Coronavirus Updates: New York City preps for Phase 3 without indoor dining

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Monday, July 6, 2020

NYC preps for Phase 3 without indoor dining

Nail salons, tattoo and massage parlors will be allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City prepares for Phase 3 of the reopening process Monday, but without indoor dining.

Nail salons, tattoo and massage parlors will be allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity. Businesses must disinfect workstations for each new customer, require customers and employees to wear face coverings.

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said in an interview on NBC's Meet The Press that the state is seeing small spikes in reinfection due to residents traveling back from COVID-19 hot spots.

NEW YORK CITY

This holiday weekend people have been taking advantage of the newly reopened beaches in New York City.

Lifeguards have been on duty since Wednesday at beaches around the city and social distancing guidelines are in effect.

Also, the Diocese of Brooklyn resumed Mass this weekend.

Leaders removed the hymnals from the pews, but they encouraged worshippers to use their phones to reference prayers and lyrics. The diocese will continue to offer live broadcasts for people who feel sick or worry about attending church.

Alternate Side Parking will be suspended next week, through July 12, and the Staten Island Ferry will go back to pre-COVID rush hour service Monday, offering rides every 15 minutes between 7 a.m.-9 a.m. and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Additionally, 20-minute service will be offered between 6 a.m. - 7 a.m. and 3:50 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

NEW YORK STATE

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced 8 new deaths Saturday, while the percentage testing positive were below 1 percent.

He also confirmed 533 additional coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total to 397,131.

On Friday, cases in New York dropped by nearly 200 one day after the state eclipsed 900 new cases for the first time in three weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey announced coronavirus deaths were slightly down compared to Friday's report.

23 new fatalities were reported Saturday as the death total pushed to 13,355 in the state. Another 398 new positive cases were confirmed, raising the toll to 173,402.

Hoboken confirmed a two-day spike in cases on Saturday, the highest since mid-May.

Those patients had traveled out of state and were under the age of 45, between 20 and 35.

Murphy says he'd like to see a national strategy on the coronavirus, including a mask requirement. He says New Jersey is seeing "small spikes in reinfection" from residents coming back from Florida, South Carolina and other virus hotspots.

CONNECTICUT

A federal lawsuit has been filed to make mail-in voting for the November election available to all eligible voters in Connecticut. An executive order signed by Governor Ned Lamont allows voters to use absentee ballots in the August 11th primary. But that order expires before November 3rd.

Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday that the state reported more than 11,000 COVID-19 tests on Wednesday and just 0.6% were positive. Connecticut administered more than 80,000 tests over the last week and the percent of positive cases was under 1% each day.

Lamont said airline bookings into the state are down significantly since New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut issued a travel advisory for incoming travelers from 16 states that have a high positive test rate to undertake a 14-day quarantine.

GOOGLE CREATES FEATURE HELPING USERS NAVIGATE COVID-19 HOT SPOTS

A Google search has discovered ways for users to get around during the coronavirus health crisis.

The internet giant launched a new feature on "Google Maps" to help people navigate the areas affected by the virus.

A google search has discovered ways for users to get around during the health crisis.

4TH OF JULY FUELS WORRIES ABOUT SKYROCKETING CORONAVIRUS CASES IN US

The United States has dipped under 50,000 new daily infections for the first time in four days, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, but experts fear celebrations for the July 4th weekend will act like rocket fuel for the nation's surging coronavirus outbreak.

Johns Hopkins on Sunday counted 45,300 new coronavirus infections reported Saturday in the U.S. after three days in which the daily count reached as high as 54,500 new cases. The lower figure does not mean the situation in the U.S. is improving, it could be due to reduced reporting on a national holiday.

WATCH EYEWITNESS TO A PANDEMIC (Episode 4)

It overwhelmed the health care industry, it put millions out of work, it drowned social services in an ocean of need and threatened the food supply Americans had long since taken for granted. At the apex of the crisis and for the weeks that followed, no part of life, or even what followed life, was spared.