Apr 7, 2021
- Today I outlined highlights of the Fiscal Year 2022 Enacted Budget, and I want to share how elements of this year's budget specifically aim to manage COVID and bring COVID relief. New York is relentlessly working to vaccinate New Yorkers so that we can protect our state from this deadly virus, and the budget continues to fund those efforts—ensuring no one is left behind. The 2022 Budget includes $2.4 billion in rent relief to help New Yorkers who are at risk of being forced out of their home from hardship due to COVID. It also includes a historic investment in our schools, to address the impact of the pandemic on our students' academic, social and emotional needs. We also want to make sure our state's economy recovers from COVID. To that end, the State will invest $1 billion to help small businesses recover—including restaurants, arts and cultural institutions and other small businesses. With programs to make telehealth stronger, the creation of the New York Public Health Corps, and new measures to improve New Yorkers' mental health, this budget builds a bridge to a future where we can all be healthier and safer. Learn more.
Photo of the Day: A New Yorker receives the COVID-19 vaccine at the "Roll Up Your Sleeve" Rochdale Village vaccination site
(Photo by Kevin Coughlin)
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. COVID hospitalizations dropped to 4,526. Of the 221,674 tests reported yesterday, 7,213, or 3.25 percent, were positive. The 7-day average positivity rate was 3.48 percent. There were 950 patients in ICU yesterday, up 13 from the previous day. Of them, 593 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 59 New Yorkers to the virus.
2. As of 11am this morning, 34.4 percent of New Yorkers have completed at least one vaccine dose. Over the past 24 hours, 206,178 total doses have been administered. To date, New York administered 10,869,300 total doses with 21.7 percent of New Yorkers completing their vaccine series. See data by region and county on the State's Vaccine Tracker: ny.gov/vaccinetracker.
3. The Department of Financial Services will extend the emergency regulation requiring all regulated health insurers to waive co-pays for the COVID-19 vaccine until April 30. The extension of this regulation and guidance will help to ensure there are no barriers to New Yorkers accessing the vaccine as the State continues to implement its vaccine administration plan and get every New Yorker vaccinated. The vaccine will come at no cost to any New Yorker.
4. The Coney Island Amusement Park will open for the first time since 2019 this Friday. This follows reopening guidance that allows outdoor amusement parks in New York to open at 33 percent capacity, which goes into effect Friday, April 9.
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": A Schenectady restaurant celebrated its centennial this week. Opened in 1921, soon after the Spanish Flu pandemic, Newest Lunch is now making it through the COVID pandemic with determination and good humor. While their menu hosts a variety of traditional breakfast classics, owner George Plakas says "the hot dogs and meat sauce is why we've been here for 100 years."
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