New Long Island COVID-19 cases spike to over 1,200, state figures show
Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a call for all eligible New Yorkers to get vaccinated, saying it would help students return safely to school. "We've gotta get these kids back in school," she said at a news conference in Harlem on Thursday. Credit: Chris Ware
This story was reported by John Asbury, Bart Jones, Carl MacGowan and John Valenti. It was written by Asbury and Jones.
The number of new COVID-19 cases on Long Island spiked to more than 1,200 in test results released Thursday, more than 500 higher than the previous day, as the delta variant continued to spread.
Long Island logged 1,224 new cases in tests completed Wednesday, including 548 in Nassau County and 676 in Suffolk County. On Tuesday, the total was 717.
As recently as June, the figure was well below 100 each day on Long Island.
The virus claimed the lives of 25 New Yorkers on Wednesday, including three in Suffolk and two in Nassau.
The seven-day average for positivity in tests in the region also rose above 4% again after dipping below that benchmark for the previous two days. The average was 4.15% on Long Island, while it was 3.18% statewide.
Medical experts said case numbers, deaths and hospitalizations are rising because of the delta variant, the relaxation of most anti-COVID-19 mandates such as social distancing and mask wearing, and the fact many people refuse to get vaccinated.
New York's new governor, Kathy Hochul, said she will mandate masks in schools as students head back to class over the next couple of weeks. On Thursday, she urged more people to get vaccinated.
"As we approach back to school season, it's crucial to keep our children, teachers and other school staff in our minds and get vaccinated," Hochul said in a statement.
"The vaccine is the best option we have when it comes to keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe. If you haven't already, go out and get your vaccination as soon as you can."
Some Long Island teachers said Thursday they are ready to return to the classroom this fall and reunite with children in masks — a policy they back amid the surge.
A panel of three teachers, speaking Thursday at a Newsday Live webinar, said they support Hochul’s mask mandate for schools, which the governor announced on her first day in office on Tuesday.
Teachers from Deer Park, South Huntington and Bellport said they are focused on taking precautions to keep kids in school.
"I think the governor made the right choice. I think we have to remember public schools are just that — public," said Loraine Richardson McCray, a Bellport English teacher. "The idea of us going into a building knowing this delta variant is rising and not protecting every single person to the best of our ability, would be a fallacy on the part of the school district. I believe the mask mandate is necessary and important and something we can model for our children to understand we’re all responsible for each other."
Wearing a necklace bearing the word "Vaxed," Hochul on Thursday issued a call for all eligible New Yorkers to get vaccinated, saying it would help students return safely to school.
"Let’s push these vaccination numbers and put them through the roof," Hochul said during an afternoon event in Harlem at which she introduced State Sen. Brian Benjamin as her pick to serve as lieutenant governor. "We’ve gotta get these kids back in school, especially in Black and brown communities."
Many Long Island school districts are following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with desks spaced 3 feet apart that allow teachers to get closer to students and have more students in the classroom, said Amina Kelly, a secondary English teacher at Robert Frost Middle School in Deer Park.
"I deeply believe in going into a situation with the best positive energy. This is going to be the greatest year ever," Kelly said. "I think we’ve come to a place where we understand what is necessary to keep us open. Everything we’re doing is meant to keep kids in the classroom. That’s the ultimate goal."
Andrea Lopez, a primary school math teacher in South Huntington, said masks are important for children who are too young to be vaccinated, in addition to sanitizing and hand-washing.
"In accordance to the mask mandate, this is important because at the younger grade levels … this is their first experience in schools. They’re coming at a time when not everything is ‘normal,’ but we are living in this time of the COVID-19 virus, and keeping safe is very important," Lopez said. "We’re teaching our youngest children how to take care of themselves, and they’re taking care of us."
"We've got to get young people vaccinated, especially with school coming on soon," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday morning. He is show on April 27. Credit: TNS/Ed Reed
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday how New York City schools will deal with COVID-19 as schools get set to reopen in September.
De Blasio and the New York City Department of Education said they will follow new guidelines requiring all DOE employees, including school-based staff, to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — with all employees providing proof they’ve received at least one dose by Sept. 27. The DOE also is "strongly" encouraging vaccination for all students age 12 and older.
"We’ve got to get young people vaccinated, especially with school coming on soon," de Blasio said at a morning news briefing.
Additionally, officials announced, every school will have 10% of its unvaccinated population "who have submitted consent for testing" to be tested biweekly. Students and staff who are fully vaccinated won't have to be tested.
Positive cases in elementary school classrooms will result in all students in the class to quarantine for 10 days, officials said. Those students will receive live remote instruction.
Students at least 12 years old and vaccinated who show no symptoms will be allowed to continue in-person school attendance — though these students will be "encouraged" to take a COVID-19 test three to five days after any potential exposure, officials said.
Students who show symptoms will be directed to quarantine for 10 calendar days, even if vaccinated, officials said. Unvaccinated students 12 and older who show symptoms will be asked to take a COVID-19 test on the fifth day of their quarantine — and may return to class after the seventh day, following a negative test.
New York City has a list of medical conditions that would qualify a student for so-called medically necessary instruction through digital platforms. These include active cancer, chronic renal diseases, sickle cell, leukemia, heart conditions and metabolic disorders, cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis.
Sign up to get COVID-19 text alerts at newsday.com/text.
