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As New York launched a new strategic plan for combating what is expected to be a rough COVID-19 winter, Rockland lost four more to the pandemic, bringing the total to 699 fatalities. In his daily press briefing yesterday, governor Andrew Cuomo said the state’s new strategic plan has five components, including adding the number of hospitalizations and hospital capacity to the microcluster strategy…

The state’s COVID Task Force, working with global public health experts, local governments and others, devised the plan that also would increase testing resources, keep schools open safely, seek to prevent viral spread from small gatherings, and establish a safe vaccination program.

Students, faculty, and staff from schools in Rockland’s yellow zones can get free COVID tests this week thanks to a partnership between the County Department of Health and Good Samaritan Hospital. Starting today, schools in the yellow zone are required to test 20% of students, faculty, and staff in order to stay open for in-person instruction. If the district’s positivity rate is lower than the yellow zone’s current 7-day positivity rate, testing at that school will no longer be required to continue in-person instruction. Testing will take place from 11:00 am – 2:00pm today at Palisades Center Mall Garage Entrance West near Best Buy, tomorrow at Suffern High School, Wednesday at Spring Valley High School, Thursday at Rockland BOCES in West Nyack, and Friday at Palisades Center again. You’ll need to complete a registration form before you go, you can download it here: https://bit.ly/39kFWUt.

Rockland schools, meanwhile, have altered their schedules somewhat as they expect post-Thanksgiving COVID spikes. Clarkstown and Suffern are doing some virtual learning during the winter, while South Orangetown, Nanuet and Rockland BOCES have short all-virtual buffers this week. North Rockland started its “holiday pause” last week, and it runs through January 19th.

COVID-19 by the numbers now, here in Rockland, we’ve got four in the hospital being examined, another 65 have been confirmed with coronavirus, and a total of 1,478 active cases. The state says since the crisis began, we’ve had a total of 21,258 reported cases, 316 more than Friday, and the number of deaths in the county since the pandemic began remains at 695.

A New City man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a North Rockland funeral home general manager. Rockland D-A Tom Walsh says 61 year-old Gerard O’Sullivan faces sentencing in February after admitting to killing 42 year-old Noah Hamer, the general manager of the T.J. McGowan Sons Funeral Home in Haverstraw earlier this year, just hours after he was fired. O’Sullivan faces life in prison, with a minimum of 15 to 25 years before he becomes eligible for parole.

A South Nyack man has been charged with second-degree murder after a fatal shooting in Nyack Sunday night. 35 year-old Gregory Dubuisson of Nyack was found on the sidewalk on Franklin Street just after 7pm Sunday night. Attempts at first aid failed and he was pronounced dead at Nyack Hospital. Orangetown Police say 26-year-old Wendy Jean was arraigned Monday in Nyack village court and sent to the Rockland County Jail. He is due back in court December 3rd. Police did not release a motive for the shooting. Anyone with information should call them at 845-359-3700.

Details are scant at this time, but Orangetown Police are investigating a shooting incident from last night in Nyack. Police say the shooting occurred around 7:15 Sunday on Franklin Street. They say they’ve found parties of interest and there’s no threat to the public. Anyone who has additional information should call the Orangetown Police Department at 845-359-3700.