With COVID-19 case numbers and positivity rates continuing to rise across NYC and many people traveling for the holidays and Thanksgiving, measures are being taken to help keep the virus under control and treat patients in need.
And one of those we haven’t seen since the spring when the pandemic was peaking across New York: temporary COVID-19 field hospitals. You probably remember these popping up all over the city, from Central Park, to tennis stadiums in Queens to even historic cathedrals, most made from tents. [featured image source: Shutterstock (stock photo of Manhattan field hospital)]
Well, one just went up in one of NYC’s current “orange zones,” the east shore of Staten Island. The space was erected as Staten Island hospitals near capacity, with hospitalizations essentially tripling over the past few weeks, according to Governor Cuomo. The zone designations are the Governor’s way of controlling the spread but enacting certain regulations, moving from yellow to orange to red zones. The orange zones includes rules like closing indoor dining and number of people at private gatherings.
The hospital, which is on the grounds of the South Beach Psychiatric Center in Ocean Breeze, accepted their first patient last week, and are able to serve up to 108 patients, according to the Staten Island Advance.
The current 7-day rolling average positivity rate in the Staten Island orange zone (most of the South and East Shore) is 4.83%, while in the yellow zone (the rest of the island) it is 3.71% (according to the state government).