The City Council on Thursday unanimously passed legislation that requires the towers to be registered with the Department of Buildings, and that owners of structures with towers conduct quarterly inspections in accordance with rules on maintenance standards and testing that will be developed by to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. We have fewer new cases, people are seeking care promptly and getting treatment promptly.
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Over two years, 14 people died in Legionnaires’ outbreaks linked to potable water – showers, most likely. There have been no new cases with symptoms after August 3. Ten people have died and 101 have been sic…
Mark-Viverito notes, “The New York City Council is proud to serve as a model for the rest of New York state as we work together to create new regulations for cooling towers to fight Legionnaires’ Disease“. While cleaning crews crisscrossed the Bronx, the continued tension between state and city governments threaten to undermine officials’ expressions of confidence that the outbreak is tapering off.
Public health experts believe that the statistics have something to do with the Legionnaires’ outbreak.
Doctor Rafael A. Lantigua said “Legionnaires’ disease is especially unsafe to those with compromised immune systems, which is why we must go to great lengths to protect the water systems in hospitals”.
The identities of the deceased were not released.
The legionnaires’ outbreak that left 12 people dead may be contained, but the number of those infected keeps rising, city officials said Saturday. They eject a warm mist that can carry the bacteria. Whalen said New Yorkers can expect new guidelines soon.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio is defending the way his administration has handled the outbreak. The governor responded by sending teams of state health officials, joined by representatives of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to the Bronx to expand the testing of cooling towers outside the area affected most.
That brings the total number of sites where the bacteria has been found to 20.
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The City Hall spokeswoman said Tuesday the Department of Correction’s six cooling towers were disinfected last month and will be cleaned again though it’s unclear how the inmate was sickened. They said at the meeting Monday that all five of the towers have been decontaminated. “The aggressiveness was called for”.
