiving weekend while remaining low in New York City.

“The virus is still lurking among us,” said Ayman El-Mohandes, dean of the CUNY School of Public Health. “The low vaccination rates and high positivity rate upstate is very concerning.”

The highest COVID-19 positivity rate in the state was in her Hochul’s backyard — the Buffalo/Western New York region, where 9.67 percent of residents test positive as of Thursday. Erie County has re-imposed a mask mandate indoors to address the flare-up in cases.

The three-days average COVID positivity rate by other regions: Finger Lakes, 8.85 percent; North Country/Adirondacks: 7.82 percent; Mohawk Valley, 7.7 percent; Syracuse/Central NY, 6.46 percent; and the Albany/Capital Region, 6.96 percent.

Meanwhile the positivity rate in New York City — where there are strong mandates for government workers to get vaccinated — the positivity rate 1.65 percent. That’s less than half the state’s 3.84 percent average.