They let trains that look too crowded pass by. If they decide to board, they search for emptier cars to ride in. Then they size up fellow passengers before picking the safest spot they can find to sit or stand for commutes sometimes lasting an hour or more. This quiet calculus is being performed daily by people who must keep working during the coronavirus pandemic and say the social distancing required is nearly impossible to practice in the enclosed spaces of New York City’s public transit system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that people should stay 6 feet (2 meters) apart. But even though ridership has plummeted in the city, making jam-packed trains and buses the exception rather than the rule, passengers aren’t always guaranteed even 6 inches (15 centimeters).

Amid some signs of hope that the coronavirus infection rate is plateauing, New York is still wrapping up its worst week in deaths so far since the outbreak began. Officials announced Sunday that the daily death toll for the state topped 700 in the state for the sixth straight day. Meantime, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo remained at odds over the mayor’s plan to close city schools for the rest of the academic year, with Cuomo calling it too early to make that call. THE NUMBERS At the end of the day Saturday, there were 18,707 people hospitalized with the virus in the state. That was up only 73 since the previous day. The bad news has been that large numbers of people are still dying every day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.

The Ramapo PD says they arrested 8 people on Thursday at an “illegal gathering” at 92 North Saddle River Road in Monsey, NY [Congregation Shaarei Chesed]. Police say the group was released on appearance tickets without bail as per State statutes and are returnable to the Town of Ramapo Justice Court. (Photos released to media by Ramapo Police).   (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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A private Ambulance from the AMR COmpany overturned on 18th Avenue and 52nd Street on Motzei Shabbos. Boro Park Hatzolah was on the scene and reported no serious injuries. Two victims were transported to Maimonides Hospital. The ambulance was not carrying any patients at the time of the crash. Security camera footage shows the ambulance with its lights and sirens barreling through a solid red light and clipped by a minivan. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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The following is a list of Niftarim from the NY/NJ area over the first days of Pesach, complied by YWN. Although most of these people are victims of COVID-19, YWN has been unable to confirm that was the case in all. Unfortunately, there are many more who were Niftar (more than 30 names), but YWN does not have all the information, and we have only published the names we were given. If you have any info to add, please contact YWN with the info. FLATBUSH: Reb Eli Botknecht Z”L. He was around 60. The Niftar lived in Boro Park for many years before moving to Flatbush. He Davened for years at Dayan Brody’s Shul in Boro Park, and then by HaRav Lipa Geldwirth in Flatbush.

Govs. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Andrew Cuomo of New York issued a bipartisan call Saturday for an additional $500 billion in federal aid for U.S. states and territories dealing with the coronavirus. Hogan, a Republican, is chairman of the National Governors Association and Cuomo, a Democrat, is the vice chair.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Mr Stanley Chera Z”L, one of the most prominent members of the Sephardic Syrian communities in Brooklyn and Deal NJ. He was 78. The Niftar had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized in critical condition at Cornell Hospital. He was Niftar on Shabbos. He was a close friend of President Trump, who talked about him all the time in speeches. Further information will be published when available. Boruch Dayan HaEmmes… (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

As New York City deals with a mounting coronavirus death toll and dwindling morgue space, the city has shortened the amount of time it will hold unclaimed remains before they are buried in the city’s public cemetery. Under the new policy, the medical examiner’s office will keep bodies in storage for just 14 days before they’re buried in the city’s potter’s field on Hart Island. Normally, about 25 bodies a week are interred on the island, mostly for people whose families can’t afford a funeral, or who go unclaimed by relatives. In recent days, though, burial operations have increased from one day a week to five days a week, with around 24 burials each day, said Department of Correction spokesman Jason Kersten.

Governor and mayor locked horns again Saturday, this time over whether school buildings in the nation’s largest district would close for the rest of the year, with classes continuing online. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news briefing that public school sites in the city’s 1.1 million-student school district would shutter for the rest of the academic year to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Soon afterward, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his own briefing that the decision was his to make. “It is my legal authority in this situation, yes,” Cuomo said.

The coronavirus crisis is taxing New York City’s 911 system like never before. Operators pick up a new call every 15.5 seconds. Panicked voices tell of loved ones in declining health. There are multitudes of cardiac arrests and respiratory failures and others who call needing reassurance that a mere sneeze isn’t a sign they’ve been infected. The system is so overwhelmed, the city has started sending text and tweet alerts urging people to only call 911 “for life-threatening emergencies.” As the city staggered through its deadliest week of the pandemic, its emergency response system and army of operators, dispatchers and ambulance crews were pushed to the brink.