Westchester officials say they are working with state leaders to battle coronavirus outbreak

Westchester County leaders say they are working with the state to provide as much support as possible to battle against the coronavirus outbreak.

News 12 Staff

Mar 23, 2020, 6:32 PM

Updated 1,514 days ago

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Westchester County leaders say they are working with the state to provide as much support as possible to battle against the coronavirus outbreak.  
Westchester has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, trailing behind the more densely populated New York City.
In just three weeks, Westchester has gone from one case of the coronavirus to nearly 3,000 - with the most in New Rochelle, Yonkers and Mount Vernon.
The county expects it will take around 10 days to get the Westchester County Center ready for patients.
In addition to lending the Westchester County Center to the state to open up a 250-bed temporary FEMA hospital, the county is offering additional parking lots and public spaces to open up additional testing sites if needed.
It is also changing public bus policies to require all passengers to enter and exit buses from the rear-door, as well as roping off the first three rows to distance drivers from passengers.
New York is also sending much-needed personal protective equipment to each region in the state.
Westchester is receiving 17,000 N-95 masks, 43,000 surgical masks, and 10,000 face shields.
"We've already tested more people in Westchester County per capita more than any jurisdiction in New York state, more than have been tested in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and the other counties. The more you test, the more positives you find, the more you test the more negatives you find. But keep in mind if you've been tested and you have a negative that's not a permanent negative. That means at the time of your test you weren't exposed to the virus,’ said County Executive George Latimer
At this point, county officials believe every municipality in Westchester has at least one positive case of the virus.
CORONAVIRUS TRACKER - Cases in the tri-state area
CORONAVIRUS PREVENTION: What you can do to protect yourself
PHOTOS: The impact of coronavirus around the world
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