Cuomo warns of possible January shutdown

'The numbers are not predestined'

Cuomo said whether or not businesses and other locations would be temporarily shuttered to slow the spread of COVID-19 depends on the actions of New Yorkers during the holiday season.

Health officials have warned people against traveling during the holidays and to limit indoor gatherings to those living together in a household.

"Nobody knows what New Yorkers will do between now and Christmas and how they will act Christmas week," Cuomo said. "The numbers are not predestined. The numbers are a reflection of what we do."

The governor unveiled new plans to distribute the vaccine across the state, pledging, "In New York State, no person will have to pay a penny for a vaccination."

The state unveiled a new portal, www.ny.gov/vaccine. State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said more than 4,000 health care workers in New York have been vaccinated.

The number of new positives reported today: 782 in Nassau, 1,056 in Suffolk, 3,531 in New York City and 9,998 statewide.

The chart above shows the number of patients currently hospitalized for coronavirus each day in the state. Search a map of new cases and view charts showing the latest local trends in testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.

Service cuts coming on LIRR

The MTA on Wednesday approved a 2021 budget that counts on an expected $4.5 billion federal bailout to avoid layoffs, service cuts and higher-than-anticipated fare and toll increases.

Meanwhile, the Long Island Rail Road announced a plan to cut service 10% to 15% next month, reflecting lagging ridership during the pandemic.

After warning of "draconian" budget actions that could include eliminating some LIRR branches and laying off more than 9,000 Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees, the agency’s board, at its monthly meeting, approved a $17.1 billion budget that assumes passage of a coronavirus stimulus bill being negotiated in Congress. The $4.5 billion in aid is included in the bill.

"These are choices none of us here at the MTA want to have to make. But they are choices we may be forced to make if Washington doesn't deliver," MTA chairman Patrick Foye said. "This isn't a bluff. This is real."

Even if the MTA avoids the worst of its proposed cuts, it is going ahead with a plan to reduce LIRR service to around 75%-80% of pre-pandemic levels beginning Jan. 25.

Relief package in sight on Capitol Hill

Congressional negotiators closed in Wednesday on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that would deliver additional "paycheck protection" subsidies to businesses, $300-per-week jobless checks, and $600 or so stimulus payments to most Americans.

The long-delayed measure was coming together as Capitol Hill combatants finally fashioned difficult compromises, often at the expense of more ambitious Democratic wishes for the legislation.

During a Senate GOP lunchtime call Tuesday, party leaders stressed the importance of reaching an agreement before the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff election, according to a person who was on the private call and was granted anonymity to discuss it, The Associated Press reported.

Since the landmark CARES Act in March, Democrats have repeatedly called for ambitious further federal steps to provide relief and battle the pandemic, while Republicans have sought to more fully reopen the economy and to avoid padding the government's $27 trillion debt.

Holiday variety show's pandemic honors

Put "e-festivity" on the list of ways to drum up some cheer this holiday season.

A variety show that was staged at the Garden City Hotel is scheduled to stream online Friday. The free Virtual Village Show already has registered people beyond Long Island, including from Florida and Australia, to watch the performances, said Phillip Hammond, its writer and producer.

"It's not just for the people in Garden City," said Hammond, of Garden City New York Media.

He said three local awards will be given to those who have gone "above and beyond" during the pandemic: the Hometown Hero Award, the First Responder Award and the Essential Worker Award.

The Hometown Hero — actually, hometown heroes — are the 40 or so members of the Garden City Community Church's youth group, Hammond said.

More to know

Cuomo threw cold water Wednesday on the idea of state lawmakers returning to Albany in December to raise taxes to shore up a pandemic-ravaged budget.

How's the pandemic in China these days? In many ways, normal life has resumed.

The largely virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival will include the debuts of a documentary about propaganda and COVID-19 in China, and a Questlove-directed film about the forgotten 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

The NFL won't go the "bubble" route for its playoffs, unlike the NHL and NBA earlier this year.

But NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is not ruling out hubs rather than home arenas for games, at least to start, for his league's upcoming season.

News for you

Winter spa/wellness weekend getaways near LI and NYC. Whether traveling with your beloved or in a family-friend bubble, these resorts and retreats are suited for these uncertain times.

Coming up … on Newsday Live. Protecting Mom and Dad during the second wave will be the topic Thursday at noon, as local health professionals discuss how best to look out for our older population at home, in care facilities and within the community. Sign up here.

Holiday travel risks. Experts said in Tuesday's Newsday Live that though the thought of getting out and going somewhere for the holiday season might be delightful, the possibilities, for now at least, remain potentially frightful.

Plus: Long Islanders will be treated to an extremely rare celestial phenomenon.

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Commentary

What it's like to ride the near-empty LIRR. Newsday Opinion's Mark Chiusano did a ride-along with Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council chairman Gerard Bringmann to talk empty trains, the future of commuting and the way things used to be.

Bringmann has been a regular rider for decades and has seen the evolution of the transit system toward a modern network. But everything changed this year with the pandemic as ridership plummeted. The lack of crowds is striking, with empty seats, platforms and parking lots from Penn Station to Patchogue.

The longtime commuter (who sported a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders baseball cap for the trip) took to the rails infrequently this summer while he was furloughed from his work in interior renovations in Manhattan. But now he's back on the job and on the train, mourning the friends he used to share the long ride with, talking and napping. Still, there are bright spots even now: "The trains have never been cleaner," he says.