BROOKLYN’S COVID CASES STABILIZE, VACCINATION RATE STILL LAGS

BROOKLYN PAPER

By Aidan Graham

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Posted on August 30, 2021

A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine in New York City.

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

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The troubling rise in recent COVID-19 cases across Brooklyn has seemingly leveled-off, yet the borough continues to lag behind other New York City areas in vaccination rates. 

Kings County has recorded 560 new cases per-day over the seven day period ending on Aug. 27, marking a slight decline from the three-month peak of 630 infections per-day recorded earlier in the month, according to Health Department data.

Each day over that seven day stretch, 15 Brooklynites were hospitalized, and three died, due to COVID-19 infections. 

Across the Five Boroughs, the city recorded 1,703 new cases, 58 hospitalizations, and 11 deaths each day between Aug. 21 and Aug. 27.  

Borough	7-Day Average COVID Cases
Citywide	1,703
Brooklyn	560
Bronx	286
Manhattan	317
Queens	381
Staten Island	156

Experts caution observers, however, that many new COVID-19 infections may not be recorded by Health Department data, because of the significant chance that so-called “breakthrough” cases of vaccinated-yet-infected individuals may not know they have contracted the virus, and therefore will not receive a test or report their case. 

Brooklyn ranks fourth among the Five Boroughs in per-capita transmission rate, with around 153.01 new cases per 100,000 people over the previous seven days — only better than Staten Island, which has seen 229.97 cases per 100,000 during the same time frame. 

Borough	7-Day Cases Per 100,000 Residents
Citywide	142.99
Brooklyn	153.01
Bronx	141.09
Manhattan	136.18
Queens	118.29
Staten Island	229.97

Much of the driver behind Brooklyn’s relatively porous efforts to curb COVID-19 rests with the comparatively low vaccination rates among borough residents. 

Brooklyn and the Bronx are tied for last among the per-capita number of residents who have received the jab — with both boroughs seeing just 57 percent of locals receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. 

The same measure sees Staten Island with 60 percent, Queens with 72 percent, and Manhattan with an impressive 76 percent of inoculated residents. 

Citywide, 65 percent of New Yorkers are partially vaccinated, and 58 percent are fully immunized.

Borough	% of Vaccinated Residents
Citywide	65%
Brooklyn	57%
Bronx	57%
Manhattan	76%
Queens	72%
Staten Island	60%

In Brooklyn, the Health Department recorded 1,468,378 people with at least one dose, out of 2,559,903 total residents. 

The lower rates of dose distribution are not evenly spread across the borough, however — with much of central and southern Brooklyn lagging behind the northern half of Kings County. 

Sunset Park’s 11220 Zip Code — which includes Brooklyn’s Chinatown — has seen 86.2 percent of residents inoculated, which is more than any other in the borough. 

Likewise, Zip Codes covering affluent neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights and Greenpoint have seen high rates of vaccination, with 80.39 percent and 78 percent of locals receiving at least one dose, respectively. 

The five Zip Codes in Brooklyn with the highest rates of vaccination are:

Zip Code	Neighborhood	% Vaccinated
11220	Sunset Park	86%
11201	Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo	80%
11222	Greenpoint	78%
11238	Prospect Heights	76%
11215	Park Slope	70%

On the other end of the spectrum, Zip Codes covering Borough Park, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Midwood, Crown Heights, and Canarsie have seen significantly lower inoculation rates than the citywide total — ranging from 43 to 47 percent of residents receiving at least one dose. 

The five Zip Codes in Brooklyn with the lowest rates of vaccination are:

Zip Code	Neighborhood	% Vaccinated
11219	Borough Park	43%
11233	Bed-Stuy/Brownsville	45%
11210	Midwood	46%
11213	Crown Heights	47%
11236	Canarsie	47%

The COVID-19 numbers come as New York City public schools gear up for a return to full in-person learning, when thousands of children — including kids under the age of 12, who are all unvaccinated — will return to the classroom on Sept. 13. 

Masks will be required to be worn, and all teachers will need to be vaccinated, after Mayor Bill de Blasio instituted a mandate on Aug. 23. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview on Aug. 29 that he would support a vaccination requirement for all students over the age of 12, although no decision has been made in the Five Boroughs on that front. 

Outside of the classroom, local officials are hopeful that vaccination rates will increase once a similar mandate takes effect on Sept. 13 requiring all patrons of indoor restaurants, bars, gyms, museums, and more to provide proof of vaccination. 

Meanwhile, elected officials continue to push for New Yorkers to get the jab, as well as continue to take other anti-COVID precautions — highlighting the Delta variant to press the immediacy for the problem.

“The most effective way that unvaccinated people can protect themselves and their loved ones is to get vaccinated,” said de Blasio at an Aug. 25 press conference. “And the highly contagious nature of the Delta variant is why we strongly recommend that even fully vaccinated people take some precautions such as wearing a mask in public, indoor settings.”

 

NYC Was Badly Unprepared For Pandemic, Comptroller Report Finds

New York City lacked a pandemic response plan before the coronavirus hit and was slow to respond once it did, a new investigation found.

NYC PATCH

Nick Garber, Patch Staff

A police officer crosses the street in a nearly empty Times Square on March 12, 2020 in New York. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY — New York City was badly unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, relying on a years-old draft plan to dictate its response and lacking ways to count hospital beds or coordinate between agencies, according to a new report by the city comptroller.

The report by Comptroller Scott Stringer's office was released Wednesday following a yearlong investigation. But it remains incomplete, he said, because city agencies have refused to turn over key documents and witnesses.

Still, it provides a window into the city's scramble to contain the virus during the early months of 2020, when officials discovered that the only plan they had was a 2013 draft created by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

That plan was "not particularly useful," a high-level DOHMH official told investigators, because it was so incomplete, lacking plans for supply chains, public health messaging and other "major policy issues."

Other shortcomings included an inability to count the number of open hospital beds and pieces of personal protective equipment at a given moment, as well as an adequate supply of N95 masks. (The city's N95 stockpile, it turned out, had expired years earlier.)

 

COVID Restrictions End In NY As Adult Vaccinations Pass 70%

In a major reopening step, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday ended most remaining pandemic restrictions on capacity, social distancing and more.

• Matt Troutman, Patch Staff
• 
  
• PATCH
  

Posted Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 12:31 pm ET|Updated Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 1:26 pm ET

People enjoy Washington Square Park as some coronavirus restrictions were lifted in New York on May 19. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY — Life in New York City officially is returning to normal after a long year under the coronavirus's shadow.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced most remaining restrictions on social distancing and capacity will end after 70 percent of adults in the state received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Cuomo declared the state officially reopened at One World Trade Center in New York City — the city that bore the pandemic's early brunt.

"What does 70 percent mean? It means that we can now return to life as we know it," he said.

"The state mandates that have been proven right and correct and brought us through this pandemic are relaxed as of today effective immediately," he said to a standing ovation.

State mandates for COVID-19 restrictions were lifted Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced. (NY Governor's Office)

Federal mandates remain for schools, public transit, large venues, homeless shelters and correctional and healthcare facilities, Cuomo said. And mask requirements will remain in place based on CDC guidance.

But otherwise Cuomo lifted state-imposed capacity limits, social distancing requirements, screening protocols and contact tracing conditions for businesses and social settings.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, anticipating the announcement Tuesday, called it a step toward his "Summer of New York City."

"That means we get to open up even more," he said.

At 427 days into the crisis, Cuomo looked back on the pandemic's early days, when Times Square emptied, ambulances screamed through the city and life seemed like a science fiction movie.

New York went from the highest COVID-19 positivity in the country to the lowest as of Tuesday, Cuomo said.

"We literally went from worst to first," he said.

The coronavirus vaccine helped bring New York back to normal, Cuomo said. More than 20.2 million doses have gone into arms in the state, the highest per capita in the country, he said.

"That's not to say that 70 percent [vaccinations] is the end," he said. "We need to do better than 70 percent. But it is an important milestone and we're going to keep pushing to do more."

Cuomo capped his briefing with soaring rhetoric and an emotional moment recalling his father, the late former Gov. Mario Cuomo, whose birthday is June 15.

The elder Cuomo "bristled" at being compared to politicians — his faith wasn't in the system so much as New Yorkers themselves, the younger Cuomo said.

"And as he looks down today, he would say, 'I was right. I was right,'" Andrew Cuomo said. "You know who beat COVID? The people of New York beat COVID. The courage of New Yorkers beat COVID. The individual strength beat COVID."

Firework displays across the state will honor the front line and essential workers who helped carry the state through the crisis, Cuomo said. A display is scheduled Tuesday at 9:15 p.m. in New York Harbor.

The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center and Penn Station's East End Gateway, in addition to other landmarks, will be lit in the state's colors of blue and gold Tuesday night, Cuomo said.

New York City Schools Will Fully Reopen With No Remote Option This Fall

 NPR

JESSICA GOULD

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is promising a full reopening of the nation's largest public school system in September. That means in person, five days a week, with no remote option for students to attend school exclusively online. The mayor made the announcement Monday on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

"You can't have a full recovery without full-strength schools," de Blasio said in the segment.

Almost 70% of the nation's students attend schools that are currently offering full-time, in-person learning, according to the organization Burbio. De Blasio's announcement comes a week after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced there would be no remote option for that state's public school students come September.

But questions remain about how New York City will be able to accommodate 100% of its public school students in person. Some administrators worry there won't be enough space to fit all students in classrooms under current social distancing requirements. At a City Council hearing last week, officials testified that all but 10% of the city's public schools could fit their students into classrooms 3 or more feet apart.

At a press conference Monday, the mayor said he believes schools could make 3-feet social distancing work, but that he expects the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to relax the requirements more by August.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

CDC: COVID-19 Was 3rd-Leading Cause Of Death In 2020; People Of Color Hit Hardest

Meanwhile, many New York City parents have expressed reluctance around in-person schooling. Data from the U.S. Education Department shows students of color are less likely than white students to be learning in person, as of March. Communities of color in the U.S. have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. In New York, Asian and Black families in particular have been more likely to keep their children home, according to demographic data released by the city. Parents there have cited virus safety concerns, a lack of trust in the school system and fear of discrimination in or on the way to school as reasons for keeping their children home.

Some parents have said they won't feel comfortable until their children are vaccinated, while others have said they prefer remote learning, because it works better for their children academically or socially.

Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, the city's largest teachers union, wrote last week in the New York Daily News that the city must maintain a remote learning option for a limited number of families next school year. On Monday, Mulgrew said, "We still have concerns about the safety of a small number of students with extreme medical challenges. For that small group of students, a remote option may still be necessary."

But some education leaders have argued that offering a remote option would keep more students out of classrooms.

De Blasio said parents will be welcomed back to schools starting in June to ask questions and get answers from educators as well as to see how schools are keeping students and staff safe.

And remote learning isn't completely going away in New York City. Earlier this month, officials said public school students will learn remotely on Election Day, instead of having the usual day off from school, and class will no longer be suspended on "snow days."

The first day of school in New York City is Sept. 13.

After A Year Of Coronavirus Pause, NY And NJ Lift Most Restrictions

 GOTHAMIST

BY SYDNEY PEREIRA AND KAREN YI, WNYC

Times Square on May 18, 2021 DECCIO SERRANO/NURPHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK

Nearly 14 months after the COVID-19 pandemic halted life as we knew it in New York and New Jersey, most restrictions will lift starting Wednesday.

Slight differences exist between the states, but most percentage-based limitations on business capacity—from retail and gyms to offices and movie theaters—are kaput. Instead, capacity is now limited by the space available for six feet of social distancing, required for those who aren’t yet fully vaccinated.

Physical barriers are permitted where social distancing isn’t possible, like at restaurants.

Public indoor hangouts in New York and New Jersey will rise to 250 people. When the gathering is outdoors, it’ll be 500. Indoor gatherings inside private homes will rise to 50 people in both states, too.

“Getting back to life means not just getting back to work, but getting back to life the way we enjoy it in New York,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday during a press briefing in Manhattan.

Across the Hudson River in New Jersey, large indoor venues with 1,000 seats or more are capped at 30%, with no restrictions on outdoor settings.

New York will keep the six-foot rule at large indoor or outdoor venues. But social distancing isn’t required if there are separate sections for vaccinated and unvaccinated attendees—the latter requiring a negative result on a coronavirus test, masks and six feet of separation. Kids who don’t yet have the option to get vaccinated can join adults who’ve been fully inoculated in vaccinated fan sections at events, like basketball games or concerts. But they need a negative COVID test, too.

Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center plan to roll out separated vaccine status areas as the Knicks and the Nets venture into the NBA playoffs.

New York is now following new federal guidance on mask-wearing, which only requires people to wear face coverings in congregate living or medical settings, public transit and schools. Fully vaccinated people don’t have to wear a mask indoors unless they go inside a business that keeps this requirement for everyone.

Mayor Bill de Blasio embraced the rule change during a Wednesday press briefing, but he’ll continue to wear a face covering when in doubt about the vaccination status of those around him. He is also keeping a full mask mandate in place for city-run offices.

Dr. Mitchell Katz, the head of the city’s Health + Hospitals, added, “I very much support this direction because we needed to show people that we really believe in vaccinations. I think before it was very much a mixed message.”

New Jersey broke with that recommendation and will still require mask wearing for everyone in all public indoor places. Governor Phil Murphy said he didn’t want to further burden businesses.

A restaurant manager at MamaJuana Cafe in West New York, Ramon Luna, plans to incrementally increase the number of tables he’ll serve each week as he keeps tabs on COVID in his community.

“My life is going to be changing. The money’s come back. And we can continue to make the bills, make a business,” Luna said.