46 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JUNE 2021
PRESS HEALTH
COVID-19 ROUNDUP
LATEST PANDEMIC HEADLINES
JULY 4 EYED FOR 100%
BEACH CAPACITY
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is optimistic that
New York State beaches and pools
could open at 100 percent capacity by
the Fourth of July as Covid-19 vaccination
rates continue to rise and virus
positivity rates decline, he said on May
12.
The state opened beaches and pools
on Memorial Day weekend with 6-foot
social distancing, which cuts capacity
down significantly, including at Jones
Beach State Park, which was limited to
50 percent capacity starting with the
Bethpage Air Show on May 28 to 30.
“We have to get ready for a great summer,”
Cuomo said during a news conference.
“The weather is turning, the
winter is over, we have to get on with
life. Our goal is by the Fourth of July to
go to 100 percent capacity, all beaches,
all pools. If the numbers keep going the
way they’re going, we’re going to be
able to do that, so we would actually be
able to have a normal summer, finally,
and that’s what we’re striving for.”
-BB
NYS UPDATES MASK
GUIDELINES
New York State began following, on
May 19, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s new guidance
on mask-wearing during the Covid-19
pandemic.
The CDC recommended that individuals
who are fully vaccinated against
Covid-19 can walk outside without
masks, and go maskless in most indoor
settings. The agency still advises
wearing masks in confined areas such
as planes, trains, buses, and in large
public venues such as hospitals and
doctors’ offices.
Under the revised mask order for
New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo
said that any unvaccinated or immunocompromised
New Yorkers who
haven’t received the vaccine will still
be required to wear masks and practice
social distancing.
-Robert Pozarycki and Mark Hallum,
amNewYork Metro
CVS WORKER CHARGED
WITH FAKE COVID CARDS
A former CVS employee from Levittown
was arrested on May 11 for
Jason Saravia, a freshman at Suffolk County Community College, gets vaccinated during a news conference on
Covid-19 vaccination at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood on April 12, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool
via REUTERS)
allegedly possessing partially filled
out Covid-19 vaccine cards that he
planned to give to friends and family
to write their own information on,
according to the Nassau County Police
Department.
Officers say that Zachary Honig, 21,
was found in possession of eight partially
completed Covid vaccination
cards, 54 blank vaccination cards,
one pill of a controlled substance, and
silver-colored brass knuckles during
an investigation on May 11 on Dibblee
Drive in East Garden City/Westbury.
“The first eight cards that he had were
already prefilledout out with the batch
number, the store number, and dates
that the vaccination was distributed,
one date being within the last week
and the other one 30 days out, showing
it was a completed card,” Nassau County
Police Commissioner Pat Ryder
explained during a news conference
on May 13, noting that only the name
and contact information were missing.
Honig allegedly stole the cards from
his place of employment at a local CVS
with the intent of sharing them with
family members and friends “so that
they could go into venues and possibly
even use them at school when they go
back in September,” Ryder said.
-BB
IN-PERSON SUNY STUDENTS
NEED VAX BY FALL
SUNY and CUNY students will be
required to be vaccinated against
Covid-19 before being allowed back
onto campuses for in-person classes
this fall, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said May
10.
“Let’s make a global statement. You
cannot go back to school in person in
September unless you have a vaccine,”
Cuomo said. “That will be a major motivator
to get the vaccine. If you have
to get the vaccine by September, why
wouldn’t you get it now?”
Long Island’s SUNY schools include
SUNY Farmingdale, SUNY Stony
Brook, SUNY Old Westbury, and the
two state-run community colleges:
Nassau Community College and
Suffolk County Community College.
Many Long Islanders attend SUNY
schools in upstate New York as well,
and will now need the vaccine before
traveling to school.
Schools including Columbia University,
Pace University, and New York
University announced earlier this
year that their students are required
to get inoculated against the virus
before returning this fall, and Cuomo
encouraged more private colleges and
universities to follow suit.
-Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech, amNewYork
Metro
MOST PANDEMIC-ERA
CROWD CAPS LIFTED
Most coronavirus capacity restrictions
on venues including retail stores, food
services, and gyms ended on May 19
in the tristate area of New York, New
Jersey, and Connecticut, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo said.
Cuomo said mitigation measures such as
keeping 6 feet apart will remain in place,
as per guidance from the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, except
in situations where there is proof of
vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test.
“This is a major reopening of economic
and social activity,” Cuomo said. The
governor also announced that the New
York City subway resumed its 24-hour
service beginning on May 17.
Previously, Cuomo had said that offices
could increase to 75 percent capacity,
and casinos, gyms, and fitness centers
to 50 percent on May 15. Large stadiums
will still only move from 25 to 33 percent
capacity on May 19. Indoor arenas,
such as Nassau Coliseum, will move
from 10 to 25 percent capacity on May 19.
The reopening announcement was the
latest of many made recently, including
New York being allowed to lift its midnight
food and beverage service curfew
on May 17 for outdoor dining and May
31 for indoor dining.
-Reuters
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
