Weather: Morning fog returns, then partly sunny. High in the upper 70s.
Alternate-side parking: Suspended through June 7.
Long Island looks to reopen as New York deaths stay under 100.
The densely populated suburbs of Long Island are likely to begin restarting parts of their economy on Wednesday, leaving the strong possibility that New York City will be the only region in the state to remain on what Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has labeled a “pause.”
“I know people are itching to get back to work,” Laura Curran, the Nassau County executive, said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
In the past two weeks, eight regions in New York have entered the first phase of reopening after meeting the seven metrics set by the governor as requirements. On Tuesday, the Mid-Hudson region, which includes the seven counties just north of New York City, began the process.
People in the reopened areas can pick up retail purchases in stores or at curbside and can commence work in manufacturing and construction.
As of Tuesday, Long Island was just shy of satisfying two of the state standards to advance: Deaths needed to continue to decline, and more contact tracers were required.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he hopes New York City can begin reopening in the first half of June. The city has yet to meet the benchmarks on available hospital beds and contact tracers.
At his daily news briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo said that an additional 73 people had died of the virus in New York, the third day in the last four with fewer than 100 deaths. “In this absurd new reality, that is good news,” he said.
[What’s reopening in New York and the region.]
New York City limits fees charged to restaurants by delivery services.
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed several bills into law on Tuesday that were intended to help New Yorkers during the pandemic, including a limit on the fees that app-based services like Grubhub can charge restaurants for making deliveries.
Grubhub and competitors like DoorDash and Uber Eats have previously reaped commissions of up to 30 percent on orders they fulfill and deliver. Restaurant owners had pushed for the fees to be reined in even before the virus outbreak.
But without dine-in customers, restaurants have increasingly relied on takeout and delivery services, squeezing already tight profit margins further and forcing layoffs and closings.
The bill, passed by the City Council on May 13, set a 5 percent cap on how much such services can collect from restaurants for taking orders, and a 15 percent cap on delivery fees.
“The fees from the delivery apps are causing such a burden,” Mr. de Blasio said on Tuesday. “And that’s what the City Council sought to address.”
[Get the latest news and updates on the coronavirus in the New York region.]
N.J. schools can hold outdoor graduation ceremonies in July.
Schools in New Jersey will be allowed to hold outdoor graduation ceremonies in July, Gov. Philip D. Murphy announced on Tuesday.
The announcement came after Mr. Murphy loosened a number of restrictions ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, including allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people.
Mr. Murphy said that graduation ceremonies could begin July 6 and would have to comply with social-distancing rules.
New Jersey reported 54 new deaths on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 11,191. Over the past two weeks, New Jersey has reported more deaths — 1,739 — than New York, which is more than twice as populous.
What we’re reading
A federal judge ruled that a majority-Orthodox school board in the suburbs of New York City disenfranchised Black and Latino voters. [The Forward]
New York City is facilitating delivery of methadone to patients who would otherwise be required to go pick up medication. [Gothamist]
Upset families are suing the Brooklyn funeral home that was found to be storing bodies in U-Haul trucks. [New York Post]
And finally: ‘Aggressive,’ hungry rats
The Times’s Mariel Padilla writes:
Humans are not the only ones who miss dining out.
As restaurants and other businesses have closed during the coronavirus pandemic, rats may have become more aggressive as they hunt for new sources of food, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned.
Environmental health and rodent control programs may see an increase in service requests related to “unusual or aggressive” rodent behavior, the agency said on its website last week.
“The rats are not becoming aggressive toward people, but toward each other,” Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist who has both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in rodent pest management, said on Sunday. “They’re simply turning on each other.”
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Frequently Asked Questions and Advice
Updated May 26, 2020
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How can I protect myself while flying?
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
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What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
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How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?
Over 38 million people have filed for unemployment since March. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000, a Fed official said.
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Is ‘Covid toe’ a symptom of the disease?
There is an uptick in people reporting symptoms of chilblains, which are painful red or purple lesions that typically appear in the winter on fingers or toes. The lesions are emerging as yet another symptom of infection with the new coronavirus. Chilblains are caused by inflammation in small blood vessels in reaction to cold or damp conditions, but they are usually common in the coldest winter months. Federal health officials do not include toe lesions in the list of coronavirus symptoms, but some dermatologists are pushing for a change, saying so-called Covid toe should be sufficient grounds for testing.
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Can I go to the park?
Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.
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How do I take my temperature?
Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
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Should I wear a mask?
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
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What should I do if I feel sick?
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
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How do I get tested?
If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.
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How can I help?
Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities using a numbers-based system, has a running list of nonprofits working in communities affected by the outbreak. You can give blood through the American Red Cross, and World Central Kitchen has stepped in to distribute meals in major cities.
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[Read more: The C.D.C. warns of “aggressive” rats searching for food during shutdowns.]
Dr. Corrigan said there are certain colonies of rats in New York that have depended on restaurants’ nightly trash for hundreds of generations, coming out of the sewers and alleys to ravage the bags left on the streets. With the shutdown, all of that went away, leaving rats hungry and desperate.
Other unusual rodent behavior may be on the rise, too. Researchers are studying if disruptions in food supply are causing rats to set up shop more frequently in car engines.
It’s Wednesday — rats!
Metropolitan Diary: Valentine’s Day
Dear Diary:
It was getting late when I rushed from the L train onto an uptown A that was inexplicably running local. Frustrated, I took a seat.
At 23rd Street, an older man got on, sat down a few feet to my right and opened a shiny, heart-shaped box of Valentine’s Day chocolates.
He began to pick the sweets out of the box, choosing each one with care and eating it slowly, savoring the candy with obvious delight.
A teenage boy of about 16 — gawky, but with the unflappable cool of so many his age — was sitting across from the man with the candy. He eyed the box shyly, glancing at it and then looking away again.
The older man held out the box.
“Want one?” he said.
The teenager demurred politely.
“No, really,” the man said. “Take one.”
The boy picked out what appeared to be a nougat, and then ate it in careful small bites.
“One more?”
The teenager shook his head, his lips twitching slightly.
At 42nd Street, the old man exited the car, the still-open box of chocolates balanced carefully in one hand.
The teenager looked down at his phone. He was smiling.
I was, too.
— Camille Jetta
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