On Sunday morning, Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH) sent out a notification via its list-serve that Dutchess County has experienced its first known death relating to COVID-19. The person was a 69-year-old male, and details about his condition are below in the complete press release. Said Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro: “We have lost a neighbor and extend our sincerest thoughts and prayers to his family and friends. We are grateful to the compassionate healthcare professionals on the front line today caring for patients across our community. This is a stark reminder of the challenge and toll we all face as we come together to respond to this emergency.”

Perspective: COVID-19 Cases & Testing

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been consistently saying during his daily press conferences, cases of COVID-19 will increase as testing increases. Gov. Cuomo has been successful in aggressively fighting for and getting more testing for the state of New York. See here for an example on March 18, 2020, where Gov. Cuomo said: “Last night we tested over 7,500 New Yorkers and found 1,769 new positive cases.” It is key that people remain 6 feet apart from one another, even when socially distancing together in a park, field, track, hiking, etc. Group sports like soccer and basketball where there is physical contact are discouraged.

Preparation For COVID-19 Care

Currently Gov. Cuomo is scouting locations in New York to retrofit as hospitals. Yesterday (Saturday) he was looking at locations for additional hospital beds. The governor said via tweet: “Today we are traveling the state looking at locations for the Army Corps of Engineers to build new beds.” Locations he listed in the tweet were Javits Convention Center, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Westbury, and Westchester Convention Center.

From Dutchess County’s press release:

Poughkeepsie… The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH) has confirmed the first death relating to COVID-19 in Dutchess County. While specific information cannot be provided for privacy reasons, it was confirmed the individual was a 69-year-old male who developed respiratory distress and went directly to Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital where he was treated, but died on Friday, March 20, 2020. The individual had not been screened or monitored by DBCH prior to hospitalization.

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said, “We have lost a neighbor and extend our sincerest thoughts and prayers to his family and friends. We are grateful to the compassionate healthcare professionals on the front line today caring for patients across our community. This is a stark reminder of the challenge and toll we all face as we come together to respond to this emergency.”

Behavioral & Community Health Commissioner Dr. Anil Vaidian said, “We offer our deepest condolences to the family. We have been in touch with the family for necessary screening as well as support during this very difficult time. Our entire team continues to work aggressively to fight this battle against COVID-19 and we implore every individual to do their part in the fight by staying home and helping to stop the spread.”

There are currently more than 60 positive cases of COVID-19 in Dutchess and the numbers are expected to increase as more testing becomes available this week. Staying home is critical to stop the spread of COVID-19 to flatten the curve.

Most Current Coronavirus Information Locally

Dutchess County Government continues to provide residents the most current information and guidance on the following channels:

• Its website: http://www.dutchessny.gov/coronavirus

• Its Coronavirus Hotline: (845) 486-3555,

• Its Facebook and Twitter accounts.