Cuomo to amend NY sick paid leave bill for coronavirus quarantine

After announcing the second confirmed case of the coronavirus — COVID-19 — in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will amend the sick paid leave bill to allow those with the virus who are quarantined to be paid by their employers.

Cuomo said the state’s second confirmed case is a man, 50, — an attorney who works in Manhattan and lives in New Rochelle, N.Y. — who is in “isolation” in a hospital. The man, who has an underlying respiratory condition, had not traveled outside the country, only to Miami, Fla., he said.

The SAR school in Riverdale, N.Y., where the man’s children attend, is closed Tuesday, the governor said. In addition, two families in Buffalo are being tested for the virus after traveling to Italy, he said.

“The situation in the state of New York is under control. …You can not contain the spread. You can control it. You can limit it. But you can’t contain it,” said Cuomo at a press conference Tuesday morning.

“This is inevitable that this will continue to spread, but the basic fact is 80% of the people who get it will resolve and may not even know they have it,” he added.

PAID SICK LEAVE AMENDMENT

Cuomo said he will add a specific provision to the sick paid leave bill for those who become infected with the virus.

“It will say people, who because of this situation with the coronavirus have to be quarantined, should be protected. Their employers should pay them for the period of the quarantine, and their job should be protected,” he said.

Last week, the governor announced he is requesting a $40 million appropriation for the state Department of Health to hire additional staff, procure equipment and any other resources necessary to respond to the potential novel coronavirus pandemic.

SUNY DECIDING ON STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS

Cuomo said SUNY schools are considering asking those students studying abroad to come home. He said they should render a decision by the end of the day.

The City University of New York (CUNY), which oversees the College of Staten Island (CSI) in Willowbrook, and St. John’s University, which has a campus on Grymes Hill, have already canceled some study abroad programs located in areas with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) level 3 travel health notices.

FIRST CASE IN NYC

The first positive case of novel coronavirus was confirmed in New York on Sunday night. The woman is a 39-year-old healthcare worker who lives in Manhattan.

“The patient, a woman in her late 30s, contracted the virus while traveling abroad in Iran, and is currently isolated in her home,” Cuomo said. “The patient has respiratory symptoms, but is not in serious condition and has been in a controlled situation since arriving to New York.”

The positive test was confirmed by New York’s Wadsworth Lab in Albany, only one day after New York was approved by Vice President Mike Pence to test for the virus.

https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/2nd-confirmed-ny-coronavirus-case-cuomo-to-amend-sick-paid-leave-bill.html