Boy Scout Saves Brother Using CPR After His Heart Stops From Illness Linked to COVID-19

By Emily Drooby

Jayden Hardowar was met with cheers of joy as he left the hospital on Tuesday, May 12. It was a miracle, because just two weeks prior, the eight-year-old boy’s heart had stopped beating.

Jayden’s father, Roup, recalled that terrifying moment.

“He wasn’t breathing anymore,” he said.

Jayden was sick, suffering from a mysterious illness that targets children, which is currently being refer to as “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome.” No one knows for sure, but medical professional believe it is likely linked to COVID-19.

Roup said Jayden’s life was on the line.

“Me and my older son rushed into the room and checked for a pulse, there was no pulse,” he explained.

Roup and his other son Tyron were terrified, but Tyron sprang into action.

“I thought he was dead to be honest, and I didn’t want him to die so I had to save him,” Tyron said.

Tyron is a Boy Scout with troop 177 out of Holy Child Jesus Church In Richmond Hill, Queens. With the group, he had recently learned CPR, and so he performed it on his brother.

“The Scout motto was be prepared, and I was prepared for life,” said Tyron.

Roup says that his son’s quick thinking likely saved Jayden’s life.

“It did a miracle here,” he said. “Without the CPR, he would have had some sort of brain damage, which the doctors found out there was none of that right now.”

Help arrived quickly. Firefighter Tom Gonzalez was shocked Jayden’s heart back into rhythm.

Gonzalez explained that after months of fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines, it was amazing to see Jayden’s heart start again.

“After all the cardiac arrests we have been through in the past few months, it’s a great thing to see to be able to help this kid out.”

New York is investigating 102 cases of this dangerous pediatric disease which causes extreme inflammation in important organs. So far three deaths in the state have been linked to it.

Jayden spent two weeks fighting for his life in the hospital. He is now home with his family, but he has a long road to recovery ahead of him. Jayden is a Cub Scout with Pack 177. The rest of his pack-mates made a get-well video for him.

Homelessness on NYC Subway Worse Than Ever During Nightly Coronavirus Cleaning Closures

By Jessica Easthope

Jennifer Montano rides the subway every week since the pandemic began to get to her prenatal appointments.

“In the car that I got on today, on the Q train as soon as I walked on there were literally four people laying down sleeping, taking up much of the space,” Jennifer said.

She only has to see this once a week, but MTA train operator Yann Hicks sees it everyday.

Last week, city and state leaders made the historic decision to close the subways overnight. The MTA has been disinfecting all trains. Yann, who’s been with the MTA for 14 years and operates N and J trains says he’s seen a big improvement in that area.

“I have to say that the trains are being cleaned up very well, I’m very proud of the MTA and the management for starting to clean up the trains,” Yann said.

Riders agree.

“Since the closures, I’ve noticed the subways — I was on the Q today and the R — have looked a little bit cleaner,” Jennifer said.

“The subway ride was nice, it was clean,” said rider George Samuel.

But Yann says the homeless who have been forced off the trains during the nightly cleanings come back.

“Around 5 a.m. people are all lined up to get back on the train that got kicked off at 1 a.m., whether they be homeless people or people that live on the train,” Yann said.

Then he says the conditions within the subway return to unacceptable and unsanitary.

“It’s disgusting when you’re a train operator and you’re pulling into a station, and you see a pile of defecation here and a pile of defecation there,” he added.

Yann says forcing people off is a small fix to a much deeper problem that has plagued New York City for decades.

“There’s a lot more work to be done, the city really needs to step in and help the people out, people shouldn’t be living on the trains and in the stations,” he said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ThriveNYC has an immense budget to address mental illness in New York City, critics say the initiative has failed.

“We now have found new ways to get street homeless people off the streets,” Mayor de Blasio said.

Yann says the people who call the subway home are lacking resources and options and are not getting the help they need.

“Right now it’s still a lot of homeless people, people who are mentally ill, people who think they live on the trains. It’s very difficult to see this,” Yann said.

The subway will be closed overnight for the foreseeable future. Yann says he hopes he and his fellow train operators are approached by city and state leaders to help come up with a more permanent solution to homelessness on the subways.

Nationwide Rationing of Remdesivir Puts Doctors in the Middle of an Ethical Dilemma

Currents News Staff

The federal government is announcing a plan for rationing remdesivir, the only drug so far that has shown some promise as a treatment for severe coronavirus patients.

A shortage of the drug is now putting hospitals in a tough position, and given limited supplies, the federal government has been doling it out.

But some hospitals have been getting less than they need, and others have been getting none.

“New York State is working with HHS, Health and Human Services, on the federal side, administering to 2,900 people at 15 hospitals,” state governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The federal government has given New York enough for 2,900 patients, but there are about 7,262 coronavirus patients in New York hospitals.

That same situation is playing out around the country.

A vial from the first shipment of remdesivir was received last week by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where Dr. Rochelle Walensky is chief of infectious diseases.

“We know that the doses of this drug that we are going to get are not going to be enough to treat every patient that we have in the hospital now,” she explained.

As a result, they’ve had to make decisions about who gets remdesivir and who doesn’t .

“This was hard,” she said.

At Mass. General, they have about 200 patients with the virus, and they have enough remdesivir for only 65 patients. More patients are being admitted every day, and doctors don’t know when they’ll get more of the drug.

Mass. General’s decision: a hospital committee – not the patient’s doctor – decides who gets it.

“This is not how we like to practice medicine,” Dr. Walensky explained, but she says it’s the most equitable way to do it.

“It’s nearly an impossible situation to be in medicine when you think that there’s something you could and should be doing for somebody, and you don’t have it to give, ” she explained.

The federal government has never explained how they decided which hospitals would receive remdesivir, and how much.

“This drug is promising and we want to get it to the American people and the areas that need it most,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

May 9, the federal government said in addition to sending remdesivir to hospitals they’d also send it to some state health departments, and intend eventually to send it to all state health departments.

But they haven’t said how much they’ll send to each state, or their formula for determining those amounts.

Representative Lloyd Doggett runs the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, and has been following the remdesivir rollout.

“This administration doesn’t believe in transparency, but healthcare providers need to know about this,” he said. “It has been bungled from the very beginning.”

Now, doctors are trying to do their best to allocate this scarce resource.

With the Growing Popularity of Livestreamed Masses, Will Parishioners Return to Church?

By Emily Drooby

Livestreamed Masses have been a great solace for many since churches were shuttered to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Currents News spoke with Auxiliary Bishop James Massa, who says the tool has been a great way for people to connect with their parish and their faith during the pandemic.

“We’re getting thousands of hits, they’re coming from all over the parish, but also from around the country and around the world,” he explained. “But it is important for us to be together in worship and if technology can help us to do that, then it is truly a gift from God.”

But, now the world is slowly starting to reopen – and that includes churches.

In Italy the liturgy will resume on May 18, while the Brooklyn Diocese has already launched a task force to prepare for their eventual opening.

The question still remains: When churches do reopen, will people come back to the pews – or will they still stream services from home?

Monsignor Michael Curran, a theology professor at St Joseph’s Seminary, says of course they will return to church.

“It’s been a tremendous blessing to have that available, but hopefully, we want to avoid that idea where people would say, ‘Well I can watch Mass,’ with a cup of coffee in their living room, rather than go and be present,” he said. “But I don’t see that happening. I think people are hungry to get back to normality.”

And they are. Parishioners all over the Brooklyn Diocese are desperate to get back into their churches.

While watching from home technically doesn’t fulfill the Catholic obligation, it’s been a great way for churches to connect with their parishioners.

Holy Name of Jesus parish is also live streaming, but they’ve taken it a step further.

They’ve placed the Blessed Sacrament inside in a window – a place for parishioners to feel closer to the church while remaining socially distant.

“We have gotten positive feedback and we plan to keep it there until the churches open,” said Father Lawrence Ryan, the church’s pastor.

Currents News full broadcast for Tuesday, 5/12/20

On the newscast:

– Churches are going to open again but will people return to the pews once the coronavirus crisis eases?

– A virtual warning from America’s top infectious disease doctor, Anthony Fauci, that even though a vaccine could be coming, cities should remain cautious.

– The virus is still spreading behind bars. The curve hasn’t flattened and instead deaths are spiking.

– A miraculous recovery and a strong Catholic faith are helping a brave nurse endure the pandemic’s storm.

Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City area on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.

Jails and Prisons Still Among COVID-19 Hotspots

Currents News Staff

Prisons are a breeding ground for the coronavirus, spreading among a population forced into close quarters.

The virus has spread rampantly in prisons, and some prison systems have taken unusual steps to stop the spread.

In New York and in Los Angeles, thousands of prisoners have been released. Los Angeles County released a video, showing inmates trying to get the virus so that they can get released.

Are prison system officials educating inmates about how serious this pandemic is?

Some police departments say they’ve been limiting the number of arrests because of this crisis and its impact on prison systems.

This is a big issue for the Catholic Church, as the Holy Father has long advocated for the imprisoned. Are secular governments doing enough to keep them safe?

Are prison system officials educating inmates about how serious this pandemic is?

What will the new normal be once this pandemic is over, and how will that impact the criminal justice system?

John Paitakes, who has more than 40 years of experience working in the criminal justice system as the former Assistant Chief Probation officer at the Somerset County Probation Department in New Jersey and a criminal justice professor at Rider University, joins Currents News to offer his insight on this issue.

Miraculous COVID-19 Recovery Keeps ICU Nurse Rooted in Hope and Faith

By Jessica Easthope

For nurses around the world, their scrubs have become their suits of armor, helping them bravely fight a war against an invisible enemy. Jessica Mock wears her armor proudly as an ICU Nurse at a Brooklyn hospital in the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis.

“Since this all happened we became a COVID positive ICU Unit, so we became critical care nurses and now all my patients were sedated, intubated,“ said Jess.

She’s unfortunately no stranger to loss.

“Back in high school I actually lost my niece Deanna, she was the most bubbly little girl I have ever met, she was perfect,” Jess said. “She had something undeveloped in her brain and that caused her to have a seizure and we lost her at an early age.”

It didn’t take long for Jess to turn a tragedy into a positive and embrace her desire to help others.

“She is why I do what I do,” Jess said of Deanna.

But over the last few months Jess has remembered how much of a toll loss can take.

“I felt like I was seeing more loss than wins, and it was very defeating,” Jess said.

Then something changed.

“He was on a ventilator, a perfectly healthy man, it broke my heart. His fever was very high so I would just pray that he would break it.” Jess said. She saw the fight in that patient.

“I’ve prayed to give strength to my patients to keep fighting for their lives,” Jess said.

His will to live became her strength.

“Within weeks he actually started controlling his breathing, he wasn’t breathing over the vent and within a couple more days he was responsive, and that was my biggest win,” Jess said of her patient.

Among the pain and sorrow of a hospital ICU unit came a glimmer of hope.

“My anxiety and my fear of this whole pandemic, he changed it to hope,” Jess said.

It’s that story of survival that keeps Jess suiting up every day. Her message now to other nurses is the same as it is for her patients.

“We are fighting this together and whether we’re in a different hospital, a different state, my win is your win. We’re saving people, and we’re getting through this,” Jess said.

So for Jess and nurses everywhere: No matter how many wins or losses, it’s your dedication, compassion and the hope you have for your patients that are getting us through this.

Washington D.C. Man Hires Mariachi Band for Fiancée’s Socially Distant Birthday Party

Currents News Staff

A man in Washington D.C. wanted to surprise his fiancée for her birthday with something special.

Charlie wood came up with the idea to hire a mariachi band to come play for them in a local park.

It was a huge hit, not just with his fiancée, but also with neighbors who showed up to join in the fun.

“I mean everything has been developing so quickly with all the COVID everything and we’ve been trying to be really good about social distancing, keeping our masks on, not gathering, and it just felt like we could do socially distanced party,” said Wood.

That little moment of levity was one of many popping up here and there as people do what they can to cheer one another up during the coronavirus pandemic.

Transfer of Nursing Home Residents Comes Too Late, Says Daughter Who Lost Her Dad to Coronavirus

By Jessica Easthope

More than 5,200 nursing home residents across New York State have died from coronavirus. Bianca Corozzo’s 72-year-old father was one of them.

“I had no idea they were closing their doors to visitors but opening their doors to residents who were potentially positive, I had no idea,” Bianca said. She never got to say goodbye.

In March, the State Department of Health began limiting visitations but requiring nursing homes to accept and readmit recovering patients, even if they were still positive. That’s when Bianca thinks her father, Anthony, got sick in his Nassau County facility.

“No, you don’t want to walk a virus into a nursing home that could kill the person you’re going to visit,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Governor Cuomo partially reversed the problematic mandate over the weekend. Now, patients must test negative before they can be discharged to nursing homes and all staff will be tested twice a week, or lose their license. Bianca says this is too little, too late.

“On day 71 to say, ‘Okay,’ there’s so much damage that’s been done I don’t know if there’s anything that could reverse that,” Bianca said.

She’s not alone in her criticism. New York State Senate Republicans have called for an independent investigation into nursing home deaths. According to the latest figures from the Department of Health, 12 percent of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been nursing home residents. The virus has already likely killed more than five percent of all New York nursing home residents.

“People in nursing homes and seniors, this is where this virus feeds, this is where this virus started,” said Cuomo.

The governor directed the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s Office in late April to begin investigating nursing homes for compliance with state directives. But many industry advocates have argued that those directives are constantly changing, leaving families without closure.

“I’ll never know what really happened,” Bianca said. “If it was he didn’t get the care he needed or the nurses were really over-extended.”

Churches Under Financial Strain as Donations Dry Up During Coronavirus Outbreak

Currents News Staff

During the coronavirus pandemic countless churches and other religious institutions have stepped up to serve others.

They run food pantries, raise relief funds or just offer hope to those who need it.

But, in some cases the churches themselves need help. The U.S. unemployment rate is about 15 percent. Many of those jobseekers would normally donate to a house of worship.

With those funds gone, some churches can’t pay their bills.

Coronavirus moved the congregation out and the services are now virtual – severely impacting the donation basket.

The Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church in south Los Angeles is just one of the many houses of worship impacted around the world.

“It takes financials to cover those expenses that are necessary. All of the utilities, the mortgages,” said James Arthur Rumph of Grant A.M.E. Church.

In Vatican City, the Holy Father is delivering his messages to a vacant square.

In Tennessee, the pews are parking lots for the socially distanced faithful – creative in the era of coronavirus, but not enough to cover the bills.

The latest available data shows 40 percent of congregations had no savings.

Reverend Robert Lee leads the Uni-Four church in Newton, North Carolina. Like other pastors and priests, Lee has delivered last rites to coronavirus patients.

“I’ve been having to juggle not only guiding the congregation through this pandemic, but my own crisis of faith in this. Where is God, what is God doing?” said Lee.

He’s now taken a pay cut.

“This is a make or break moment for communities of faith and not only churches but synagogues mosques or temples everywhere. We’re all struggling at this. Many churches that I know of, did not have online giving platforms until just recently,” said Lee.