NY largely removes pandemic restrictions
Cuomo: 'We can now return to life as we know it'
A view of Main Street in Patchogue last month after people returned from months of COVID-19 lockdown to visit shops and restaurants. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Bars and restaurants, gyms, offices, entertainment venues, movie theaters, barber shops and hair salons will be able to go back largely to normal functioning with no requirements for social distancing or special cleaning under Cuomo’s announcement.
The changes, effective immediately, come after New York State on Monday reached the milestone of 70% of adults having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
"Remember June 15, remember today, because it is the day that New York rose again," he said. "We can now return to life as we know it."
New York reached the 70% mark ahead of schedule, despite taking one of the first and most severe hits from the virus, making it a global epicenter of the pandemic, Cuomo said. He saluted Long Island for achieving the highest vaccination rate of any region in the state so far, with 75.3% of people 18 and older receiving at least one shot.
To celebrate the landmark day, the Empire State Building and other state landmarks will be lit up in blue and gold Tuesday night, and fireworks will be shot off at 9:15 p.m. at several locations, including Jones Beach.
Read more about the restrictions getting removed and which are still in place in this developing story.
The chart below shows the trend of new cases identified each day in New York City and in the state.
This chart shows the number of new coronavirus cases confirmed each day over the last month.
Search a map of new cases and view more charts showing the latest trends in vaccinations, testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
Northwell Health is requiring new employees to get vaccinated
Long Island-based Northwell Health, which employs 76,000 across 23 hospitals and 830 outpatient practices, said nearly 75% of its employees are vaccinated. Credit: Howard Simmons
Northwell Health, the largest health system in the state, is mandating new employees get vaccinated and plans to launch a requirement that unvaccinated employees be tested regularly.
Newsday's David Reich-Hale reports that this comes as employers nationwide grapple with whether to require workers to get the vaccine against the virus as they reenter the workplace.
"As New York State's largest private employer and health care provider, we believe it is our obligation to set an example for the community by getting our team members vaccinated," Northwell stated.
How LI's 113-year-old duck farm is expanding post-pandemic
Aquebogue's Crescent Duck Farm owner Doug Corwin, seen on June 11, plans to nearly double the farm's capacity to around 35,000 hatchlings a week. Credit: Kendall Rodriguez
Crescent Duck Farm president Doug Corwin wasn't about to let one of the most crippling downturns in his family's 113 years of business stop him from a plan to ensure the company's future by opening a modern hatchery.
So even after the COVID-19 lockdowns forced him to euthanize thousands of ducks, idle nearly all his employees and suffer a steep decline in sales, he continued work on a five-year plan to build the facility on his 145-acre Aquebogue farm, one that will serve the company well into the next generation.
The new hatchery, with a price tag of around $3 million, is scheduled to open in September. It will nearly double the farm’s capacity to around 35,000 hatchlings a week, while automating temperature control and air circulation and vastly improving its sanitary systems.
Read more from this story by Newsday’s Mark Harrington.
More to know
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 600,000 on Tuesday, even as the vaccination drive has drastically brought down daily cases and fatalities.
Girl Scouts have an unusual problem this year — 15 million boxes of unsold cookies — and the organization says the coronavirus is the main culprit.
A new analysis of blood samples from 24,000 Americans taken early last year suggests COVID-19 was in the U.S. in December 2019 — weeks before cases were first recognized by health officials.
President Joe Biden wants to encourage nationwide celebrations for Independence Day this year to mark the country’s effective return to normalcy after 16 months of pandemic disruption.
News for you
Jonathan and Giannina Gallagher in their West Islip home gym on May 28. Credit: Danielle Silverman
Setting up a home gym. For many Long Islanders who were unable to go to a gym during the pandemic, they brought the gym home, creating or expanding workout spaces wherever they had room. Even as restrictions ease and people return to the gym, home is where the workout is for some. Here's a guide on how to do it.
What's in the Hamptons and Montauk this summer? The East End is once again bursting with new restaurants, things to do, shops and traditional summer staples to visit. See our guide for places to try this summer in the Hamptons and Montauk.
More live music coming back to LI. Country concerts continue at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater with Brooks & Dunn bringing its "Reboot" tour to the venue on Sept. 10. And, Glen Cove native Ashanti will headline the Long Island Music Festival at the Long Island Community Hospital Amphitheater at Bald Hill in Farmingville on Sept. 11. Rappers Ja Rule and Fabolous will also be there.
This week on Newsday Live. Join us at noon on Wednesday for a discussion about summer camp, COVID-19 and the vaccine. Register here. On Thursday, experts will answer questions and give tips about selling your home in a hot market. Submit your questions and register in advance. See the full lineup of Newsday Live's virtual events.
TJ Minutillo, of Manhasset, caught this 8-foot bull shark off Nickerson Beach on July 25. Credit: Courtesy Tj Minutillo
Plus: Summer 2020 brought a flurry of shark sightings on South Shore beaches, and experts are divided on whether more sharks are swimming in the waters off LI or if more people are just on the lookout for them. But there were three great white sharks tracked recently lurking off the Long Island Sound and New Jersey.
Sign up for text messages to get the most important coronavirus news and information.
Commentary
The COVID-19 crisis has allowed for some screening of cases that don't need to be prosecuted. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto/Rawf8
COVID-era lessons for our courts. Elizabeth Nevins, who directs the Criminal Justice Clinic at Hofstra Law School, writes in an essay for Newsday Opinion: Last month, New York’s court personnel returned to work full force.
Inching closer to what Chief Judge Janet DiFiore calls a "new and better normal," we should consider lessons learned from the handling of criminal cases during the pandemic.
First, the good news: The COVID crisis has allowed for some screening of cases that don’t need to be prosecuted. The Nassau County DA’s office, facing an insurmountable backlog of unarraigned low-level cases, determined that some cases can be dismissed without protracted litigation. This is a commendable step, but the office could and should be much bolder. The criteria for dismissing cases is so high and the process so cumbersome that the prosecutors have barely made a dent in the pile.
Fortunately, Nassau is looking to build on this platform. 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.
