NY's travel advisory list grows
NJ, CT and PA are spared from NY's travel quarantine list
States in red are currently on New York's travel advisory list. Guam and Puerto Rico, not pictured, are also on the list.
The list of states and territories from which travelers to New York must quarantine for 14 days upon arriving here because of high infection levels is growing, and is now up to 40.
Even though New York's neighboring states now qualify for the travel advisory list, they're getting somewhat of a pass. Cuomo said it would be almost impossible to enforce the mandate there, but will instead urge people from Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to avoid nonessential travel here.
"It would be highly problematic and it would be really devastating for the economy" if the quarantine order was enforced for neighboring states, he said. "There’s just too many interchanges."
Arizona and Maryland were added to the list on Tuesday. View a map with all of the current states on the list.
Meanwhile on Long Island, Brentwood High School on Tuesday switched to remote learning through the end of the month after a staff member tested positive.
The number of new positives reported today: 74 in Nassau, 41 in Suffolk, 436 in New York City and 1,201 statewide.
The chart below shows the number of new coronavirus cases recorded in New York City and in the state this month. Search a map of cases, and view more charts showing the latest local trends in testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
These bars show the number of new coronavirus cases confirmed each day.
Showcase Cinemas reopening 3 LI theaters on Friday
Showcase Cinemas will reopen its Cinema de Lux locations in Holtsville, Hicksville and Farmingdale this Friday.
Over the weekend, Cuomo gave the green light for cinemas to reopen in most counties in New York State, including in Nassau and Suffolk.
Movie theaters have been one of the last businesses allowed to open since closing their doors in mid-March.
With most of Hollywood’s new releases delayed until next year, the Showcase locations will be playing a mix of first-run and older films. Theaters will be restricted to 25% capacity, with no more than 50 people per screen, according to the rules set down by the governor’s office.
Despite pandemic, Southampton sees fewer vacant storefronts
Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren is shown outside the recently opened Phillips Auction House at Main Street and Hampton Road on Oct. 8. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
An influx of new art galleries and boutiques looking to meet their customers where they are — hunkering down in their East End homes — has helped keep Southampton’s typically lagging Main Street occupied during the pandemic this fall.
Some clothing retailers have closed their Southampton storefronts. But where some chains struggled, other industries saw opportunity.
There could be two dozen vacancies in the downtown during this time of year, said Mayor Jesse Warren. This year he only counts about six unoccupied spaces.
"We’re seeing less vacancies than ever before," said Warren, who owns two boutiques in the village. "We’ve had a relatively safe environment with low COVID numbers. I think that is definitely related to our spike in population."
Navigating the college admissions process in a pandemic
Educators say the pandemic sparked a change in thinking for how the college search, application and admissions process works. But a panel of experts at a Newsday Live webinar said Tuesday that prospective applicants shouldn't dwell on the negatives — they should instead consider new opportunities.
One big change: Many colleges will be test-optional this year, if they haven't been prior, and some may remain so. That means prospective students might not necessarily need to submit SAT or ACT test scores, and other factors might carry new weight in the admissions process.
Hofstra University Associate Vice President for Admissions and Enrollment Management Sunil A. Samuel said admissions officials have found students to be "very resilient" and "agreeable to changing the way they thought about college."
Read more and watch the full webinar here.
More to know
Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach at a news conference in Lynbrook on Tuesday to kick off the "Purple Pumpkin SAFE Halloween" initiative. Credit: Barry Sloan
To ease parents' worries about trick-or-treating, Nassau officials announced a new initiative Tuesday to signal homes handing out candy are following proper safety protocols.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reported some progress for reaching a pre-election deal with President Donald Trump on a new coronavirus relief package, but the same core problems remain in place.
A new microloan program aims to help women entrepreneurs buy technology, so they can reach customers online during the pandemic and beyond, officials said.
With more mail-in voting, a common concern of voters is that they can’t track whether their absentee ballot was delivered to be counted — but officials said for Long Islanders and most New Yorkers, such a tracking system is at least a year away.
News for you
Grace Woodbury, 10, of Rockville Centre, had a surprise "booing" on her lawn by Sneaky Signs. Credit: Denise Woodbury
'Booing' your friends has built-in social distancing. "Booing" your friends and families in the weeks leading up to Halloween isn’t new. Small bags of treats get left anonymously on others’ doorsteps to surprise them, and they are urged to continue the game by "booing" someone else. It's totally contactless, and has become a bigger deal this year.
Ramen chain opens NY location. Ichiddo Ramen has opened in Port Washington. It's doing takeout or can seat about five socially distanced parties. Check it out.
Sitcoms return with COVID-19-related episodes. "Black-ish" and "The Conners" launch their seventh and third seasons, respectively, on Wednesday — with pandemic-specific storylines. Read Newsday's review.
Plus: Don't miss the Newsday Live Music Series virtual event tonight with Long Island native Taylor Dayne. Register here for the 8 p.m. event.
Sign up for text messages to get the most important coronavirus news and information.
Commentary
The first patient enrolled in Pfizer's vaccine clinical trial at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore receives an injection on May 4. Credit: AP
With a COVID-19 vaccine, how do we balance risk and safety? Thomas Hazlett, of Clemson University, writes for the Chicago Tribune: The great race for a COVID-19 vaccine has more than 130 medicines in development, with 40 being tested on humans, of which 10 are in large, phase 3 trials.
The U.S. government has invested about $11 billion in Operation Warp Speed, making advance purchases from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline, Novavax and AstraZeneca — betting that at least some will be soon approved by regulators as "safe and effective" vaccines.
No matter your Twitter feed, "vaccines have been one of the greatest public health tools to prevent disease," as The New York Times explained in January. But as late as May 9, the Times reported that "American officials and pharmaceutical executives have said that a vaccine remains at least 12 to 18 months away."
That forecast may prove unduly pessimistic: Good Judgment, a respected forecasting firm, places odds of a vaccine approved and distributed to at least 25 million Americans by March 31, 2021, at 46%.
Too fast? Many are terrified that the Food and Drug Administration may hastily authorize injections into hundreds of millions. The FDA and drugmakers are trying to assuage such concerns with enhanced commitments to safety. Keep reading.
Erin Serpico is an assistant web producer who joined Newsday in November 2018. Originally from New Jersey, she now covers community events and produces local content for newsday.com while also helping run the homepage.
