Cuomo extends elective surgery ban in Queens and 18 other counties

Photo via Governor’s Office/Flickr

By David Brand

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday extended an order banning elective surgeries in Queens and 18 other counties hard hit by the coronavirus, while allowing physicians in places with fewer cases to resume the procedures.

In addition to Queens, the elective surgery suspension will remain in effect in Bronx, Rockland, Nassau, Clinton, Yates, Westchester, Albany, Richmond, Schuyler, Kings, Suffolk, New York, Dutchess, Sullivan, Ulster, Erie, Orange and Rensselaer Counties, Cuomo said.

The ban is designed to free up hospital space and personnel to treat patients with COVID-19.

Cuomo said the state has begun to “flatten the curve” of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and is “now ready to lift the restrictions on elective surgeries in regions where hospital capacity and the rate of new infections do not present a significant risk of a surge in new positive cases.” 

“It is essential that we continue to support hospitals and health care workers in all regions to ensure they have both capacity and supplies to treat COVID patients because this virus is by no means defeated,” he added.

At least 251,690 New York State have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Health Department. The city reports that Queens accounts for 41,520 of those cases — roughly one in six statewide.