Low-risk business will be permitted 

Island Harvest Food Bank hosted a food distribution drive in...

Island Harvest Food Bank hosted a food distribution drive in the parking lot of the Westfield Sunrise Mall in Massapequa. Credit: Danielle Silverman

Cuomo said "some regions are ready to go today" and counted Long Island among those that "are very close" to meeting reopening requirements. He also announced that some specified "low-risk business and recreational activities" will be permitted statewide as of May 15.

He outlined again a plan indicating that local regions have to monitor a set of seven key state criteria to track trend lines on issues such as infection and hospitalization rates, as well as availability of hospital beds and supplies if a resurgence of the virus were to occur.

“We start a new chapter today in many ways,” Cuomo said, while cautioning the public needs to understand this will be a gradual process: "This is not the floodgates are open."

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. Statistics increased on April 6 because Nassau and Suffolk changed the method of tracking fatalities.

The above chart shows the number of deaths in Nassau and Suffolk in recent days.

View a map of Long Island cases and more charts that show local trends in testing, hospitalizations and more.

The numbers as of 3 p.m.: 38,337 confirmed cases in Nassau, 36,911 in Suffolk, 185,357 in New York City and 337,055 statewide.

What happened in nursing homes

March 18 marked the start of a most consequential week for nursing home residents across Long Island and the state. The epidemic began surging, the sick started pouring into hospitals and doctors began trying to make space by releasing patients to nursing home care.

Against that backdrop, the New York State Department of Health notified nursing homes that they must accept coronavirus patients who had been deemed “medically stable” for discharge from hospitals while still needing care. The order also barred homes from requiring incoming patients “to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.”

On Sunday, following protests and calls for an independent investigation, Gov. Cuomo announced hospitals can no longer send a patient who has tested positive to a nursing home. A Cuomo aide insisted this was not a reversal but a new policy based on increased hospital capacity and testing. 

But the two initial directives have played critical roles in the state’s inability to accurately track the true number of COVID-19 fatalities and in families alleging that Cuomo placed their loves ones at greater risk of death.

Advice from recovered coronavirus patients

Heather Palmore, 49, of Amityville, said that she learned being...

Heather Palmore, 49, of Amityville, said that she learned being patient was key in her experience with the coronavirus. Credit: Heather Palmore

Four Long Island residents who recently won their battles with coronavirus say they hope sharing their experiences will pass on to others the importance of being patient, staying positive and living in the moment.

As regions of the state sit on the cusp of reopening some businesses, the recovered COVID-19 patients urge their neighbors to continue to stay at home and obey social distancing orders.

While they each experienced the disease under different circumstances and at varying degrees of severity, they all separately shared feelings of gratitude for being “the lucky ones.”

Here are their stories.

Where the jobs are

Uncle Giuseppe's had more than 20 job openings posted publicly last...

Uncle Giuseppe's had more than 20 job openings posted publicly last week, ranging from graphic designer to seafood clerk. Credit: Jeff Bachner

Grocery stores, pharmacies, hospitals and big-box retailers are hiring thousands of employees on Long Island and beyond to deal with the particular challenges of operating during a global health crisis. But unemployment in New York and the nation eclipsed those hiring surges.

In the direst of projections, layoffs and business closures could cost as many as 47 million jobs, according to estimates from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — an over 32% unemployment rate and 7 percentage points greater than the unemployment rate at the height of the Great Depression.

“[We’re] in unprecedented times,” said Mariano Torras, department chair of finance and economics at Adelphi. “[Few] of us know or have experienced what it was like during the Great Depression ... We’re going to have some lean times ahead.”

See what local jobs are available.

'The kids are starting to crack.' Parents, too.

The Long siblings - Sienna, 12, Lyla, 10, and Dylan,...

The Long siblings - Sienna, 12, Lyla, 10, and Dylan, 14 - attend "school" at home in Huntington Station. Credit: Melinda Long

It was the moment when Angela Guinan of Lindenhurst heard herself arguing with her almost 4-year-old son because he was refusing to finish his preschool assignment to draw four apples that she decided they were done with the pressure of distance learning, at least temporarily.

For Melinda Long, of Huntington Station, who has three children in fifth, seventh and ninth grade, that moment came when one child couldn’t remember what time she had a school meeting and another didn’t know why he got a 75 on an assignment.

“The kids are starting to crack,” Long says. “The last couple of days we’ve chosen to take a break from it and get outside. I have to think of the mental health of my children before education."

Lockdown fatigue is real, parents say as Long Island enters its third month of social distancing. And it’s not just the kids who are burned out, it’s mom and dad as well. Some days are great, but others, well, not so much

More to know

Nassau Police Commissioner Police Patrick Ryder, left, Suffolk Chief of Department...

Nassau Police Commissioner Police Patrick Ryder, left, Suffolk Chief of Department Stuart Cameron, center, and local village police departments accept a donation of personal protective equipment. Credit: Howard Schnapp

Nassau and Suffolk police received approximately $800,000 worth of personal protective equipment donated by a Farmingdale-based manufacturer and distributor of janitorial products.

The deaths of two more children are being investigated by state health officials to see if they had a coronavirus-linked illness that has claimed the lives of at least three other youngsters, Cuomo said.

The Town of Hempstead is being called upon to turn over $131 million in federal grant funding to Nassau County and assist local villages with expenses from the pandemic by a group of politicians. 

The Knicks and the Rangers are offering season-ticket holders the chance to decide now whether to take a refund of the cost of the remaining tickets or to opt to roll the refund into next season’s tickets.

Sen. Chuck Schumer asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it continues to use hydroxychloroquine to treat patients with the coronavirus, saying the drug is ineffective for COVID-19 and has been linked to cardiac arrests.

News for you

The Long Island Aquarium's Senior Mammal Trainer and Caregiver Nicole...

The Long Island Aquarium's Senior Mammal Trainer and Caregiver Nicole MacDonald poses with one of the facility's aquatic residents.  Credit: Long Island Aquarium

Talk with the animals. If your kids miss their outings to the aquarium or other local animal encounters, they can now virtually chat with a sea lion and other stars at the Long Island Aquarium and an alpaca from Baiting Hollow.

Tune in tonight. Billy Joel and Mariah Carey will be among the stars taking part in "Rise Up New York!," an hourlong telethon at 7 p.m. to benefit front-line workers and others in our area impacted by the pandemic.

Cook like a chef. With restaurants closed or severely curtailed in operations, many local chefs with extra time on their hands are creating instructional live videos, most of them focused on comfort food. 

Or don't. If you can't bring yourself to whip up another meal tonight, give yourself a break and order in using our updated takeout guide.

Get your money. If you haven't received your federal stimulus check by now, you might be asking yourself, should I have? Get answers to this and other questions pertaining to the economic relief payments.

Attend a free webinar. Join us tomorrow at 10 a.m. for our latest free webinar, which will feature an in-depth discussion and Q&A on the state of Long Island education during the pandemic. Register here.

Plus: This week marks the last chance to enter Newsday's Top Long Island Workplaces challenge. Nominate your employer.

Get real-time updates about the virus' impact on Long Island by visiting our live blog and watch our latest daily wrap-up video.

Commentary

The jigsaw puzzle being worked on by Michael Dobie and...

The jigsaw puzzle being worked on by Michael Dobie and his family. Credit: Newsday/Michael Dobie

Understanding life one piece at a time. I got lost last week in the sky over Venice, Michael Dobie writes in his latest Newsday Opinion column.

It was a gorgeous purple, actually several shades of purple, shifting seamlessly from darker to lighter tones as the eyes scanned from the heavens down to the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal beneath. And it grew prettier as we slowly, painstakingly, added little pieces of purple to fill in the missing portions of that majestic sky.

My grandson will tell you I'm not that good of a jigsaw puzzler, certainly nowhere in his league. But like many other folks, I've been getting more interested in jigsaw puzzles in this age of the coronavirus. 

Completing a puzzle is a process that rewards time, effort and ingenuity. It is an exercise in bringing order to chaos, or in filling the void of an empty frame, or in seeing a pattern within apparent randomness. It's no wonder perhaps that puzzling has become more popular these days. From uncertainty, you find closure.

There was lots of puzzling going on last week in the wider world.

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