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	Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said children will not be required to wear masks in school when classes resume in the fall, but that&nbsp;could change depending on virus numbers.
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Hochul: Masks not required to start school

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Joseph Garcia's children were allegedly both excluded from Plainedge schools because the district says they do not have the correct vaccination documents. However, he says he has proof that his children were vaccinated. 

Father says he got kids' blood tested

Inside a Long Island maternity ward during the coronavirus pandemic.

Inside a Long Island maternity ward during the coronavirus

Despite admitting to filling out thousands of fake COVID-19 vaccination forms, former Amityville nurse practitioner Julie DeVuono did not report administering a childhood vaccine in New York for 17 years, records show.

New questions about nurse's fraudulent COVID vaccines

Four years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths and hospitalizations have fallen sharply. Mask-wearing is uncommon. Uptake of the updated vaccine is low. However, experts don't know how many millions of Americans with long COVID will continue to endure the long-term effects. NewsdayTV's Steve Langford reports. 

'Early days ... were traumatic for all of us' 

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There was some vaccine hesitancy before the pandemic, compounded by fatigue when mandates were implemented, one expert said.

LI lagging behind rest of NYS on flu, COVID vaccinations

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The number of hospitalizations has been between about two to four times lower every day this autumn compared with last fall, state statistics show.

COVID up on LI but less than previous years

The 7(a) loan program consists of bank loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration for entrepreneurs who don't qualify for traditional financing.

Small firms struggling to repay pre-pandemic loans 

An expert on vaccine policy said it was a safe assumption that some parents obtained vaccinations as their children faced removal or were removed.

Number of parents, students in vaccination suit drops

The U.S. Small Business Administration rejected the gambling agency's application for loan forgiveness, saying it should've never received the pandemic relief in the first place.

Suffolk OTB sues after its $4 million PPP loan isn't forgiven

Infections caused by the latest dominant variant have symptoms including fever, chills, fatigue, cough, congestion and headache.

What to know about COVID, flu and RSV vaccines

The parent of two students who were excluded from Plainedge schools on Monday said he obtained blood tests to show his children received some of the required vaccines.

LI district bars Wild Child Pediatric patients while parents fight exclusion

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Several LI businesses are accused of stealing nearly $50 million in loans and grants meant to help small businesses during the pandemic. NewsdayTV's Steve Langford reports. 

'If you do this, we are looking — we are going to find you' 

A lot has changed in the three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who lost loved ones and for those who have lingering effects from the virus, life seems to have stood still. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

COVID on LI: Three years later 

Memorial Presbyterian Church in Roosevelt had to adapt to the decrease in in-person membership due to the pandemic. Nearly three years later, the church still offers virtual services. 

'Maybe the church didn't need to be in the four walls'

Long Island parents who have children with underlying conditions speak about the pandemic and "tripledemic" and how it affects them. 

Doctors warn about 'tripledemic' for children with underlying conditions

Timothy Heaton, a former Suffolk County correction officer who spent more than five months hospitalized battling COVID-19, was given his retirement shield by Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Toulon Jr. 

A second chance at the rest of his life

State health and education officials are urging people to wear masks indoors as COVID-19, flu and RSV infections increase on Long Island. Newsday TVs Steve Langford reports. 

LIers speak out on masking recommendation

Opera Night Long Island, an open-mic event that brings together talented singers with different repertoire and styles, has returned to St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Northport after a pandemic hiatus. Singers hail the event as a way to help keep music alive for the community.

LI opera lovers keep music alive at open mic night in Northport

The executive director of the Southampton Animal Shelter of Hampton Bays, Pat Deshong, discusses the effects of the COVID boom in pet adoptions years later, and how it is now impacting that animal shelter and others.

COVID boom in pet adoptions

Patrice Piretti, 63, from Huntington Station, worked as a nurse and then a nurse leader at two Northwell Health hospitals, but then had to leave her job because Long COVID prevented her from working successfully. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

The new normal means figuring out life with Long COVID

On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced masks are no longer required on the Long Island Rail Road and other transit systems in New York.

Riders can take off masks if they want

Summer is winding down and kids are preparing to return to school. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

Kids look forward to returning to school minus COVID-19 restrictions

"The days of sending an entire classroom home because one person was symptomatic or tests positive, those days are over," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.

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