NY Governor Cuomo, during a daily coronavirus task force briefing in Manhattan, said a syndrome that is similar to Kawasaki disease that has afflicted 157 children across the state has made his administration hesitate to make a decision on reopening summer day camps for children. A decision on schools, he added, will not be made until well into the summer months. “Should I send my children to day camp? Is it safe? Until we have this answer on this pediatric syndrome; as a parent, until I know how widespread this is, as a parent I would not send my children to day camp,” he said. “They’re still exploring this. So, make a decision on the facts.

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an unspecified threat that was made indirectly over Facebook regarding summer camps and colonies. Sheriff’s deputies tracked down the owner of the Facebook page on Tuesday and interviewed her regarding the comments. “The owner of the Facebook page was repeating remarks made to her by several strangers that she had encountered in public the previous weekend”, said Undersheriff Eric Chaboty. “We are working to identify these individuals, but at this point the comments appear casual and do not indicate any imminent threat. Nevertheless, the Sheriff’s Office takes all threats seriously and investigates them thoroughly”, he said.

One of the leading physicians in Kiryas Joel, Dr Zev Zelenko, has announced that he is leaving the Village of Kiryas Joel where he has been practicing medicine for nearly two decades. Zelenko made national headlines recently by promoting Hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. YWN began publishing videos of Zelenko in mid March as the COVID-19 pandemic began raging in the United States. Dr Zelenko stated in his videos that he had given the medication to hundreds of patients and was seeing tremendous positive results. Shortly after the release of his videos, the political leadership released public letters stating that Dr Zelenko was not one of the leading doctors in Kiryas Joel, and was just one of many. No reason for the release of this letter was ever given.

As the Jewish community awaits with anticipation on a decision if Upstate NY summer camps will be permitted to open this coming summer, at least one camp has reportedly received the green light. Camp Oraysa, located on Todd Road in Woodbourne, NY, sent an email to the parent body of the camp stating that they have been given a permit from the Health Department. YWN was unable to confirm if any other camps received a permit as well. The letter sent to the parents is attached below: STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New York state beaches will open for Memorial Day weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday. New York State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein responded with a tweet at the Governor demanding camps and bungalows be allowed to open as well. “.@NYGovCuomo opened beaches for Memorial Day. What about giving children a safe and enjoyable summer in camps & bungalows?”, the assemblyman wrote. AJCO has sent a letter to the Governor laying out strict guidelines that they would be willing to implement for camps to open for the summer. STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group.

Respected Representatives, We hope all is well with you and your families. We hope that we can together overcome this terrible challenge. We are writing you to request that Sullivan County representatives understand the overnight camp plans for operation this summer, and not send a letter to Governor Cuomo requesting that overnight camps not be allowed to operate in Sullivan County this summer. Camps will be run differently this summer. We are interested in the safety and welfare of all our campers and staff, and plan to run camp completely differently this summer. As can be seen from the attached DRAFT guidelines, each and every camper and staff member will be tested prior to their coming to camp.

Apparently many families have started spending Shabbosim in upstate New York as the weather has improved. Several of those families contacted me today after witnessing the following in a variety of circumstances. In just one example, families went to a particular development where there was clearly minimal social distancing going on. This included an indoor minyan where at least one high-risk gentleman attended. He was well over the age of 70 years old. When confronted about the issue, those organizing the minyan expressed that the rules established in downstate (i.e Brooklyn or other communities) do not apply to upstate.

Below is a response to a letter written to State Senator Jen Metzger by a Sullivan County Resident. Thank you for writing, Linda. I am well aware of this issue and believe that the safest thing for all residents to do is to stay put in their homes and travel as little as possible. My team and I are doing all that we can to get through to the Governor, requesting that he provide more clarity as it relates to seasonal camps and colonies, which should certainly be shut down during this pandemic as it will be difficult for them to comply with important social distancing measures.

During the summer months each year, the population of Sullivan County triples as part-time residents, mostly from New York City, come up to the Catskills. Hundreds of kids stay at summer camps and with the state on ‘pause’ until at least May 15, it is unclear if they will open this year. During an online update on Monday, County Manager Josh Potosek said they are planning as if they will open. “We don’t want to be in a position where we are near the middle of June, end of June, having done no planning on how to operate those safely and have the state say they can open, so we are doing the prudent thing assuming they will be open. Obviously, we will know more as May 15th gets here and as June approaches,” he said.

Sullivan County Public Health Director Nancy McGraw and Sullivan County Manager Joshua Potosek jointly issued the following statement today: “Sullivan County currently has multiple cases of COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) and is responding as aggressively and proactively as its limited resources allow. While you may be seeking refuge from the larger amount of cases downstate, you must be aware that this is a global pandemic. You and your family have a critical role to fulfill in halting the rapid spread of this potentially deadly virus, which can be dangerous and even fatal to the elderly and people with underlying health conditions. Coronavirus has killed thousands of people worldwide in just the past month, and cases continue to grow.