This Morning’s Bulletin — 4.8.20

April 8, 2020April 11, 2020 Beth Young 0 Comments

Good Morning!

• We’re expecting a 30 percent chance of showers today, mainly before 11 a.m., with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 56, with a north wind 5 to 9 miles per hour, becoming northeast in the afternoon. It will be mostly cloudy this evening, with a low around 42 and isolated minor coastal flooding due to the full moon. Thursday will be breezy, with showers likely, along with thunderstorms after 2 p.m., with more widespread local flooding Thursday evening. The high Thursday will be near 55 degrees. Friday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

• Suffolk County again reported the greatest number of deaths in a single day from Covid-19 on Tuesday, after breaking records twice over the weekend. Sixty-four people had died from the disease in the prior 24 hours, up from a record of 51 people set over the weekend, according to County Executive Steve Bellone. Seventy-three people were also released from the hospital in the past 24 hours.

• As of Tuesday, there were 1,517 people hospitalized with Covid-19 in the county, with 506 people intubated in ICU. The county reported there are currently 631 available hospital beds in the county, 96 of them ICU beds. On the East End, there are currently 226 cases in Southold, 220 in Southampton, 163 in Riverhead, 67 in East Hampton and three on Shelter Island.

• Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Tuesday that data seems to show the county is having some success in “flattening the curve” of coronavirus infections. “We need to stay the course and make sure we are winning the battle,” he said. “We need to see more data. The pressure health care workers are under is still there. It will be that way for an extended period of time whether there is good news or not.”

*Suffolk County appears to be flattening the curve in total number of coronavirus cases over the past few days.*

• Eastern Long Island Hospital Foundation Board Members Peter and Erica Harold have donated a GeneXpert® diagnostic system, a vital piece of equipment to aid Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in the fight against coronavirus. Thanks to the Harolds’ long-standing generosity, SBELIH’s laboratory is already equipped with one GeneXpert® diagnostic system that delivers a rapid flu diagnosis in 30 minutes. Cepheid, the manufacturer of this equipment, has received FDA approval to test for COVID-19 on this same equipment with a 45-minute turnaround time for results. The new GeneXpert® system has a higher test capacity that will allow the hospital to perform six tests every 45 minutes, as opposed to the current two-chamber equipment that performs two tests at once. The hospital believes the extra capacity and quick turnaround time will be significantly beneficial to its medical staff, the community, and the Department of Health. It will also better prepare the hospital for future outbreaks.

• The Riverhead Central School District has offered the use of its 3D printers to assist Stony Brook University’s iCreate department in printing face shields and personal protective equipment for health care workers on the front lines, an effort that has engaged public schools and libraries with 3D printers throughout the county.

• In order to help ensure the health and safety of Southold Town workers and members of the community, the Annual Spring Brush & Leaf Clean-Up is being postponed until further notice due to the COVID-19 virus. To keep updated on COVID-19 news and information please check the Town’s website at www.southoldtownny.gov. For more information, please contact the Highway Dept. at 631.765.3140.

The high tides on the East End for the next two days are as follows:

April 8
Plum Gut Harbor: 10:40 a.m., 11:01 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 9:48 a.m., 10:09 p.m.
Greenport: 11:17 a.m., 11:38 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 12:19 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 11:12 a.m., 11:33 p.m.
New Suffolk: 12:10 a.m., 12:39 p.m.
South Jamesport: 12:17 a.m., 12:46 p.m.
Shinn. Bay Entrance: 9:53 a.m., 10:22 p.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 8:02 a.m., 8:31 p.m.

April 9
Plum Gut Harbor: 11:31 a.m., 11:52 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 10:39 a.m., 11 p.m.
Greenport: 12:08 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 12:39 a.m., 1:09 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 12:03 p.m.
New Suffolk: 1 a.m., 1:30 p.m.
South Jamesport: 1:07 a.m., 1:37 p.m.
Shinn. Bay Entrance: 10:43 a.m., 11:11 p.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 8:52 a.m., 9:20 p.m.

And that’s the way things look at dawn’s light here today.