2 JUNE 10, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cuomo says New York will go ‘back to life as normal’
once state hits 70 percent vaccinated with fi rst dose
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Governor Andrew Cuomo will
lift most remaining COVID-19
restrictions in the state when
70 percent of adult New Yorkers
have received their first dose of the
COVID-19 vaccine.
“When we hit 70 percent, we will
be back to life as normal — or as
normal as you can be post-COVID,”
Cuomo said at a June 7 press
conference.
The state will lift its guidelines
for retail, food services, offices,
gyms, amusement and family entertainment,
hair salons, barber
shops, personal care services, and
other commercial settings after that
benchmark. That’s likely to happen
in only a few days; presently, at least
68.6 percent of New Yorkers have
gotten at least one dose.
Once New York hits the 70 percent
plateau, the Empire State Building
will light up in blue and gold to
celebrate the achievement, Cuomo
said.
The remaining restrictions —
including capacity limits, social
distancing requirements, cleaning
and disinfection, health screening
and contact tracing — will become
optional for all but a handful of
businesses and settings.
Businesses can still choose to keep
restrictions like mask requirements
or social distancing for their staff
and patrons, as long as they adhere
to state and federal laws, such as the
Americans with Disabilities Act, according
to the governor’s office.
Unvaccinated people will still
have to wear masks and be responsible
for maintaining proper
6-foot social distances, as per the
latest federal guidance from the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Until more New Yorkers get their
shots, the state’s current COVID-19
rules will still be mandatory for
large-scale event venues, pre-K to
12 schools, public transit, shelters,
jails, nursing homes and other
health care settings.
The Empire State’s COVID-19
positivity rate was 0.51 percent as
of June 6 over a seven-day average,
marking 63 days of a straight
decline, with 0.43 percent in New
York City.
Some 19.5 million New Yorkers
have gotten shots in their arms,
including 10.9 million with at least
one dose and 9.4 million fully vaccinated
— meaning they’ve had the
one-and-done shot of the Johnson &
Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, or both
doses of the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna
vaccines.
The state will aim to get more
shots in arms by focusing on groups
such as youngsters aged 12 to 17,
who only recently became eligible,
and ZIP codes with low vaccination
rates, Cuomo said.
In the five boroughs, those are
predominantly in poorer and Black
neighborhoods, such as Far Rockaway,
which at 31.2 percent had the
lowest rate in the city.
Photo via Flickr/governorandrewcuomo
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, we are pleased to
annouce the return of Valeria Salazar to DocCare!
Valeria Salazar is a Licensed Master Social Worker who is able to
counsel both English speaking and Spanish speaking patients.
Also available at DocCare:
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Cheryl Meddles-Torres: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
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