Cuomo: Jones Beach stops COVID-19 vaccinations due to cold, wind

The state-run mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Jones Beach shut down Friday because of frigid temperatures and high winds, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.

He also announced that indoor restaurant dining in New York City can resume at 25% capacity starting on Valentine's Day, and beginning March 15 wedding receptions statewide can be held at up to 50% of a venue's capacity, with a maximum of 150 people allowed. All attendees must be tested for the coronavirus before the event.

A flyer handed out to people who arrived at Jones Beach for Friday appointments told them to come back either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, depending on what time their appointment had been scheduled for on Friday.

The Jones Beach site also will be closed Saturday, Cuomo said in a statement.

The weather was creating dangerous conditions in part because vaccinations are given in open-air tents, he said.

Residents also were notified of the changes through email and text messages. Some rescheduled appointments may take place Wednesday, Cuomo said.

State workers will try to make the new appointments for about the same time of day as the original ones, he said.

In New York City, indoor dining currently is not permitted. Restaurants outside the five boroughs can operate at 50% capacity, with 10 people per table maximum, and must close by 10 p.m. Social distancing and masks are required, though masks may be removed to eat.

"The restaurant industry is the lifeblood of New York City and the economic hardship they have endured at the hands of COVID is nothing short of tragic," Cuomo said.

The Valentine's Day reopening "doesn't only give us more time to stamp out the virus even further, but also gives restaurants ample notice to begin preparing for a reopening," he said.

The statewide positivity rate for the coronavirus was 4.65% on Thursday, the lowest level since Dec. 11, Cuomo said.

The decision on the weddings came after the state successfully allowed 7,000 fans to attend a Buffalo Bills football playoff game this month, he said.

All fans had to test negative for COVID-19 before the game in order to enter the stadium.

"We’ve had virtually no cases of spread from that game — 7,000 people," Cuomo said.

The state now wants to use that as a model for other events, which might include Major League Baseball games and Broadway plays, he said.

"We are very excited about the possibility of reopening venues with testing," he said, noting that it will be "many, many months" before the state has enough vaccines to get the virus under control.

Some catering hall and wedding venue owners welcomed the governor's announcement.

"We're excited for our couples, for our employees, and for everyone who's downstream in the wedding industry," said George Regini, co-owner of Giorgio's Catering in Baiting Hollow. "It's great to finally know a specific date to get back to work."

Regini's business partner, Nick Cascio, co-owner of Giorgio's, said he's happy with the news and wants to learn more specifics from the state. "At this point, it's all still very preliminary," Cascio said.

Michael Bohlsen, co-owner of the Bohlsen Restaurant Group, which includes wedding venue The Harbor Club at Prime, agreed.

"We still have lots of questions in terms of the testing requirement. Who's responsible for it? Are we or are the couples? Does it have to a specific type of test, PCR or another kind?" Bohlsen said. "We also still don't know if dancing will be allowed and if live music will be OK, so there are still a lot of unknowns right now, but at least we're moving in the right direction, and that’s exciting."

Bohlsen said the past year had been challenging for his business.

"To put it mildly, it's been hell," he said. "Those of us in the wedding sector, we're in the business of saying yes, but for almost a year we've been forced to say no, so for us, this is good … it's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel."

Cuomo said the state was developing more rapid testing capacity to allow such events. Local health departments must approve each wedding event, Cuomo said.

He flashed a message on a video screen next to him: "New York Says I Do."

On Long Island, the seven-day positivity level for Thursday, 6.51%, was the highest of any region in the state. But the levels have generally been declining on Long Island and statewide since a post-holiday season spike.

The number of new confirmed cases from test results Thursday was 1,234 in Nassau County, 1,241 in Suffolk County, and 5,780 in New York City.

A total of 151 people in the state died Thursday of COVID-19-related causes, including eight in Nassau County and 14 in Suffolk County. The number of people hospitalized with the virus dropped by 163, to 8,357.

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