NY reaches grim milestone from COVID-19
The 53 people who died of coronavirus-related causes on Monday brought the state total to 40,023. The total death toll on Long Island rose to 3,021 in Nassau County and 3,209 in Suffolk.
The state toll began to evoke comparisons to other grim milestones, such as the many thousands of Americans killed in wars and terrorist attacks.
The latest COVID-19 data shows the levels of new cases and positivity rates for the virus in New York plateauing rather than dropping. The statewide seven-day average for positivity was 3.33%, a slight increase from the last few days, while the level on Long Island was 4.37% — similar to previous days.
Still, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday expressed optimism over the state’s direction.
The mass vaccination site at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale opened on Tuesday. The Coliseum site will distribute the vaccine Monday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments can be made through the county’s vaccine scheduling portal.
Looking for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment? These resources may help.
The number of new positives reported today: 533 in Nassau, 529 in Suffolk, 3,492 in New York City and 6,801 statewide.
This chart shows the seven-day average positivity rates in Nassau and Suffolk counties each day this month.
Search a map of new cases and view more charts showing the latest local trends in vaccinations, testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
Talk, pray, cry: Nurses leaned on each other through trauma
Emergency room nurse Kerita Jackson has been looking for ways to help ease the stress and sadness she struggled with since the pandemic began.
Like many nurses, Jackson, of Centereach, has been unable to shake the scenes of death and feelings of helplessness she experienced during the peak of the pandemic last spring working at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital.
“We were doing everything we could, but the patients were not getting better,” said Jackson, 39, who has been a nurse for more than 12 years. “I would sit in my car in the driveway and I would just cry for maybe an hour. I couldn’t talk to my fiance … Nobody is really going to understand until they saw what you saw.”
Experts say it is too soon to determine the pandemic’s long-term impact on the physical and mental health of nurses. Many have sought out therapy, medicine and the support of peers to help them cope. Others, however, have been reluctant to seek assistance.
LI COVID-19 vaccine, testing companies look abroad
Long Island developers of vaccines, therapeutics and tests for COVID-19 are looking to foreign markets as major pharmaceutical companies hold sway at home.
The Biden administration said it has ordered enough vaccine doses from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to inoculate all U.S. adults by the end of May. Those companies also are working on booster shots should they be required for virus variants.
While the United States is hitting its stride, the rest of the world is lagging. Some countries won’t receive vaccines in bulk until mid-2022 or 2023, said Mei Mei Hu, co-founder and chief executive of COVAXX, which merged with another unit of Hauppauge-based United Biomedical Inc., to form Vaxxinity.
“Our job is to serve countries that are not at the front of the line,” Hu said. “This isn’t just a U.S. problem.”
Here are some updates on Long Island companies that continue to devise tools to battle the pandemic.
‘Strain has been extraordinary’ for universities
A year after the virus abruptly forced students to flee campuses for remote instruction, COVID-19 is still upending college life in ways that could reshape how on-campus work gets done and how courses are taught.
Within weeks, a crash transformation replaced the usual way of doing business, with a technologically complicated digital education and a remote workforce, all while students, faculty and staff endured the fear of infection and the trauma of loss.
“The strain has been extraordinary,” Adelphi University President Christine Riordan said.
Through these challenges, colleges and universities largely have succeeded in containing the virus and dodged major drops in enrollment, they said.
Plus, for college students, the year has been isolating and stressful.
More to know
New York City is returning 80,000 municipal employees to the office starting May 3, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine may have included “outdated information,” and that could mean the company provided an incomplete view of efficacy data, federal health officials said Tuesday.
Knicks guard Derrick Rose said Monday that he and several members of his family, including his children, had COVID-19.
St. Christopher School in Baldwin will close in June, church officials said, marking another Catholic grammar school announcing a shutdown partly because of the pandemic.
Long Island brides are pushing back against the latest virus restrictions on the state’s wedding industry by signing an online petition to send to Gov. Cuomo, citing “incredibly restrictive rules” wreaking havoc on the industry.
News for you
Bring brunch home in a box. The new trend is like a charcuterie board, but it’s for brunch. You might not be celebrating weekend brunches out, but restaurants have pivoted to loading up a box or board with brunch essentials for people to take to-go. Here are six places offering brunch boxes in the area.
Get your vaccine apparel from a Long Islander. You’ve seen the happy pictures and posts from people on social media that they’ve gotten their COVID-19 vaccine — and one Long Islander came up with apparel so you can wear it. The clothing line is available online with hoodies, crop tops, beanies and masks that say #IGOTVAXXED or #GETVAXXED.
Elton John is having a virtual Oscar party. And anyone can go — if you have $20. The Elton John AIDS Foundation is inviting everyone to an hourlong, virtual preshow Oscar party special hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and with a performance by Dua Lipa. Proceeds will go to young people at risk and living with HIV.
Is it safe to travel again? Experts will discuss what trends they’re seeing industry wide and what we should expect this summer during an upcoming Newsday Live webinar. Register ahead of time for the noon event, and submit your questions.
Plus, chat with Don Lemon: Join us at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for a Newsday Live Author Series discussion with the anchor of the popular news program “CNN Tonight” about his new book, “This is the Fire.” Register here.
Sign up for text messages to get the most important coronavirus news and information.
Commentary
Long Islanders flock to natural spaces. Newsday Opinion columnist Michael Dobie writes: We were a good 90 minutes into the hike and now were on the backside of Stump Pond at Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown. Typically, when hikers reach the backside — of a lake or a mountain or whatever — they experience a measure of relative solitude.
But this was last August, in the midst of the pandemic, and on that backside in Blydenburgh we crossed paths with a group of hikers coming in the other direction, and then a family of four hanging out just off the trail by the water’s edge, and then a solo hiker, and then a group of boys careening around on bicycles.
And it was OK.
Rather than rue a lost reverie, we were comforted to know that other people were seeking the same solace and pursuing the same peace, or at least exercising their recreation muscle.
There was a lot of that going around in the year of the coronavirus. 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.
