4/23 Briefing: A Nurse Who Sings To Her Patients, A Leader In Brooklyn’s Steel Band Scene Dies

Good morning! There’s still a pandemic, but we hope you are doing well, all things considered. Here are some new numbers as of 2:30 p.m. yesterday:

• There were 3,551 new positive confirmed coronavirus cases in NYC, compared to the 2,407 cases from Tuesday, bringing the total 138,425 cases in NYC. In Brooklyn, there were 924 new cases, up from the 572 new cases from Tuesday, bringing the total to 36,699 cases in the borough.
• There were 174 new hospitalizations yesterday, bringing the total to 35,920 hospitalizations in NYC.
• There were 382 new coronavirus-related deaths in the City, compared to the 461 new deaths from Tuesday, bringing the total to 9,944 deaths in NYC, with 5,052 probable deaths. In Brooklyn, the number of deaths is 2,929.
• Janett Perez is a registered nurse at Maimonides Medical Center who sings to her patients, NY1 reported. “That’s my purpose to provide love and comfort to patients that don’t have that around them. What they have around them is machines, tubes, noise. Many of them are scared,” she said.
• All NYC food sites will have halal meals. There are 32 sites with large Muslim communities that will have additional meals for Ramadan.
• Martin Douglas, 71, “a leader in Brooklyn’s steel band scene, playing his music everywhere, mentoring generations of young players and keeping steel-pan music a vibrant part of New York’s cultural life,” died from the coronavirus, the Times reported. He “worked tirelessly to carve out a space for steel pan music in New York, forming alliances with local community groups, convening public meetings, scraping for funding, searching for rehearsal space. In recent years he spent much of his energy fending off noise complaints from new neighbors in gentrifying Brooklyn.”
• A woman just wanted to go for a walk in the fresh air on Wednesday, away from the crowds to avoid coronavirus. Then, she became stuck knee-deep in mud at the Salt Marsh Nature Center in Marine Park, the Brooklyn Paper reported.
• The Mayor announced more deliveries of disposable gloves and hand sanitizer, new coronavirus testing centers that will prioritize NYCHA residents, and 10,000 iPads that will be distributed to isolated seniors, starting in Brooklyn, and free meal delivery fro NYCHA residents, we reported.
• NYC Health + Hospitals, the city’s public hospital network, is currently hiring 500 non-clinical staff members to assist with patient transport, clerical work, and cleaning, we reported.