Coronavirus

The course of true love never did run smooth: Book lovers with devoted book clubs are doing everything in their power, even mastering new technology, to keep up with meetings in the age of coronavirus. What Zoom lacks in dimension, dimensional conversation makes up for.

As of Tuesday, with the daily Covid-19 infection rate on Long Island hovering around 1.5 percent, school sports are still a go starting on Sept. 21. On Wednesday, the New York State Department of Health released further guidelines governing each sport, clarifying that football, volleyball, rugby, and now cheerleading will not start until March 1, 2021.

New York State school districts must now report confirmed cases of Covid-19 to a state Department of Health website that will be publicly accessible by the start of the school year.

As this "summer like no other" neared its unofficial close, the East Hampton Town Board announced new phases of a communications campaign aimed at maintaining the suppression of Covid-19 transmission.

Haunted houses, corn mazes, and apples, oh my!

New state guidelines announced earlier this week mean that beloved fall activities including corn mazes, apple and pumpkin picking, and haunted houses will be able to open for New Yorkers to enjoy as early as Saturday. 

"The new guidance announced today will ensure that these businesses can open to the public, allowing families to enjoy their favorite fall activities while providing a boost for our farming communities and local economies," Gov. Cuomo said in a release on Tuesday.

The Ross School announced Saturday it will require each student to have a negative Covid-19 test within seven days of the start of school before he or she can attend in person. No child will be able to start school without such a test.

We tend to ask just about everyone we think could even possibly have some sort of serious event requiring CPR or intubation what their wishes are. The reason for that? Because experience has taught me, over and over again, to tackle these questions at the beginning.

The first day of school for Bridgehampton students is now Monday, Sept. 14, after the school board voted this week to alter the calendar.

School officials have said Chromebook laptops for students are on back order across the nation and Plexiglas barriers for desks have been hard to come by. Local school boards have appointed many previous substitute teachers to full-time positions, creating a shortage of those who can be called upon to fill in for teachers who take time off. Custodians, too, are in short supply for some districts as schools embark on plans that rely upon stringent cleaning protocols.

It is back to school season for college students too, but as with many things during a pandemic, it may not really feel like it. "It's obviously not ideal, but learning how to manage expectations is just a part of life," said a University of Iowa junior from Southampton.

Project Most, a nonprofit that runs programs for elementary-age children in Springs and East Hampton, will for the first time offer a daytime program during the school year for Springs School students in kindergarten through eighth grade to supplement the two days a week of in-person learning that the children will be receiving.

"If we do not receive federal funding, there is no way that the state and local governments can cover the deficit," the governor said Monday, citing "catastrophic budget shortfalls" that could impact thousands of workers.