The 10 criteria for first phase of reopening

A Reopen New York Rally is held outside the Legislative Building in...

A Reopen New York Rally is held outside the Legislative Building in Mineola. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca

Local governments will be expected to watch specific health measures and to monitor results to guide their actions. A matrix of those criteria and a map shown by Cuomo identified Long Island among the "higher-risk regions" that will face a steeper curve to meet the requirements for reopening. 

The governor outlined 10 criteria that regions will need to meet to start the first phase — including metrics for hospitalizations, new cases, hospital and ICU capacity and stockpiles of protective equipment.

Other requirements will include jurisdictions ramping up testing to 30 per 1,000 residents and establishing a baseline of 30 contact tracers per 100,000 residents to ensure the transmission rate is kept below 1 per person infected, just below the threshold for an outbreak. 

“This is going to be region by region,” Cuomo said, and each will need to “monitor this system on a daily basis."

The state overall saw another day of net declines in hospitalizations and intubations. However, 226 New Yorkers died Sunday, a figure Cuomo said "haunts me every day."

The numbers as of 3 p.m.: 36,965 confirmed cases in Nassau, 35,077 in Suffolk, 175,651 in New York City and 318,953 statewide.

This chart shows the cumulative number of people who have...

This chart shows the cumulative number of people who have suffered coronavirus-related deaths and where they had lived.

The chart above shows the death toll in Nassau and Suffolk in recent days. Search a map of cases in Long Island communities and see other charts tracking tests, hospitalizations and other local stats.

Married couple dies four days apart

George and Kaliope Papazicos lived in Garden City for 28...

George and Kaliope Papazicos lived in Garden City for 28 years and died four days apart.   Credit: Christine Papazicos Sabato

George and Kaliope Papazicos were inseparable for 42 years — until their deaths recently at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola.

The couple, who lived in Garden City, died four days apart last month and are among the thousands of New Yorkers who have succumbed to the coronavirus.

He was 64. She was 62.

“They were always looking to help others,” said daughter Christine Papazicos Sabato. 

Read their story and learn about other Long Islanders we've lost to the virus.

'Anger, disgust' over Paycheck Protection runaround

Tim McCarthy, left, and Brian M. Adams, co-owners of Daisy's...

Tim McCarthy, left, and Brian M. Adams, co-owners of Daisy's Nashville Lounge, a new bar in Patchogue that was open for four days before the pandemic forced it to shut down. Credit: Daisy’s Nashville Lounge

Small businesses owners on Long Island are frustrated and dismayed by the federal Paycheck Protection Program, which was supposed to give them cash to survive the commercial shutdown caused by the pandemic.

Instead, owners said they’ve been given the runaround by banks and other private lenders that appear only interested in helping longtime customers and public companies.

With the program expected to exhaust its second round of federal loan guarantees in days, small business owners said they are anxious about their future.

“There is a massive amount of anger, frustration and disgust,” said Eric Alexander, founder of the downtown advocacy group LI Main Street Alliance.

Eleven public companies on Long Island have secured PPP loans totaling more than $36 million and sustaining the salaries of about 2,200 workers, according to a Newsday review of securities filings.

The group’s loans averaged $3.3 million. Some of the companies are still operating because they make essential products such as coronavirus diagnostic tests and components for military aircraft. 

What our dogs think about quarantine life

Tinkerbelle is enjoying spa treatments at home with her mom, Sam...

Tinkerbelle is enjoying spa treatments at home with her mom, Sam Carrell, of Hewlett. Credit: Sam Carrell

I am naturally a loner, like many a Maltipoo. Nonetheless, over the years I have selflessly provided my owner with many evenings of enchantment, not to mention all the mood-boosting, stress-reducing companionship that being a modern pet demands. How have I been able to do it? One word: daytime.

Even as I rolled over, treat-begged and shook hands ad nauseam, I did so cheerfully, secure in the knowledge that tomorrow would bring an endless, serene series of ME moments. In March, however, and even more so in April, I experienced a dramatic reduction in alone time. It’s like they never leave. It’s like they’re trying to drive me insane. It’s like we’re in quarantine. 

We dared to ask what's going through the minds of our pets during this time of sheltering at home and captured video of them enjoying some of the perks of quarantine. 

More to know

Beachgoers follow the practice of social distancing in Long Beach.

Beachgoers follow the practice of social distancing in Long Beach. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

Long Island beaches will stay open, but that could change if people flout social distancing protocols at the shoreline, officials say.

Five local universities laid off or furloughed almost 300 employees combined as a strategy to mitigate budget shortfalls set off by the coronavirus crisis, despite millions in funding trickling in from the federal stimulus package.

The price of illegal drugs on Long Island and in New York City has increased markedly because of a number of factors related to the pandemic, federal officials say.

An NYPD officer caught on video pointing a stun gun at a man and violently taking him to the ground over an alleged social distancing violation has been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty pending an internal investigation.

Nassau and Suffolk counties could each borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to cope with fiscal damage from the COVID-19 pandemic under a new expansion of a Federal Reserve lending program, officials said.

The Town of Riverhead is considering not filling vacant positions and holding off on equipment purchases after projections show it may lose an estimated $1 million in building-related revenues this year.

News for you

Several of Lessing's Restaurants, including Sandbar in Cold Spring Harbor, will...

Several of Lessing's Restaurants, including Sandbar in Cold Spring Harbor, will be offering a to-go bundle in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, including tacos and Margaritas. Credit: Lessing’s

Cinco de Mayo. You can still celebrate Cinco de Mayo with dishes from these local Mexican restaurants, which are offering takeout and delivery, and even some specials for the occasion.

LI music icons perform. Billy Joel and Mariah Carey will be among the stars taking part in "Rise Up New York!", a one-hour telethon on May 11 to benefit front-line workers and others in our area impacted by the pandemic.

The force is strong. Even though Star Wars fans can't gather in person this year to celebrate May 4 with the catchphrase "May the Fourth Be With You," one exhibition company is hosting a virtual convention May 4-5.

Live baseball games. ESPN will begin televising live Twins baseball games this week! No, not those Twins. The network is adding precious live sports programming by carrying KBO League games from South Korea.

Plan for the unexpected. With the coronavirus taking the lives of so many, experts in estate planning say now is the time to get your will in order.

Plus: The office you return to after the COVID-19 lockdown could be far different from the one you left. See what changes could be in store for Long Island workers.

Get real-time updates about the virus' impact on the Island by visiting our live blog, and watch our latest daily wrap-up video, which includes a performance by Sal "The Voice" Valentinetti for hospital workers.

Commentary

Nicholas Orr, a nurse at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola,...

Nicholas Orr, a nurse at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, with his patient Newsday reporter Daysi Calavia-Robertson after her emergency surgery. Credit: Newsday/Daysi Calavia-Robertson

Emergency surgery during a pandemic. The pain came out of nowhere, writes business reporter Daysi Calavia-Robertson in a guest column for Newsday Opinion

One minute, I was "the tickle monster" excitedly chasing my two kids around our apartment, where we've been quarantining for weeks. And the next, I was curled over screaming in agonizing pain.

The throbbing on the lower right-hand side of my abdomen was steady and unbearable.

Now, at any other time, what would've made the most sense would've been to grab my babies, put them in their car seats and rush myself to the nearest hospital right away. But right now nothing makes sense. 

So despite the excruciating pain, the emergency room is the last place in the world I want to go right now, I thought, still curled over crying, my hands pressed on my pelvis trying to push back against the pain.

I just have to power through this. It'll pass. It didn't. 

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