New York Declares COVID-19 Disaster State of Emergency

Kathy Hochul, the Governor of the State of New York, declared on November 26, 2021, a disaster has occurred, for which the affected local governments are unable to respond adequately, and I do hereby declare a State disaster emergency for the entire State of New York through January 15, 2022.

'While the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it's coming,' Tweeted Gov. Hochul.

As of November 27, about 90% of adult New Yorkers have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Additionally, Hochul's executive order empowers the Department of Health to limit non-essential, non-urgent scheduled hospital procedures, if necessary, to ensure capacity and protect access to critical care services.

The new medical limitation protocols will begin on December 3 and will be re-assessed on January 15, 2022.

Previously, the local nursing shortage caused changes in health care delivery.

For example, the Emergency Department in Long Beach, operated by Mount Sinai South Nassau, closed temporarily due to nursing staff shortages resulting from the state vaccine mandate.