Coronavirus Live Updates: New York records lowest infection rate to date; 1st confirmed case of reinfection in Hong Kong

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the COVID-19 infection rate in the state was 0.66% as of Sunday, the lowest since the start of the pandemic.

"It is a great day," Cuomo said at Monday's press briefing.

New York has had an infection rate under 1% for more than two weeks, though Cuomo also announced a recent uptick in cases and infection rate in Western New York driven in part by clusters at a steel plant in Erie County and a food processing factory in Chautauqua County, new cases at two nursing homes identified by state-mandated testing of staff, pre-hospital procedure screening, and testing of seasonal labor at farms.

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Here are more of today's headlines:

5 states removed, US territory added to quarantine list

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that five states have been removed from New York State's COVID-19 travel advisory, while a U.S. territory has been added.

More NY bars, restaurants have liquor licenses suspended

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the state has suspended liquor licenses for 14 additional bars and restaurants in New York after finding violations of pandemic-related executive orders.

Over the weekend, the state's multi-agency task force - led by the State Police and State Liquor Authority - conducted nearly 4,000 compliance checks, observing 34 additional violations.

Pandemic Exodus: Who moved where during COVD-19?

It's a sad reality during the pandemic: People are leaving New York City in record numbers and moving companies are so busy they are even turning people away.

7 On Your Side Investigates analyzed postal service address change information to find out just how many left, and since the middle of March, we found many people have fled the state entirely.

Parents rally against school district's reversal from in-person to hybrid learning

Parents in the Port Washington School District rallied on Monday afternoon to reject a decision by the school district reversing its back-to-school plan for elementary students from five days of in-school instruction to only two days.

Take a look inside the Met before it reopens to visitors

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will reopen its doors to visitors on Saturday and Eyewitness News got a look inside to see the changes visitors can expect.

Officials urge New York City to issue youth sports permits

As coronavirus pandemic restrictions continue, some frustrated parents are hoping officials ease up on the lockdown of athletic fields. New York City's Parks Department said it won't issue permits for public fields or ballparks because of safety concerns, but now families are teaming up with coaches and politicians to fight back -- and give children an outdoor space to play.

Kids and parents were in Bay Ridge with signs reading "Let us play ball" and "Don't take our sports away."

Promoter facing consequences after holding weekend music event

An event promoter is facing consequences for a "musical protest" held in Westchester County this weekend that allegedly violated pandemic-related restrictions. Brian Johnson, the founder of LNAOMedia.com, said he went through all the proper channels to hold a peaceful, socially distant musical protest Saturday night along the waterfront in his hometown of Ossining.

"I went through the normal channels. I went to the secretary. She told me to reach out to the police, let them know what's going on," Johnson said. "Of course, they gave me their COVID concerns. I expressed to them that we were going to have masks, gloves, sanitizer."

But Ossining's police chief says Johnson was denied a permit for the gathering and was informed he'd be in violation of local ordinances.

NY setting up COVID testing at airports

Cuomo said there will be coronavirus testing sites at LaGuardia and JFK airports. The Port Authority will be working with the city and the state to get the testing facilities online for travelers and airport employees in the coming weeks. A pilot program launched at Kennedy Airport's terminal 4 at the end of June, initially offered testing to airport and airline workers, opened to all travelers last week.

"We have done a number of initiatives to protect our progress," Cuomo said. "Our infection rate is low, the question is how do you keep it low? How do you make sure you are not getting infected by people from other states where the infection rate is high? And how do you make sure you are maintaining compliance, bars, restaurants, young people? We are actually setting up testing sites out our airports to be able to do faster testing of people coming in, also hospital staff."

School reopening plans in New Jersey

Of all of the school districts in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy said that 436 districts plan to operate in a hybrid model, 180 plan to go digital only, 59 are offering in-person only, and 11 districts are offering a combination of all three models.

University of Hong Kong reports 1st case of human reinfection

The University of Hong Kong claims it has documented the world's first case of COVID-19 reinfection. The university made the announcement in a press release Monday, revealing findings from its study of an "apparently young and healthy patient" who had a second episode of COVID-19 infection which was diagnosed more than four months after the first episode. A team of researchers showed that the genome sequence of the virus strain in the first episode of COVID-19 infection is "clearly different" from that of the virus strain found during the second episode of infection, according to the press release.

Mets to resume play

The New York Mets will resume play Tuesday after having their last four games postponed because two members of their traveling party tested positive for COVID-19.

Sports in NY

Cuomo said lower-risk, school-sponsored sports in all regions may begin to practice and play beginning September 21, but travel for practice or play will be prohibited outside of the school's region or contiguous regions or counties until October 19th. For the fall sports season, that includes tennis, soccer, cross country, field hockey and swimming. Higher-risk sports, including those with full physical contact like football, wrestling, rugby, hockey and volleyball, may begin to practice on September 21 but cannot play until a later date or December 31. Schools must follow the health department's guidance for the conduct of their school sports. Schools will have to limit capacity of indoor facilities to no more than 50% occupancy and limit spectators to no more than two spectators per player, in addition to implementing social distancing and face coverings.

University in CT bars students' return amid Danbury spike

A spike in coronavirus cases in Danbury has prompted Western Connecticut State University to temporarily move all classes online and bar students from returning to residence halls for at least two weeks. Nearly 900 students were expected to begin moving into dorms on Sunday, but school President John Clark announced the new restrictions on Saturday. About 60 students who moved in early are being told to stay on campus for the next two weeks, and commuting students must stay off campus, he said.

NYC Outdoor Learning Plan

The outdoor learning plan will apply to all public, charter, and even private schools in the city.

- Principals can set up classrooms in their schoolyards and request additional space starting Monday.

- Any school that applies by Friday 8/28 will have a response next week.

- Prioritizing the 27 hardest-hit neighborhoods and schools with no useable outdoor space.

Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island reopening

Statue of Liberty Museum and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration partially reopened on Monday. The interior of the Statue of Liberty, including the pedestal and crown, remains closed and will be included as part of a later reopening phase.

Gyms reopen in New York state

For fitness enthusiasts outside of New York City, Monday is the day they can return to gyms. On Long Island and in other locations, many gyms are opening their doors at 33 percent capacity and with other restrictions in place.

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RELATED: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut out-of-state travelers quarantine list

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