28 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 24, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Fireworks were launched all across the city in celebration of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that he was lifting most of the state’s COVID-19
precautions.
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Photo via @NYGovCuomo/Twitter
Title: Howard Beach population grows by three as
triplets arrive ahead of Father’s Day
Summary: A Howard Beach couple welcomed the birth
of their triplets just days before Father’s Day. Catherine
and Stephan Vieitez left North Shore University
Hospital Friday, June 18, with their newly expanded
family.
Reach: 6,611 (as of 06/21/2021)
A pause for
celebration
With Governor Andrew Cuomo’s
announcement that he was lift ing most of
the state’s COVID-19 precautions due to
the state reaching a 70 percent fi rst-dose
vaccination threshold, fi reworks were
launched all across the city in celebration.
Th e pyrotechnics were set off to celebrate
the essential workers who tirelessly worked
during the pandemic. Th e Empire State
Building also lit up in blue and gold, along
with a plethora of other locations across
the city and state to mark the occasion.
Th e celebration was a much-needed
release for many in the city. Th e past 15
months of this pandemic have been the
most diffi cult, and the fi reworks were
symbolic of a milestone that indicated the
worst is fi nally behind us.
No one will ever forget the horrifi c suffering
our city endured — tens of thousands
of people dead, tens of thousands
more sickened, all the businesses crushed
by restrictions, the isolation most everyone
felt from being told to stay home and
socially distance.
Th is pandemic generated so much
despair and anxiety for so many people,
and one could make a valid argument
against celebrating the achievement of just
having 70 percent of people getting at least
one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Th ere’s
still much work to be done to get everyone
(or close to everyone) vaccinated.
But we should celebrate this achievement,
and so many of the other things
that have come with it — from the mass
reopening of businesses, to being able to
go to a restaurant, movie theater or a ballpark
and enjoy something without fear of
becoming gravely ill.
We must always remain vigilant against
a resurgence of COVID-19. But in the
meantime, we can fi nally begin turning
the page on this grim chapter in our history
and start to enjoy life again.
And if we’ve learned nothing else, it is
how fragile life can be — and how important
it is to take advantage of what life has
to off er when we are able to savor and
appreciate it. Vaccination has given us the
ability to do just that.
If you’ve gotten the shot, go out and
enjoy life. If you haven’t gotten it yet, don’t
wait another second and get it.
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