42 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • DECEMBER 2020
PRESS HEALTH
COVID-19 ROUNDUP
LATEST PANDEMIC HEADLINES
LI TOPS 100K CASES
Long Island has reported more than
100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in
the nine months since the first patient
was diagnosed in the region, New York
State data showed on Nov. 2.
The milestone comes as cases surge
across the nation. Cases on the Island
account for about a fifth of infections
statewide.
In October, New York State became the
fourth state in the nation to surpass a
half a million cases of the virus.
-TB
VIRUS VACCINE TEST SITE
OPENS ON LI
NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island
in Mineola has opened a new center
to expand trials of a potential
COVID-19 vaccine being developed by
AstraZeneca.
At the new center, health professionals
seek to enroll 30,000 people globally,
ages 18 to 85, who will each randomly either
receive the experimental vaccine
or a placebo solution.
“It’s very exciting for us, and Long
Island, to participate in vaccine trials
aimed at controlling Covid-19,”
said Dr. Steven Carsons, director of
the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone
Hospital—Long Island, which was until
recently known as NYU Winthrop
Hospital. “While emerging infectious
diseases will always be a threat,
Covid-19 is clearly the greatest health
threat in a hundred years. By working
together to establish effective vaccines,
hopefully we will conquer it.”
-Briana Bonfiglio
NEW LIMITS FOR BARS, GYMS,
GROUPS
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 11 imposed
a new round of restrictions aimed at
curbing the spread of the coronavirus
as the infection rate climbed and hospitalizations
soared in the state that was
the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak in its
early stages.
Cuomo ordered bars, restaurants
and gyms in the state to shut down
on-premises services at 10 p.m. nightly,
A healthcare worker works at a coronavirus test center, as the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) continues in New York (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
and capped the number of people who
could attend private parties at 10.
The new measures came a day after
California and several states across
the Midwest tightened restrictions on
residents to try to curb the rapid spread
of the virus.
-Reuters
CATERER FINED FOR SUPERSPREADER
WEDDING
New York State officials suspended
the North Fork Country Club’s liquor
license after the Cutchogue catering
venue hosted a 113-guest wedding that
led to at least 34 Covid-19 infections.
The wedding, held on Oct. 17, violated
the state’s 50-person limit on social
gatherings and led to 30 guests, three
country club staff members, and one
wedding vendor contracting the virus.
As a result, 159 people needed to
quarantine and several schools in the
area temporarily closed for in-person
learning.
“As we have seen in weddings and similar
events across the country during
this pandemic, large gatherings can
easily be superspreader events, too often
with dire consequences,” said Gov.
Andrew Cuomo. “Hosting one of these
events after all New York has been
through is obnoxious and irresponsible,
not to mention illegal.”
The state previously suspended the
liquor licenses of catering halls in Great
Neck and East Patchogue as well as the
Miller Place Inn, which was cited for
hosting a sweet 16 officials also termed
a superspreader event.
-BB
CUOMO BLASTS TRUMP VAX
PLAN
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Attorney
General Letitia James raised red flags
on Nov. 1 over the federal government’s
plan for administering a Covid-19 vaccine
once it receives FDA approval.
Reflecting on meetings with the White
House Coronavirus Task Force over the
weekend, Cuomo pointed to structural
racism as a particular problem for
targeting minority Black and Brown
communities that have been disproportionately
affected by the pandemic
in terms of infection and death rates.
Specifically, Trump’s plan to deliver
doses of the vaccine from Big Pharma
producers such as Johnson & Johnson
and Pfizer to a network of private chain
pharmacies does not attend to the issue
of “healthcare deserts,” according to
Cuomo. He said that primarily affects
Black and Brown communities across
New York and America.
Cuomo urged that the task force pay
attention to the data and not repeat
mistakes made in March, which saw
testing efforts proportionately lower
in Black and Brown communities — in
spite of the high concentration of essential
workers in these groups.
-Hazel Shahgholi
NEW NY TRAVEL RULES
Most people arriving in New York
State must quarantine for at least three
full days before taking a coronavirus
test, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced
on Oct. 31 as he overhauled one of the
strictest quarantine regimes for travelers
in the United States. If that test
comes back negative, the traveler can
leave quarantine.
The requirements, which took effect
on Nov. 4, will not apply to residents
of “contiguous” states, Cuomo told
reporters, and there will be different
requirements for New Yorkers who
leave the state for less than 24 hours.
People will also be required to take a
test that comes back negative within
the three days prior to heading to New
York, the governor said.
If the second test taken at least four
days after arrival is also negative, “you
can go about your business,” Cuomo
said in a telephone conference with
reporters. If it is positive, the person
must remain in isolation, he said.
-Reuters
For more coronavirus coverage visit
longislandpress.com/tags/coronavirus
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
/coronavirus
