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Mostly Cloudy Covid surges with Omicron, masks return
It is déjà vu over all again, with another statewide mask mandate in place because of rising Covid-19 numbers, thanks to the Omicron variant. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Dec. 10 that masks were required in all indoor public spaces unless businesses or venues implemented a vaccine requirement.
Violators of the mask mandate can be fined up to $1,000. It “just started and it’s kind of evolving, so I really don’t have any information yet,” David Friedman, president of the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association, said. “At this point, every business is different, so I guess they’re all adjusting separately.”
Bagel Boss, in Hewlett, Beginnings Bar & Restaurant, in Atlantic Beach, and Friendlier Restaurant & Bar, in Woodmere, have reinforced indoor mask rules for staff and patrons, vaccinated or not.
The eateries have signs at their entrances.
Bagel Boss has masks for those who walk in without them.
Although some customers have complained about the mandate to supervisor Jacob Goldstein, he doesn’t think it will negatively impact his business, instead believing that, overall, it will be beneficial. “I would say it’s good,” Goldstein said. “We have to protect our city.”
Vito Vinceslao, owner of Friendlier Restaurant & Bar, has not received any backlash from customers, and is looking forward to normalcy. “Hopefully everybody is safe, and hopefully we get over this Omicron,” Vinceslao said, noting that the majority of Nassau County’s population is fully vaccinated. “I think we’re in good shape.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 75 percent of the adult Nassau County population is fully vaccinated, and 89 percent have received at least one dose. “If others will follow suit,” Hochul stated in a Dec. 10 press release, “these measures will no longer be necessary.”
Heather Freiser, owner of Beginnings Bar & Restaurant, has heard mixed reactions from customers about the mandate. “It’s just so difficult for businesses to manage,” she said. “We’re trying to keep positive about it all. I think businesses just want customers to understand that we understand the frustration — we’re just trying to do what’s best and keep business humming along as usual. I think that’s what every small business needs right now.”
Freiser acknowledged that the recent spike in Covid cases has already slightly affected her own business. “The only thing I can predict,” she said, “is how unpredictable this all is.”
Hollywood Health Club, in Hewlett, requires proof of vaccination, which is recorded and kept on file, for gym members who do not want to wear masks.
Indoor mask rules apply to all others. The business is handling it “very well so far,” said gym employee Maria Scotto, adding that the facility offers masks to members.
But if people come in with fake vaccine cards, Scotto said, that may be tricky for many businesses to determine. “I mean really, honestly, how would you know?” she said.
Since Nov. 29, the Lawrence School District has reported 31 cases of Covid-19. Since Dec. 7, the Hewlett-Woodmere district has reported 82; the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High School, eight; and the Brandeis School, six.
Neither the Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for boys nor the Stella K. Abraham High School for girls has reported any.
Hewlett-Woodmere and Lawrence have not announced plans to go remote. In the past, both districts have based their safety measures on CDC guidelines.
As a result of higher case numbers, East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School moved to remote learning this week, while the district’s two elementary schools remained open.
“We are keeping schools open,” Hochul said at a news conference on Monday. The government plans to provide financial assistance to cover the cost of vaccines, boosters, coronavirus tests and mask-related expenses to combat the expected winter surge.
The spike in cases has not changed Nassau County Executive-elect Bruce Blakeman’s plans to leave the enforcement of Covid regulations up to businesses and school districts.
“I will instruct our Health Department and other departments in the county to stand down and not enforce the mandate, not issue fines and tickets,” Blakeman said at a Dec. 14 news conference, referring to what he will do when he takes office on Jan. 1.
He said he planned to speak with health care officials, and check hospital and intensive-care unit bed availability, to determine whether the county is in crisis mode.
As of Monday, more than 40 new pop-up vaccination sites had opened around the state in response to the surge.
Between Thanksgiving and Dec. 10, the state’s average weekly seven-day case rate increased by 43 percent, and Covid-related hospitalizations increased by 29 percent.
The purpose of the mandate, which will be re-evaluated on Jan. 15, is to protect the economy and minimize surges during the holidays, as more people gather to celebrate.
“We shouldn’t have reached the point where we are confronted with a winter surge, especially with the vaccine at our disposal,” Hochul stated in the Dec. 10 press release, “and I share many New Yorkers’ frustration that we are not past this pandemic yet.”
