As New York continues to battle the pandemic, more than 200 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed on Long Island.
This past Friday, the United States surpassed 8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, reaching the most cases worldwide, as recorded by the John Hopkins University data tracker. The state Department of Health reported 105 new positive cases in Nassau County and 104 new cases in Suffolk. The infection level percentage is now 1.1% on Long Island.
There are numerous hotspots throughout the state, which could account for this uptick. Those being, in Queens, Brooklyn, Orange and Rockland counties. Statewide, 136,039 COVID-19 tests were administered and 1,707, 1.25%, tested positive.
“As we go through the fall and into the winter and cases continue to rise across the country, it’s going to take the work of all New Yorkers to maintain our progress,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “We cannot and will not risk going backwards to where we were in the spring.”
There have been three new deaths in Nassau County, totalling its overall death count to 2,208 since the start of the pandemic. Additionally, there have been 2,017 deaths in Suffolk County.
“We have to keep it up – we must all keep washing our hands, wearing our masks and remaining socially distant,” said Cuomo. “This is about caring for one another and being New York tough, which means being loving.”
Long Island has no red zones, only orange and yellow. It’s current cluster lies in Inwood, Lawrence and Cedarhurst. In order to stop the spread of the virus, the county is ramping up testing and is following new rules to combat the virus. Schools in orange areas are now remote and will be for a full two weeks. For people in yellow zones, like those in Cedarhurst, schools are allowed to remain open, but students and staff are required to have mandatory weekly testing.
Houses of worship in orange zones are to be at 33% capacity and those in yellow at 50%. Mass gatherings can have a maximum of 10 people indoor and outdoor in orange zones, 25 people maximum, indoor and outdoor, in yellow.
Non essential high risk businesses, like gyms and personal care, must be closed in orange zones, while in yellow they can remain open.
Restaurants in orange zones are required to have only outdoor dining with four person max per table. In yellow areas indoor and outdoor dining is allowed.
“New York’s numbers remain steady, despite the handful of clusters we are currently focused on,” said Cuomo. “We are addressing these clusters through our targeted approach to ensure that they don’t become community spread.”
