Governor Cuomo also proposed the "Americans First
Law" which states that a corporation cannot be eligible to receive government
funding if it does not rehire the same number of employees that the corporation
had before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor also announced he will issue an Executive Order
mandating that all nursing homes and adult care facilities test all personnel
for COVID-19 two times per week and report any positive test results to the
State Department of Health by the next day. The Executive Order also mandates
that hospitals cannot discharge a patient to a nursing home unless that patient
tests negative for COVID-19. All nursing home and adult care facility
administrators will be required to submit a plan on how they will accomplish
this testing and a certificate of compliance with this Executive Order to the
State Department of Health by Friday May 15th.
Any nursing home or adult care facility found to be in
violation of the Executive Order may have its operating certificate suspended
or revoked or may be subject to a penalty for non-compliance of $2,000 per
violation per day. Additionally, any personnel who refuse to be tested for
COVID-19 will be considered to have outdated or incomplete health assessments
and therefore will be prohibited from working in the nursing home or adult care
facility until testing is performed.
The Governor also announced that the Department of Health
and Human Services is distributing a promising treatment called Remdesivir that
has been shown to help patients infected with COVID-19 recover more quickly.
The Department of Health and Human Services has sent New York enough antiviral
to treat 2,900 people at 15 hospitals and will send more doses in the coming
weeks to treat 500 more patients, including children, at additional New York
Hospitals.
"We are learning new things about the COVID-19 virus
every day, and one of the most frightening new developments has been cases of
COVID-related illness in children that has already taken the lives of three
young New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "The State Department of
Health is alerting all 49 states across the country about this evolving
situation as New York continues to investigate the illness and get the facts
quickly so we can help prevent any more children from getting sick."
