TWF 318: Rising Cases, Free At-Home CoViD Tests At Mitchell Field. (CoViD Update #12)

 Hello, friends, and a big hat-tip to old TWF friend Jason Bass for a tip-off,

I hope you're all doing well this holiday season.  I know many of us simply aren't, thanks largely to the Omicron strain of CoVID-19 (CoVID-21?), and I know we're all looking for some idea of what's next, so let's start by taking a quick assessment of contemporary reporting: 

Current CoVID Situation: 

According to Long Island Press, Nassau County had about 4,457 positive cases on Tuesday, December 28th.  That's, yanno, yesterday.  News 12's reporting claims that Heckscher State Park in Islip's testing center shut down very early today due to testing demand, suggesting we should expect an increase in positivity rates.  I checked Nassau County's CoVID Website but it's honestly underwhelming and seemingly only displays cumulative data, not daily?  

I dunno.  I do know you should probably cancel any indoor social events you've got planned, and should be following NYS Mandates and CDC Guidance on wearing masks while indoors.  If you aren't already, get vaccinated.  Save yourselves as much sickness and heartache as you can - I know too many people with Long CoVID to suggest taking this lightly.

Free Tests At Mitchell Field:

As per County Executive Laura Curran:

Don't ask me how long 20,000 test kits are going to last.  Don't even ask me if it's a good idea to go out to a place where you know someone is CoVID positive, since you might just take CoVID back home with you.  This is why we need the government (Could be state, could be Federal, I'll accept them from either or both) to mail each individual, I dunno, like six tests to keep in case they're needed.  But, that's a topic for another day.

The point is:  There are free at-home test kits available at this place at this time.  If you can in any way get there, get there.

Jesse Pohlman is an author from Long Island, New York, who was born and raised in Freeport.  He's a Sci-Fi/Fantasy author, so you can check his website for his works.  The Weekly Freeporter is a free, amateur blogging and reporting service.  If you'd like to ask him a question about The Weekly Freeporter, he's doing a 2021 Q&A at this link.

TWF 306 - Nassau County Coronavirus Cases Increasing. Be safe! (CoVID Update #7)

 Greetings, friends,

First, happy Veterans Day; thank you to all those who served.

That said, I come bearing some unfortunate news.  Coronavirus cases in Nassau County have increased significantly in the past week, matching a national trend that's seen the U.S. break 10,000,000 cases nationwide.

Below is the chart for Nassau County:

According to Nassau Executive Laura Curran, the positivity rate for the county is 3.4%.  This means that for every thousand tests, 34 people are positive.  These numbers aren't world-ending, but they reflect a significant concern.

Please make every effort to wear a mask if you're around other people, wash your hands and/or hand-sanitize frequently, minimize non-essential travel, and keep a six-foot social distance from others.

These are scary times, but Nassau has already proven its strength - see that long dip between April/May and now?  We can possibly bend the curve back down if we all work together, acknowlege the threat is real, and apply ourselves accordingly.

With that said, we wish the best to all of those who are ill, and we thank our medical staff for all the hard work they do!

TWF 302: County Executive Orders Schools Closed & More (CoVID Update #5)

Greetings, friends,

Opening note - these may be the strangest times since the end of 2012, huh?

Moving on.

Nassau Executive Curran Orders Nassau County Schools Closed

This is an expansion of Freeport's pre-existing announcement, recorded here, both beyond the 3/16-17 closure, and beyond the local scale.  This is a two-week closure, though staff is permitted to use the facilities for distance learning purposes and others, and it doesn't apply to certain schools for people with special needs.  As always, please check in with your district.

Notice that "Social Distancing" is called for; this is basically just staying in with friends and family; or, at least, not going out to crowded places.

Last, as we've been saying here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!  (That still includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper!  :/ )

TWF 301: Freeport Schools Closed To Students, 3/16 & 3/17 (CoVID-19 Update #4)

Greetings, friends,

Just a brisk update:

According to the latest Superintendent's message at the Freeport Schools website, schools will be closed 3/16/2020 and 3/17/2020 for students:

"We have decided, in an abundance of precaution, to close the schools for students only on Monday, March 16th and Tuesday March 17th to continue preparations for our contingency plans for communication and E-Learning platforms and other related matters to ensure the continuity of education for our students in the event of an extended closing. During these two days, staff will further solidify our E-Learning platforms. We will continue enhanced building sanitizing protocols including the weekends."



Last, as we've been saying here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!  (That still includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper!  :/ )

TWF 300: States Of Emergency Require Calm (CoVID-19 Update #3)

Greetings, friends,

Just a few updates.

First, the Federal Government is taking emergency action over the Coronavirus in order to make more testing available.  Why more testing wasn't available earlier is itself an unexplained question.  The U.S. has been pitifully behind the rest of the world in testing.


Second:  Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has declared a State Of Emergency in order to access more resources.  This includes many facility closures.


Third:  As Laura Curran said as part of the above announcement, IF you are healthy and IF you can, please donate some blood.  There's apparently a lack of donations going on.


Fourth:  As we always say, here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!  (That includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper!  :/ )

TWF 299: Coronavirus Shuts SUNY, CUNY, Nassau & More! Plus, Dr. Kuncham Speaks! (CoVID-19 Update 2)

Hello friends,

I hope you are all doing well!

Freeport-Specific Updates from Dr. Kuncham:  Nassau County Executive Laura Curran gave a press conference with medical and educational leaders - including Freeport's own Superintendent, Dr. Kishore Kuncham, who spoke about issues regarding the spread of dangerous rumors about the virus' impact.  Kuncham also talked reassuringly about the development that's gone on for Freeport's online learning plan, which involves over 6,000 Chromebooks being distributed to students!  He even addressed concerns about internet access for possible students.  (Starts 16:00 min into the video)

Broader Long-Island College & University Closures
A little past 2:00 PM, Governor Cuomo announced that all SUNY and CUNY schools will be transitioning to an online "distance learning" model.  According to Garden City's Patch, Nassau Community College is also closed; Long Island Press provides a more comprehensive listing of closures, including my Alma-Mater, Adelphi University, as well as Molloy College and others.


While there are still very few public school district closures in our area (see the above link to Long Island Press for more details!) - and such closures present infinitely different complications, including but not limited to how children would be supervised, and in some case get fed - the risk exists that certain schools may close in the future due to a confirmed case of exposure, or due to a broader outbreak that is uncontainable with lesser measures.

As always, check with your district's website and administration to confirm any changes you hear about online!

State Worker Aid:  Cuomo has announced that any quarantined/etc NYS workers will get up to two weeks of paid leave.  Private enterprise and other government offices might want to follow suit, especially for places like New Rochelle, where broader quarantines already exist.


To that end:  First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!

TWF 298: Nassau County Coronavirus School closures (CoVID-19 Update #1)

Greetings, friends!

As 2020 continues to be a banner year for Humankind, I'm hopping back on The Weekly Freeporter strictly in an Emergency Response basis.  Please note that this is an ongoing emergency, and that situations change frequently and without warning - and TWF is not a professional outlet, meaning our resources are limited.  Updates will be on a limited basis, and only to serve as a place to collect information.

That said, if you have any leads, reach out and we'll verify as best we can!

Additionally, as with our Hurricane Sandy coverage, while we'll focus on Freeport as possible, this disaster effects, well, all of Humankind, so let's start with just keeping an eye on Nassau County.

According to Governor Andrew Cuomo's latest update on Twitter, about 19 people in Nassau have tested positive for Coronavirus.  ABC News and others report that the National Guard has been called into Rockland County to help those in quarantine get food and supplies.  As more testing takes place, more positives are expected; according to medical professionals I've spoken to, this will help with controlling the outbreak.


To that end:  First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!


Announced Nassau County School District Closures - More detail available from Long Island Press.
Glen Cove
Locust Valley
Oyster Bay
Plainview-Old Bethpage
Shoream-Wading River

It is reasonable to expect more as time goes on.  Additionally, there are many local colleges closed, including Hofstra, Columbia, and Saint John's.  As always, please check in with your school's webpage on a daily basis, and/or keep an eye on the alerts sent to your e-mail/cell phone.


Be safe.