Stay home from work

Financial help

Amid the tighter density rules, New York will offer temporary relief to homeowners facing difficulty paying their mortgages and others falling behind on their bills.

Cuomo said people struggling because they are not working or are only working part time will be offered a 90-day relief period "waiving mortgage payments based on financial hardship" with no negative reporting to credit bureaus.

"That will be a real-life economic benefit," he said. "It also will be stress reliever for many families.”

$3,000 for family of four

The payments would be $1,000 per adult and $500 per child under the White House proposal to unleash $1 trillion to shore up households and the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the checks would be direct deposited into people’s accounts.

Fare friction

LIRR commuters who have sought refunds for their unused monthly tickets amid the coronavirus outbreak have been able to recoup only small fractions of their fares — if they were able to recoup anything at all.

Several holders of monthly tickets, which range from $197 to $500 depending on the distance traveled, were stunned to get back as little as 50 cents after applying for prorated refunds.

Many customers used their monthly March tickets for only about a week.

More ventilators

Northwell Health, which operates 11 Long Island hospitals, said it was able to increase the number it has in its network by 50% over the past week.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, ventilator are critical for many people with severe cases of the respiratory illness.

Wedding worries

Sunday night, Alexandra Brand was excitedly arranging the seating chart for her wedding at Fox Hollow in Woodbury next month.

By Monday, the Northport resident and her fiance, Bryan Krahel, scrambled to reschedule — left with no choice after an executive order limited social and recreational gatherings to 50 people.

Across the Island, thousands of couples find themselves in the same situation, worried about losing money as they try to change plans at the last minute. 

More to know

Plunging interest rates have led to a rush to refinance on Long Island and nationwide, lenders say. Meanwhile, stocks had a decent day Thursday.

The Chinese city where the coronavirus first took hold reported no new homegrown cases Thursday, while the death toll in Italy was poised to overtake that of China. 

Homeless Long Islanders face even tougher challenges in the time of coronavirus, advocates say. 

New legislation was introduced by two Long Islanders that would guarantee police officers, firefighters and other first responders will receive medical treatment and other benefits if they become sick on the job from coronavirus.

Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) became the latest member of Congress to self-quarantine after learning she had been in contact with someone who tested positive.

Long Island Marathon weekend has been postponed from May 1-3 to Oct. 2-4, race director Corey Roberts announced.

The "Friends" reunion special set to help launch the streaming service HBO Max is being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In other celeb news, actor Idris Elba tested positive but says he's feeling OK; actor Tom Hanks is out of the hospital and says he has the "blahs" but that he and his wife, singer-songwriter Rita Wilson, are OK too.

Theaters across LI have been forced to scale back or stop performances during the outbreak.  

News for you

How to shelter: "Social distancing" is in place in much of the country, including New York: limiting public gatherings, encouraging at least 6 feet between people, etc. A shelter-in-place lockdown includes those restrictions, but also mandates staying home and not leaving except for limited activities. Here are the facts.

FeedMe: Hungry? Here's FeedMe's guide to takeout on Long Island, including family style, fine dining, bargain and new places. 

Watch: Here are 12 goofy movies to stream, 112 vintage sitcoms and 14 shows to binge watch. And for a newsier offering, watch Newsday's daily recap of coronavirus news.

Plus: Kids bored? Here are five science experiments you can do with stuff at home.

Want to put your shut-in time to great use? Our experts offer how-to tips for a thorough spring cleaning from the inside out.

Feeling creative? Take an art class without leaving your house.

Need real-time information? You can get it from newsmakers and reporters right here on newsday.com's update blog.

Commentary

The new normal with COVID-19

Coping with the coronavirus will take an entirely different form when the deaths begin to mount. And they will, writes Newsday Opinion columnist Michael Dobie.

This is not like other similarly severe threats that challenge us, an attack like 9/11, a natural disaster like superstorm Sandy. All of these types of trials shake us profoundly and test our character and our spirit, individually and as a community.

But the coronavirus is invisible. Its immediate impacts will be with us for a longer time, it will get even worse before it gets better and it's affecting the entire country, never mind the whole world.