Health

With an assist from Mother Nature in the form of a gray, damp Saturday and windy Sunday and Monday, the “slow, soft reopening” to the summer season envisioned by East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc last week largely unfolded according to plan over the Memorial Day weekend.

Several key initiatives were announced by local, county, and state officials on Thursday, paving the way for restaurants to offer increased outdoor dining and for private business owners to officially refuse service to people not wearing masks.

Suffolk will “show that we will have the pathway forward to continue reopening the other parts of our economy as quickly as possible,” the county executive predicted.

"With the current health crisis, it would be impossible to have a fair that would be safe for the public and our members," the Ladies Village Improvement Society's board wrote.

Plans are in development to bring a Covid-19 testing site to Montauk, East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc announced on Friday.

Administrators at Northwell Health and the real estate firm Engel Burman accelerated the launch of their Wellbridge Addiction Treatment and Research Center in Calverton because of the Covid-19 pandemic, they announced on May 18, as the facility opened its doors.

On Saturday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced Long Island will likely begin phase one of reopening the economy on Wednesday as long as current trends continue in the slowdown of Covid-19.

East Hampton Town and Village will have strict protocols in place as their beaches open on a limited basis this weekend.

In an effort to keep Sag Harbor Village's commercial district from becoming overcrowded during the Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy issued an executive order on Friday limiting parking on Main Street to 30 minutes. 

Este fin de semana, cuando sus playas se abran de manera limitada, los municipios de East Hampton Town y Village implementarán una serie de protocolos estrictos en torno a su uso. Lo que sigue es un resumen de lo que el público debe saber.

State and county officials expect Long Island to fulfill the seven metrics for reopening the economy early next week, as the spread of Covid-19 increasingly appears to be under control.

It’s always sunny on the Thrive East website, where Charlotte LaGuardia, a certified nutrition specialist, offers her clients a host of services and a blog to address general concerns regarding food, health, stress, and activity.

Four town ocean beaches will open on Saturday during lifeguarded hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Indian Wells and Atlantic Avenue in Amagansett, and South Edison and Ditch Plain in Montauk. For the time being they will be open on weekends only. 

On Wednesday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced a 45-day property tax extension without penalty for those who were affected economically by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The unanimously approved plan from a group that included town supervisors, village mayors, officials from schools, and other interested parties in the county will be sent to the governor's office with a request for an executive order authorizing the plan. Once approved, the deadline to file taxes for those approved will be July 15.

There are approximately 230 seniors in East Hampton High School's class of 2020, and community members are lining up by the dozen — virtually, of course — to make sure every one of them feels special during these challenging times.

“My priority is to make sure Suffolk County residents will be able to enjoy access to the beaches during this crisis, while we do have reduced capacity,” County Executive Steve Bellone said on Monday.

“A summertime influx of people into our area has the potential to cause renewed outbreaks of Covid-19 and reverse the progress our area has made in reducing spread of the disease through weeks of staying at home, quarantining, and following precautions in public,” town board members wrote to the governor.

Southampton Town will open and staff just three beaches this weekend. Both the town and the village will limit access to keep crowds to a minimum.

Wary about the prospect of welcoming a series of new visitors in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the inn's management announced this week that it will seek to rent the entire property from June 1 to Labor Day for $1 million, or $350,000 per month.

The county is awaiting an executive order from the governor before allowing the procedures. It is expected shortly.

In an executive order signed late Thursday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo extended the stay-at-home Pause order through May 28 for regions of New York State — including Long Island — that have not been cleared to begin resuming business activity.

The New York Air National Guard 106th Rescue Wing saluted Long Islanders for their hard work to "fight against Covid-19" with a flyover on Friday afternoon covering the North and South Shores from Long Beach to East Hampton and Greenport.

Before Suffolk County can safely begin to emerge from the Covid-19 lockdown, an expansive contact tracing program designed to contain future outbreaks by identifying, monitoring, and isolating those who come in contact with someone infected must be in place.

We’ve been thrust into a surreal crisis filled with uncertainty and fear. Without effective coping strategies that enable us to adapt, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are a few.

Using Airbnb is out, enlisting a savvy broker is in. Short-term bookings are out, long-term stays are in. Standard leases are out, customized ones with Covid-19 riders are in.

“We in E.M.S. are completely in the dark on what the plan is for the coming months and what to expect,” the Montauk Ambulance Company wrote in a letter to the town board. “We need clarity and, more importantly, to have our thoughts heard.”

Stony Brook University Hospital and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital have devised ways to give voice to their Covid-19 patients and help keep them in touch with their families.

Waiting out the pandemic on the South Fork, three teens saw a need, turned their concern into action, and partnered with an Amagansett church to come to the aid of people "struggling to support their families."

Two measures of Long Island’s progress toward reopening the economy appear to be at odds, but one thing is for certain at this point: When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Pause order expires tomorrow, Long Island will not be ready to fully reopen despite what is thought to be the waning impact of Covid-19 in New York State.

East Hampton’s formidable population of “older adults” is characterized, among many traits, by resilience, and that can serve them well in the face of a pandemic.