New restrictions on restaurants, bars, gatherings
Cuomo: New restrictions in place as COVID-19 cases rise
Main Street was closed to car traffic from 4 to 10 p.m. to allow for outdoor dining on Oct. 1 in Port Washington. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Under Cuomo's restrictions announced Wednesday, restaurants with liquor licenses, bars and gyms will close at 10 p.m. each night, and gatherings in private residences must be capped at 10 people.
The rules apply to any facility with a liquor license and take effect at 10 p.m. Friday, Cuomo said.
"We have always been good at staying ahead of COVID and this is the calibration that we’ve talked about: increase economic activity, watch the positivity rate, positivity rate starts to go up, back off on the economic activity," Cuomo said on a telephone briefing with reporters Wednesday.
Restaurants can continue curbside pickup after 10 p.m., Cuomo said. Gatherings in private residences previously had been restricted to 50 people.
The statewide positivity level was 2.93% on Tuesday, he said.
Meanwhile on Long Island, Suffolk health officials said Wednesday that patrons of two Oakdale restaurants — Mannino’s Restaurant and The Village Idiot Irish Pub — may have been exposed to the virus. Officials advise anyone who was at the restaurants between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2 to consider getting tested and screen themselves for symptoms.
The state had not released a breakdown of new cases today as of 3:30 p.m. Search a map of cases and see the most recent data for testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
NYU Langone's Vaccine Center needs 1,000 people for clinical trial
Dr. Mark Mulligan, chief of infectious diseases and immunology and director of the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone Health. Credit: NYU Langone Health
Long Island is one of five sites where a new COVID-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca will be tested, officials plan to announce Wednesday.
NYU Langone’s Vaccine Center is looking to enroll 1,000 people between the ages of 18 and 85 in Phase 3 of the clinical vaccine trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. It's part of a larger, 30,000-person trial across the globe.
The center has opened a location at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola in an effort to recruit local residents. The other four locations are in New York City.
Participants will receive two doses of either the vaccine or a placebo of saline solution, one month apart. Their health will be monitored for two years after receiving the vaccine and will be compensated for travel expenses and time away from work.
Researchers in the AstraZeneca trial are especially looking to enroll people with chronic conditions, older adults, racial and ethnic minorities, essential workers, front-line workers and medical personnel who are at higher risk of getting COVID-19.
For Long Island veterans, pandemic means emotional and physical turmoil
Vietnam veteran Steven Rose and his service dog, Hawk, at his home in East Meadow on Nov. 2. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa Loarca
For the nearly 100,000 veterans living on Long Island, the coronavirus has been a constant source of physical, emotional and economic turmoil.
An untold number of veterans, likely several hundred, have succumbed to the deadly virus, officials said. While the pandemic has taken its toll, support agencies have reported an uptick in the number of vets needing assistance.
For East Meadow Vietnam veteran Steven Rose, he had enough after seven months of forced isolation. Too many days separated from friends, family and the support group that kept him going, he said. The constant stream of bad news, monotony and lethargy brought in anxiety and depression, further exacerbating the combat Marine’s post-traumatic stress disorder.
"There were days I said to myself, ‘Where’s this going? What’s the point?’" said Rose, 75, a retired school social worker. "Sometimes I just close the door and just want to be left alone."
New teachers union website details COVID-19 complaints
Unionized teachers and their leaders are now documenting on a new website virus risks in schools, alleging safety violations like faulty ventilation systems and staffers working maskless.
The new website launched this week by the New York State United Teachers union identifies health and safety concerns in more than 60 school locations statewide, including four districts on Long Island. Administrators in local districts denied allegations of hazards, saying they worked closely with health officials to comply with state and local safety standards.
In announcing the new reporting system, NYSUT COVID Tracker, state union president Andy Pallotta voiced hope the initiative would "elevate the voices of those who otherwise may go unheard." Officials added that union members posting on the site would remain anonymous. There's also a place on the site for parents/community members to post anonymously.
When the financial hub moves from Manhattan to Long Island
Barry Ritholtz, chairman of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC in Manhattan, works at his Locust Valley home during the pandemic on Saturday. Credit: Bruce Gilbert
Some Wall Street migrants are bringing a makeshift financial hub to Long Island. Since the pandemic began, money management and transactions once reserved for mahogany desks in Manhattan have been taking place at kitchen tables here instead.
Barry Ritholtz, chairman of Ritholtz Wealth Management, said he has been working from his Locust Valley home and hasn't set foot off Long Island since New York City's pandemic spike in March. His firm's midtown office across from Bryant Park was closed early that month, but reopened in July for those who chose to return.
"If you're living on Long Island, you've got to be grateful to have a little elbow space," he said. "I can't imagine what it's like being in an apartment 24/7."
See the stories of financiers working from home or from temporary dwellings.
More to know
Regal Lynbrook & RPX in Lynbrook, which reopened for the first time in seven months on Oct. 23, will temporarily close again. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Regal theaters on Long Island will temporarily close again on Thursday — less than three weeks after re-opening from its 7-month closure, according to an email sent to patrons.
The U.S. hit a record number of virus hospitalizations Tuesday, and surpassed 1 million new confirmed cases in just the first 10 days of November.
The Knicks were forced to shut down their training facility after three employees tested positive for the virus.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to let visitors see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree this year, but with capping crowds to prevent a surge in cases.
Two people were arrested and charged in connection with selling "Virus Shut Out Cards," falsely marketed as air sanitizers to protect users from the virus, federal prosecutors said.
News for you
Jerk pork at Coal House Grill in Baldwin. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Split the Bill program comes to Baldwin. After success in other areas, the restaurant discount program is coming to Baldwin on Thursday. The details? Dine with any participating eatery there, upload a picture of your receipt to the website, and half of your bill (up to $30) will be returned to you.
Honoring nurses on Thanksgiving. Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion and Gloria Estefan will be among those honoring nurses in a virtual concert on Thanksgiving. Nurse Heroes Live will stream on Nov. 26 on the organization’s YouTube and Facebook along with LiveXLive at 7 p.m.
Veterans' fundraiser goes virtual. This year’s Stand Up for Heroes fundraiser is going virtual and will air on several platforms on Nov. 18. The fundraiser benefits injured veterans and their families and will include a host of special guests.
Plus: The latest Newsday Live webinar checked in on how teachers and classrooms are doing under changing conditions. Re-watch the event and read more.
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Commentary
Credit: Getty Images/Yagi Studio
We've known how to fight the coronavirus since March. We just have to do it. Farzad Mostashari, the chief executive of Aledade, a company that helps primary care doctors form accountable care organizations, writes for The Washington Post: There's an ancient Greek myth about Cassandra, daughter of the king of Troy. After rebuffing advances from the god Apollo, she received a gift . . . and a curse. (It can never be simple in a Greek myth.) The gift was that she could see the future. The curse was that no one would believe her.
For the past few months, the public health community has been feeling Cassandra's pain. Medical science has given us the unprecedented ability to identify and genetically sequence new infectious diseases, and data analytics has given us the power to see outbreaks coming. Biomedicine has given us the ability to begin developing diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines within hours of identifying an outbreak caused by a new infectious organism. But in the case of the coronavirus, it has often felt as if no one is listening.
The consequences have been catastrophic. Tens of thousands of Americans did not have to die. As a recent JAMA article showed, compared with other high-mortality countries such as Italy, the United States has had 44,000 to 104,000 excess COVID deaths after the initial wave overwhelmed health systems — between 22% and 52% more.
The United States had plenty of warning — and advice from world-leading experts. As we head into the fall and winter, we have to go back to the future to avert disaster. We have to actually implement the advice that was being given in March by the public health Cassandras, and we need to do so now. 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.
