Aug 19, 2020
We continue to make good progress against Coronavirus—for the 12th consecutive day, our statewide infection rate has been below 1 percent. But COVID is not over. Complacency or letting our guard down is a threat to that hard-won progress. We need to keep taking steps to protect one another to keep the numbers low. It's up to each and every New Yorker.
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. The total number of COVID hospitalizations remains low. Yesterday, there were 548 total hospitalizations. Of the 80,425 tests reported yesterday, 631, or 0.78%, were positive. Sadly, we lost 6 New Yorkers to the virus.
2. I urge New Yorkers to get a flu shot. While we still handle COVID, flu season looms on the horizon. Today, the State Department of Health will issue letters to local health departments requiring them to submit plans as to how they will handle testing for flu and COVID. This year it is especially important that New Yorkers get their flu shot. Find a flu vaccine site near you.
3. The Brooklyn Museum and El Museo del Barrio will reopen to the public on September 12th. Last week, I announced that New York City museums and cultural institutions can reopen starting Monday, August 24th at 25 percent capacity with safety protocols in place.
4. The moratorium for residential and commercial evictions in New York City has been extended to October 1st. Evictions will remain paused for New Yorkers and small businesses facing financial hardship due to the pandemic.
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": In May, two teenagers in Pearland, Texas dressed up in Spider-Man costumes and held drive-by "birthday parades" for children in their neighborhood. The teens expanded the idea into a fundraiser called "Drive By Heroes," where they would make heroic appearances in exchange for food donations to their local community center.
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