30 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MARCH 2021
PRESS HEALTH
COVID-19 ROUNDUP
LATEST PANDEMIC HEADLINES
MANHASSET OUTBREAK
SPARKS SCHOOL PAUSE
At least 38 students at Manhasset Secondary
School have tested positive for
Covid-19 after a social gathering became
a superspreader event, according to a
letter from Dr. Vincent Butera, superintendent
of Manhasset School District.
As a result, the school moved to fully
remote learning and cancelled all
extracurricular activities through at
least Feb. 26. District officials will reassess
when the school can reopen as
they monitor new cases. Butera urged
any student who attended a party or
gathering between Feb. 3 and Feb. 17 to
get tested for Covid-19.
“These disconcerting actions by members
of our community continue to put
our entire school community at risk and
cause a heightened sense of fear and anxiety,”
Butera wrote in the letter, which
was posted online on Feb 16. “As we have
communicated in the past, events like
these impact the entire community, resulting
in potentially serious illness for
students, their families, and our faculty
and staff. Many of the students who have
tested positive have been asymptomatic,
causing a false sense of security.”
Earlier on Feb. 17, the Nassau County Department
of Health notified the school
district of the superspreader event after
contact tracers determined that was
where the virus spread. Students were
home from school the week of Feb. 15 for
winter break.
-Briana Bonfiglio
NASSAU OPENING NEW
VAX SITE AT LIU POST
Nassau County will open a new Covid-19
vaccination center at LIU Post in
Brookville, County Executive Laura
Curran announced on Feb. 10.
The county’s health department will
manage the point of distribution (POD),
and LIU Post School of Health Professions
and Nursing students and faculty
will administer the shots.
“This partnership will allow the county
to use not just the space but the skill of
the students, the teachers, and the faculty
to administer the doses,” Curran said.
This is the third county-run site to
open in Nassau. The others are at Nassau
Community College in Uniondale
and Yes We Can Community Center
Covid-19 is reflected in a drop on a syringe needle. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
in Westbury. When appointments become
available at these sites, residents
can register at nassaucountyny.gov/
vaccine.
The new vaccine center will focus on
residents in phase 1b of New York State’s
vaccination program. This includes
older adults, police officers, firefighters,
teachers, and all school staff, grocery
store workers, transit workers, taxi
drivers, and restaurant workers. Starting
Monday, Feb. 15, it also included
people with certain pre-existing health
conditions.
“This is opening up more eligibility,”
Curran said, “The supply is not opening
up that much, but we want to make sure
that we have the infrastructure in place
to accommodate the eligibility as supply
does open up. Having this POD here at
LIU will help us with that.”
-BB
SUFFOLK OPENS NEW
VAX SITE AT SCCC SELDEN
CAMPUS
Suffolk County opened its third mass
Covid-19 vaccination site at Suffolk
County Community College’s Selden
campus, Suffolk County Executive
Steve Bellone announced during a news
briefing on Feb. 17.
The vaccine point of distribution (POD)
joined Suffolk’s two existing mass
vaccination sites at the Brentwood and
Riverhead campuses of SCCC.
“The college is uniquely situated for this
effort,” Bellone said. “These campuses
are strategically located throughout the
county on the west end, east end, and
now in the middle of the county with the
Selden campus.”
Bellone noted that “we need more
vaccines,” but “we expect to see the
number of vaccines available go up in
the coming weeks.”
The Selden campus will focus on
vaccinating those with comorbidities
(people having more than one disease
or condition at the same time), municipal
employees, and Northwell Health
employees, he added. The other sites
will focus on all essential employees.
For more information about receiving
the Covid-19 vaccine in Suffolk, visit
suffolkcountyny.gov/vaccine.
-BB
NY ARENAS TO START
REOPENING
New York State arenas that hold more
than 10,000 people reopened on Feb.
23, providing an avenue for sporting
events to start having fans in attendance
for the first time in nearly a year.
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
in Uniondale, home of the New York
Islanders hockey team, is permitted to
fill only 10 percent of its capacity and
all those attending must have received
a negative PCR Covid-19 test within 72
hours of the event.
We look forward to welcoming the best
fans in hockey back to the coliseum as
soon as possible and to UBS Arena at
Belmont Park next season,” the Islanders
released in a statement.
New York State’s Department of Health
must give approval for each of the
venues and events to have spectators
in attendance.
The 10 percent capacity rule will provide
the necessary parameters to fulfill
the state’s mandatory assigned and
socially-distanced seating plan. Face
coverings and temperature checks will
also be required at each venue.
Cuomo’s ruling bodes well for both of
New York’s baseball teams, the Mets and
Yankees.
-Joe Pantorno
RESTAURANT CURFEW
EXTENDED AN HOUR
Owners of New York’s restaurants and
bars received good news: They were
able to stay open an hour later as of
Feb. 14.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that
he’s extended the 10 p.m. mandated
closing time for bars and restaurants
by an hour, to 11 p.m.
“Our decisions are based on science and
data and we adjust as the virus adjusts,”
Cuomo said. “We will continue to follow
the science and react accordingly. If we
keep the infections down and vaccinations
up, we will continue to stay ahead in
the footrace against this invisible enemy.”
The early closing times were originally
enacted to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The change came ahead of the Valentine’s
Day holiday weekend, which is
traditionally one of the busiest weekends
for restaurants and bars.
-Robert Pozarycki
/nassaucountyny.gov
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