North Rockland’s state senator is recovering at home after testing positive for coronavirus last week, and he can tell you first-hand, this virus is no joke. James Skoufis started feeling symptoms Tuesday night. Last Monday, Skoufis and his staff were at his Newburgh office distributing masks and gloves to health care workers, police officers and other essential workers. He was reportedly wearing a mask at the time and didn’t pack the bags that were distributed. On Twitter, the 32 year-old otherwise healthy senator said he’s not on the mend yet, as he is continuing to battle an increasing fever, extreme fatigue, terrible chills, and a headache. Meanwhile, in his daily coronavirus briefing yesterday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo outlined a gradual re-opening of the state in stages by region, with phase one to include low-risk construction and manufacturing functions, and phase two would open certain industries based on priority and risk level…
The state has confirmed around 288,000 total cases of coronavirus across the state and 17,000 deaths. In Rockland, the state says we’ve got over 11,000 reported cases, and the Rockland Health Department confirms 453 deaths here in the county.