Cuomo: NY adopting CDC mask guidance for vaccinated people
The new CDC guidelines, unveiled last week, say fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks except on public transportation, in schools and in health care facilities, among other settings.
In New York, masks will still be required in those places, as well as in homeless shelters and correctional facilities. Private venues are able to impose additional requirements, the governor added. The state will adopt the guidelines effective Wednesday, a day when capacity limits for most venues are set to be lifted.
Get more details from Cuomo’s announcement.
One of the top infectious disease experts on Long Island said he hoped the rules entice more New Yorkers to get vaccinated.
“I hope this pulls some people off the fence and into the vaccinated camp,” said Dr. Bruce Polsky, chairman of medicine at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island.
Plus: The Knicks and the Nets will have fully vaccinated sections at home playoff games; the New York City Marathon will return on Nov. 7 at 60% capacity; and Radio City Music Hall will host a 100% capacity, no-masks-required event on June 19.
The number of new positives reported today: 79 in Nassau, 86 in Suffolk, 480 in New York City and 1,278 statewide.
The chart below shows the number of new cases confirmed each day in New York City and the state during the past month.
Search a map of new cases and view charts showing the latest local trends in vaccinations, testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
Health experts disagree on whether decision to lift restrictions is wise
Vaccinations and warmer weather should help limit the spread of COVID-19 as the state moves toward further loosening restrictions, but the virus will continue to kill and make people sick for years to come, public health experts predict.
“The pathogen is very likely to be with us in perpetuity and we have to learn to live with COVID,” Dr. K.C. Rondello, an epidemiologist at Adelphi University in Garden City, told Newsday’s David Olson.
The state on Wednesday will take its biggest step yet toward normalcy, as capacity limits for most venues are set to be lifted. But health experts disagree on whether Cuomo’s lifting of restrictions is wise.
“The fact you’re relaxing restrictions and enabling people to be close together not wearing a mask at least some or all of the time is a very dangerous situation,” said Dr. Stanley H. Weiss, an epidemiologist and professor at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Rutgers School of Public Health.
How the COVID-19 pandemic changed Long Island’s towns
The federal government is easing mask requirements and the state is lifting capacity restrictions, but changes that Long Island towns made to how they govern during the pandemic are likely here to stay, officials said.
That includes drop boxes for permit applications and tax payments, installed to reduce potential spread, because they’re more convenient than waiting in line. The pop-up vaccination clinics that some towns sponsored and staffed may close, but expanded meal deliveries to seniors and free drive-in movies are so popular that some town supervisors say they might become permanent.
One of the most widespread shifts — going from in-person meetings and hearings to virtual ones on platforms like Zoom — is also likely to endure in some fashion, officials said.
Read more about the lessons learned and the changes to stay across Long Island towns.
Students organize rally against anti-Asian crimes
More than 100 people rallied Saturday at Herricks High School in a student-organized demonstration against anti-Asian hate crimes that have surged during the pandemic, writes Newsday’s David Olson.
“COVID-19 has given racists another excuse to justify their hateful sentiments,” student Madison Chiu, 18, told the crowd. ” . . . We have been subjected to angry tirades, attacked while simply waiting for the train, and our businesses have taken devastating hits.”
Chiu is a member of the Asian American Cultural Club, which organized the event with the backing of other Herricks groups, including clubs representing Black, Latino, Muslim, Chinese and Korean students and cultural traditions.
More to know
President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. will share an additional 20 million doses of vaccines with the world in the coming six weeks.
The federal health official who announced vaccinated people can go maskless in public places defended the new guidance on Sunday, but cautioned against widespread mask removals.
Mötley Crüe’s Stadium Tour at Citi Field, rescheduled from August 2020 to July 15, has now been moved to 2022.
Another member of the Yankees support staff tested positive, after two straight days with no returning positives, Aaron Boone announced Sunday morning.
Tickets for the 2021 Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach in May are sold out, and only tickets for the May 28 practice show remain.
As of Saturday, New York was one of 18 states where half of all adults were fully vaccinated Cuomo’s office said over the weekend.
News for you
A new play place for kids. The new Kiddie Clubhouse in Syosset opened earlier this year and is starting to see an uptick in business as birthday parties, play dates and other small gatherings make their return. Learn more about the play space with a jungle gym, group classes and party area
Who’s coming to Jones Beach? Jason Aldean is headlining Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on Aug. 7 with special guests HARDY and Lainey Wilson. And Kings of Leon is coming to play at Jones Beach on Aug. 25. Tickets go on sale this week.
Car shows and cruise nights season. Check out classic, vintage or collectible cars at the nearest cruise night or car shows on Long Island. Here’s a schedule.
New York is reopening — what’s next? Health and business expertsm will discuss virtually at noon on Tuesday how businesses, restaurants, entertainment venues and others are handling the reopening changes. Submit your questions and register here.
Plus: On Friday, Long Island health commissioners discussed vaccine safety during the latest Newsday Live webinar. Watch a replay here.
Get text messages with the most important coronavirus news and information.
Commentary
Take it off, or maybe not. Newsday columnist Michael Dobie writes: Did you do a little jig? Maybe a fancy two-step? Did you feel something deep down, like a frisson of joy? Perhaps you smiled, or simply breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it wasn’t quite like V-J or V-E Day. But it was something.
The masks can come off, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week, if you’re fully vaccinated. Much of the time, anyway. Most of the time outdoors, for sure. All of the time when you’re with others like you.
And if you closed your eyes, you could see freedom’s finger gesturing. Come with me, it said.
And yet …
It’s not that simple, is it? Not for some of us, at least.
We’ve being watching carefully as the infection rates fall and the vaccination rates rise and the deaths dwindle to a precious few, and we’ve been waiting for good news like what the CDC delivered Thursday. It meshed well with the optimism that rides in on gorgeous spring weather, the confidence that swells knowing that glorious summer will soon follow, and the feeling that anything is possible now that the Knicks have made the playoffs.
And yet …
We’ve been through a lot. And there’s still a lot we don’t know. And by “we” I mean all of us, plus the doctors and other experts who know so much more than all of us. Keep reading.
Erin Serpico is an assistant web producer who joined Newsday in November 2018. Originally from New Jersey, she now covers community events and produces local content for newsday.com while also helping run the homepage.
