Coronavirus

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.