Coronavirus

A common theme emerged this year as school districts went through their routine audits: The Covid-19 pandemic has motivated some to hold on to more surplus funds than in past years, despite a state law limiting the amount of money a district can retain.

Now that multiple pharmaceutical companies have developed Covid-19 vaccines, federal and state officials are putting together plans for the distribution of those vaccines. However, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday said he has identified three major obstacles in the way of fair distribution among the general population.

One of the most common questions people are asking physicians right now is if and when they should consider being tested for the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19. It's understandable that people have questions about this, not just because the pandemic continues to rage on, but also because our understanding of how this virus works has continued to change as we learn more and more.

Thanksgiving wasn't just a one-day holiday, in the eyes of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. It marked the start of 37 days of dangerous revelry — 37 days in which state and local officials are predicting Covid-19 infection rates will surge as people shop, gather, travel, and celebrate.

Marine fishing industries that have experienced significant economic losses because of the pandemic can apply for federal grants through New York State's fisheries relief program starting on Tuesday. The application period ends on Dec. 31.

As Covid-19 surges anew on the East End, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital has once again suspended most visitation privileges.

Governor Cuomo and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone both said they expect another surge in Covid-19 infections in the 10 days following the holiday, and looked ahead to what they each said they hope will be a more normal Thanksgiving next year.

From online laboratory simulations to individual sets of science supplies to constant cleaning of equipment, teaching and learning science amid the Covid-19 pandemic has been one big experiment in itself for local educators and students. In normal times students would be able to work in groups, clustered around a table sharing lab equipment like beakers, burners, and microscopes — but these are not normal times.

One point of information included in a press conference by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday may come as a surprise to many in East Hampton: The Covid-19 positive test rate here was 4.41 percent that day, less than .2 percent lower than the average daily rate in Riverhead, which is under new restrictions as of Monday.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has instituted limitations on restaurants, houses of worship, and schools in Riverhead and Hampton Bays, the two East End communities that crossed a line on Monday into higher Covid-19 infection rates.

Parts of Suffolk County are on track this week to become a yellow micro-cluster zone according to New York State’s Covid-19 focus area system. In a yellow zone, mass gatherings, both indoors and outdoors, would be limited to 25 people, houses of worship are limited to 50 percent capacity, and there would be a four-person limit at tables in both indoor and outdoor dining.

A new case of Covid-19 diagnosed in a fourth-grade student at the John M. Marshall Elementary School has led the East Hampton School District administration to close that school to in-person classes for the two days leading up to the Thanksgiving break next week.

With coronavirus infection rates far higher in Hampton Bays and Riverhead than in other parts of Suffolk County, the county is increasing the number of testing sites in those communities to understand why, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said on Thursday. 

With coronavirus infections surging in Suffolk County primarily because of small indoor gatherings, traditional Thanksgiving celebrations could pose a significant health risk, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone warned on Tuesday.

With Thanksgiving next week, my thoughts turn to the things for which I am grateful. There are many items on this list, particularly what I am grateful for as a physician, but right now, so many of them are related in some way, shape, or form to Covid-19.

The pandemic has caused an ongoing surge in people seeking assistance from East End food pantries and other social services organizations, their directors said this week.

A Covid-19 outbreak in a school can impact the community, and an outbreak in a community can impact its schools. So goes a circle that school officials here are keeping their eye on — while still planning, in some cases, to bring back more students for in-person classes.

One more positive test result was confirmed in Sag Harbor, meaning with four total cases, 22 students and five staff members are quarantined. The East Hampton Middle School reported its second covid case on Monday, and two additional East Hampton High School students have tested positive, bringing the school's total to 16 as of Monday.

Citing an “alarming spike in new Covid-19 cases” over the last week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced on Friday the immediate deployment of enforcement teams comprising a county fire marshal and an official from the county’s Division of Consumer Affairs that will supplement ongoing compliance efforts.

I wish I could promise patients that I would never be late again, but there will always be the emergency phone calls just before I'm supposed to walk into a room, or the need to track down previous medical records or laboratory results. Sometimes, I'm late because I've seen a full schedule of patients, one after the other, and I'm sitting in my office for five minutes trying not to be overwhelmed.

School districts are using online surveys to gauge how their families are feeling about school attendance and whether they prefer in-person, remote, or hybrid learning. Their answers will help shape the coming months.

Coronavirus infections are surging in Suffolk County and people are primarily contracting the virus at small indoor gatherings. Based on the timing of the surge and contact tracing efforts, "We think the current spike is related to Halloween parties," County Executive Steve Bellone said this week.

With the number of Covid-19 cases in New York growing at a faster rate than at any point since the spring, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Wednesday that all New York State Liquor Authority-licensed establishments and gyms must close at 10 p.m. and that private gatherings in residences, whether inside or out, will be limited to no more than 10 people.

Suffolk County's Covid-19 positive rate has been creeping upward in recent weeks, and on Sunday hit 3.8 percent, the highest seen in months, with 324 people testing positive for the virus. 

With Suffolk County reporting a steady increase in the Covid-19 positivity rate, East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen announced on Monday that Village Hall will be closed to the public starting Thursday and through the end of the year.

By Monday morning, South Fork school districts had reported three more cases of Covid-19 diagnosed since Friday. The affected districts are Montauk, Sag Harbor, and East Hampton.

Two entire classrooms of children at the John M. Marshall Elementary School are in quarantine through Nov. 19 after two cases of Covid-19 were confirmed among fifth-grade students this week. Additionally, two more cases have been diagnosed among East Hampton High School students, and one among the support staff at the Wainscott School.

A week ago there was just one known case of Covid-19 among East Hampton High School students, but that number has since risen to six and all of them are connected to a single recent indoor gathering, school officials said this week. The district's John M. Marshall Elementary School also reported a new case in a fifth grader.

There is a phenomenon in marathons and other endurance sports called "hitting the wall" — the moment when severe fatigue engulfs athletes due to their glycogen stores being depleted. The Covid-19 pandemic is a marathon. After all these months the threat is still very real. This is why everyone has to keep running.

Springs School District officials on Monday announced that the school will soon start offering in-person instruction to larger groups of students four days per week instead of two, and in the interim will begin live-streaming classroom lessons.