This story was reported by Matthew Chayes, Lisa L. Colangelo, David Reich-Hale and Joie Tyrrell. It was written by Colangelo.
The number of COVID-19 cases across the state continues to fall, but Long Island still leads other regions with the highest rate of new positives in a seven-day period, according to statistics released on Thursday.
There were 7,593 new positive cases of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday out of 270,089 test results in the state, including 687 in Nassau County and 654 in Suffolk County. While the seven-day average of new cases in the state was 3.12%, Long Island’s was 4.18%.
Meanwhile, the state has taken steps to increase vaccination, as it is also moving to reopen more companies and relax the rules on public meetings enacted during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic almost a year ago.
On Thursday, 4.96 million of the first and second doses of the vaccine were administered across the state from 5.5 million doses that were received. On Long Island, 606,152 first and second doses were administered out of 709,360 doses received.
Two Long Island sites are among 12 pop-up vaccination sites for COVID-19 being installed in communities across the state in the coming days with the aim of inoculating more than 4,000 people, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Thursday. market.
The sites will be located in places such as religious institutions, schools and neighborhood centers connected with underserved communities.
Uniondale High School in Uniondale held a vaccination clinic on Thursday morning, and the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Melville is scheduled to hold one on Friday, from 8 am to noon. The state is also opening pop-up sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Cuomo’s office pointed out that the daily rate of positivity across the state on Wednesday was 2.81%, the lowest since November 21.
There were 60 additional deaths due to COVID-19 recorded by the state on Wednesday, including five in Nassau and three in Suffolk.
“As we continue this battle, we cannot be complacent. There are precautions and guidelines that we know how to work on – wearing masks, distance yourself socially, washing your hands and, when eligible, being vaccinated,” said Cuomo in a statement.
Nursing homes face visiting rules
Just over a third of the state’s 610 nursing homes began to allow visitors as part of a new state-issued guideline just over a week ago.
It allows nursing homes to allow visitors without being tested if the level of positivity in a county is less than 5% on a seven-day moving average. If the level of positivity increases to between 5% and 10%, visitors should test COVID-19 negative before the visit.
But the critical point for most nursing homes remains a difficult pattern: nursing homes being free of COVID-19 cases for 14 days.
Only 17 of the 77 nursing homes on Long Island have overcome this obstacle, according to the state health department, which defended the rule, adding that New York is following guidelines from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By adhering to the state’s new Department of Health visitation guidance, “nursing homes are taking appropriate steps to protect the lives of nursing home residents,” said Jeffrey Hammond, public information officer for the State Department of Health. “Due to the continued spread by the community, keeping this virus out of the congregated environments remains our top priority, and asymptomatic spread remains a concern in every corner of the state. That is why nursing homes should be free of COVID by 14 days to be eligible for visitation. “
The strict rules have been criticized by some operators of nursing homes and families who have not seen their loved ones in almost a year.
“We know that the New York State Department of Health’s 14-day COVID-free mandate was designed to maintain the safety of our most vulnerable population; in fact, it set a standard that few nursing homes in the state have been able to meet, given the prevalence of COVID-19 in our neighboring communities, “said Stuart B. Almer, CEO of Gurwin. “It’s been a year now and we need to bring our residents together with their families. We are confident that this can be done safely and hope that there is a way to make this a reality.”
Dolores Zanchelli, from Deer Park, said her mother, Gina Compierchio, a resident of the Jewish Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation Gurwin in Commack, “says all the time that she wants to go home because she is depressed. She hates that anyone comes and sees her. “
Zanchelli said the state should consider the resident’s mental health as part of policy making.
“You are opening cinemas, restaurants and shops, why can’t we see our loved ones?” Said Zanchelli. “Visiting them is fundamental to their well-being.”
Districts seek return to classrooms
School districts on Long Island are looking for more students to return to classrooms for in-person learning, including Middle Country, Lindenhurst, Uniondale, Connetquot and Hempstead.
The Middle Country district posted on its website that high school students returned on Monday, while sophomores will be able to return on March 15 and ninth graders on April 5.
In addition, the district said that all eighth grade students who are receiving hybrid instruction will return to five-day face-to-face education on March 15.
Lindenhurst Middle School will also return to five-day classes for eighth graders, starting on Monday. Parents can still request remote instruction, but there will be no more hybrid options for eighth graders.
Uniondale schools – where 90% of students participated in distance learning – will open their doors to students in the sixth and ninth grades starting on Monday.
The Connetquot school district has warned parents in a note that it is proposing a phased reentry plan to bring all students from sixth to 12th grade back to full-time classes starting March 15. The plan is expected to be proposed before the Education Council on March 9 and includes the installation of table barriers. It would also allow the fourth and fifth grade classes to return, instead of spending half the day with a teacher and the other half with a teaching assistant.
Meanwhile, Hempstead schools have announced that the college will adopt remote education by March 10, citing great caution. Students can return to school on March 11 to join classes on the next scheduled cohort day, read a note on the district website.
In New York City, the fire department will go door-to-door through neighborhoods to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to elderly people living at home, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday, starting immediately in Co-op City in the Bronx and Friday in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
The lists of elderly people to be reached are being compiled by home health agencies, meal delivery programs and other agencies for the elderly, said Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, city commissioner for the Department for Aging. Registration is also available at nyc.gov/Vax4NYC.
“The Fire Department gets a list of individuals, and then they go out and actually vaccinate those individuals on the list,” she said.
Vaccines will be available in areas where many older people tend to live, as well as in the door-to-door operation, said FDNY commissioner Dan Nigro.
De Blasio said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrived Thursday, with the door-to-door program starting soon. He said the city has 16,300 doses of Johnson & Johnson available, with an additional 8,000 in transit.
FIX: An earlier version of this story distorted the total number of new COVID-19 cases in the state from Wednesday’s test results. A total of 7,593 people tested positive on 270,089 test results, according to state figures.
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Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. Previously, she worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignments.