Source: Spencer Platt / Getty
With fall officially here, COVID-19 is reminding New York City residents that it hasn’t gone anywhere.
New York City was once the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, but thanks to measures implemented and residents for the most part abiding by them, NYC was able to push the virus back. BUT, experts warned for months that a resurgence was highly likely, and that looks like it will be the case as New York enters the fall season with winter right around the corner.
NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio announced On Sunday (Oct.5) that a COVID-19 lockdown will see the closing of daycares, public schools, and nonessential businesses beginning on Wednesday (Oct.7) in hopes of stopping the concerning uptick of COVID-19 cases in 9 NYC neighborhoods. Before it is put in place, the plan must be approved by NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and will be the first reversal of the reopening plans since bouncing back from the pandemic. It was also revealed that indoor dining in 11 zip codes will be stopped in response to concerning trends regarding the spread of COVID-19.
The Intelligencer reports that 9 Zip Codes in Brooklyn and Queens will be affected by the lockdown order because they each have a positivity rate of more than 3 percent over the past seven days. Most of the neighborhoods include large Orthodox Jew populations. Gov Cuomo has met with Jewish Community Leaders to address the clusters.
The Zip Codes infected:
- 11204 (Bensonhurst/Mapleton)
- 11210 (Flatlands/Midwood)
- 11219 (Borough Park)
- 11223 (Gravesend/Homecrest)
- 11229 (Gerritsen Beach/Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay)
- 11230 (Midwood)
- 11367 (Kew Gardens Hills/Pomonok)
- 11691 (Edgemere/Far Rockaway)
- 11415 (Kew Gardens)
De Blasio announced shuls and other houses of worship will not be required to shut down in the affected Zip Codes, but 100 public and 200 private schools will have to close. Students will report to class on Monday (Oct.5) and Tuesday (Oct.6) to get further instructions regarding how remote learning will proceed.
Per the New York Times, the 11 Zip Codes that will see indoor dining halted “includes parts of Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Manhattan Beach, Bergen Beach, Kensington, and Crown Heights in Brooklyn. In Queens, the neighborhoods getting a hand slap are Rego Park, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, and Jamaica Estates.”
We can only hope NYC can get on top of this because we don’t want to go back to how it was at the peak of the pandemic. So New Yorkers mask up, continue to social distance and wash your hands.
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Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty
