HUDSON VALLEY – Officials of several Hudson Valley counties have taken to Facebook to provide daily video updates about the effects of COVID-19.
On Thursday, Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan said their Project Resilience has been providing food for those in need as a result of the virus. “We have now delivered over 22,000 meals to thousands of households across the county. Over 160 restaurants have signed up,” he said.
In Orange County, Executive Steven Neuhaus said grocery shopping can still be a challenge with a rush on many items. “Grocery stores are now 72 hours behind, all related for the most part to their workforce, in particular in the warehouses. They have a lot of people who are out so they are getting behind,” he said.
Rockland County has received much-needed supplies for first responders, said County Executive Ed Day. “We got several pallets of hand sanitizer. We received eight additional ventilators from the State of New York,” he said. The county also received from FEMA, 6,000 N95 masks for our first responder and emergency personnel.
Westchester County, like others, is offering assistance to businesses forced to close their doors because of the pandemic, noted Bridget Gibson, the county’s economic development director.
“We launched an initiative to solicit volunteers from the business community to help our other small businesses that need guidance and help answering questions and I was overwhelmed by the response. We have over 300 businesses that have asked to be part of this volunteer pool to help our small businesses fill out the forms and answer any questions they might have,” she said.
Filing for unemployment benefits has been a nightmare for those who have attempted to sign up online. The state, Thursday, announced a new improved website to make the process more accessible.