This evening, Dutchess County sent out its notification that four people had passed today, Thursday 4/2/2020, due to coronavirus complications. Their announcement in full is below. Also this evening, Beacon Mayor Lee Kyriacou and Councilperson George Mansfield robocalled with several COVID-19-related announcements, including that Beacon currently has 44 cases of the novel coronavirus. You can track the numbers here at Dutchess County’s Dashboard. Announcements by Dutchess County such as this one may be ahead of the dashboard.

Of today’s deaths, three of the four people who passed were men, and one man was young - 28 years old. All had underlying conditions.

It should also be noted that a letter was issued to the White House today by Dr. Harvey Fineberg, chairman of a committee with the National Academy of Sciences, who stressed that coronavirus can be passed by breathing, or in conversation. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and advises the White House, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the U.S. via television appearances, did not disagree, and agreed that the U.S. was considering use of masks for people doing their errands, especially if they don’t know that they have the coronavirus.

The reason for the masks would be to help prevent the virus from leaving your own mouth via droplets to float in the air or onto someone else. If a person is asymptomatic, and doesn’t know that they have it, they might be talking to someone and spread it. Dr. Fauci stresses that the best deterrent is for people to stay 6 feet apart (social distancing). He and the other White House medical advisor, Dr. Deborah Birx, warned today that the use of masks could cause the wearer of a mask to become lax in their social distancing. They may think they are protected/harmless, and will walk near people, and continue to touch their eyes, ears and nose. All points of entries for the virus, despite wearing a mask. This issue is being evaluated currently for an official recommendation of mask-wearing, Dr. Birx said today during the White House briefing, and Dr. Fauci said later on CNN on Anderson Cooper’s show.

In Putnam County, the Putnam County Commissioner of Health has issued a “stay-at-home” order, aka Standing Isolation Order, to people testing positive for coronavirus, according to the Putnam Daily Voice. People face fines of $2,000 for not obeying the order. There are many details to this order, especially concerning whether a person was ill, or is asymptomatic, which you can read about here.

The Dutchess County death briefing is below:

The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH) has confirmed four additional Dutchess County resident deaths relating to COVID-19 as reported by local hospitals and the Dutchess County Medical Examiners Office. All patients had underlying conditions that were risk factors; none were under DBCH monitoring.

Age and gender of the deceased are as follows:

83-year-old female
79-year-old male
82-year-old male
28-year-old male

County Executive Marc Molinaro said, “Today brings more heartbreaking loss for Dutchess County and we extend our prayers and condolences to the families and friends of these four neighbors. We have a long battle ahead of us and we must all do our part to end this pandemic. Dutchess County Government, healthcare professionals, first responders and other essential workers are fighting on the front line to support those who need health during this crisis. We need the support of every citizen to keep doing their part – stay home; stay healthy; stop the spread.”

Behavioral and Community Health Commissioner Dr. Anil Vaidian said, “Testing is more widely available in our community. If you believe you have symptoms, especially if you have other health risk factors, please contact your primary-care physician to be tested and ensure follow-up monitoring. Just as importantly, for all those who are healthy – stay home to stay healthy and keep others healthy. It is possible to have COVID-19 and not be experiencing symptoms, which is why staying home is critical – so you don’t pass it along to someone with a weaker immune system. Stay home and save lives."

There are now more than 590 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Dutchess County. There have been a total of nine deaths to date as well as nearly 40 people confirmed as recovered (individuals who have resolved symptoms and are no longer being monitored by DBCH).