Coronavirus

Couples all over have been left scrambling, deciding either to call off or reschedule their weddings as pandemic-related closures persist.

Covid-19 has cast a long shadow over the health care industry, and there’s a sense of trepidation and anxiety among the 65 practical nurses who are graduating Thursday from their Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services program. But there’s also a sense of hope and purpose among the graduates.

While it is one of the most areas most heavily affected by Covid-19 in the country, the county falls below the eligibility threshold for aid. The County Executive has asked the treasury secretary to reconsider Suffolk's eligibility.

“It was a war. I would not wish this experience on anyone,” Stephen Rosen said, but family, friends, faith, and good fortune helped him and his wife get through it.

Beaches raise the question of safety not only for beachgoers but for lifeguards, and the town is pondering whether or how it can keep beaches and parks open while protecting employees and the public and avoiding a subsequent wave of Covid-19 infection.

As increasing numbers face food insecurity here, people are helping to feed those in need through food pantries, community partnerships, and a new food fund that also aids essential workers and local restaurants.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has brought business at East End hotels to a virtual standstill, several owners said this week that they are expecting an influx of guests this summer and will retool operations to accommodate them safely.

Suffolk County's number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases went up again on Wednesday to 844, contributing to a new total of 29,588, and an end to a three-day decline in new cases.

County Executive Steve Bellone acknowledged in Wednesday's press briefing that this was an increase from the 587 cases reported on Tuesday, which had been the lowest number of positive daily test results achieved since March 26. 

East Hampton Town will begin enforcing summer beach parking regulations on Friday, April 24, weeks earlier than the regulations usually take effect, in order to forestall overcrowding at beaches and in parks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At one point the county was seeing at or more than 1,000 new confirmed cases every day. From Monday to Tuesday, that number dropped to 587, the lowest since March 26.

A brigade of sewers and cutters is turning donated fabric into 1,600 protective masks outfitted with surgical-grade filters for East Hampton health care workers, first responders, and essential personnel in the town and village.

Private golf clubs, while still deemed nonessential, have been allowed to reopen to their members, the governor said, with restrictions.