Lawrence is the latest Nassau hotspot

Lawrence village is the latest hotspot as state officials said that the community has had a Covid-19 positivity rate of 5.2 percent, which dwarfs the overall Long Island total of roughly 1 percent.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to meet with civic leaders in Lawrence, including elected officials and religious representatives today 

Stressing the need for enforcement of the social distancing protocols and mask wearing, Cuomo said that schools in the New York City hotspots, including Far Rockaway will be closed on Tuesday.  “Not all the schools have been tested in the hotspot clusters,” Cuomo said during a news briefing on Oct. 5.

Saying that enforcement is the key and that are rules in place, the state will be taking charge of enforcement in the hotspot cluster are that includes eight other areas across Brooklyn and Queens and Rockland and Orange counties.

He noted the mass gatherings of religious institutions such as churches, mosques and synagogues and said that if those houses of worship do no adhere to the rules he will close them as well. Cuomo said he will be meeting with ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders in New York City, and Nassau, Orange and Rockland counties on Tuesday.

The actions were propelled by Mayor Bill de Blasio who proposed closing non-essential business and school in these hotspot clusters and needed state approval to do so. “It is time for us rewind,” de Blasio said over the weekend.

The closures announced on Sunday would impact roughly 200 private schools, which includes many yeshivas that serve the Orthodox Jewish community, including Five Towns residents. Some 100 public schools across Far Rockaway, central Queens and southern Brooklyn. Schools such as Yeshiva Darchei Torah and Torah Academy for Girls, both in Far Rockaway,  are already closed for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.