New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the state will lift its indoor mask mandate for people vaccinated against COVID-19 beginning on Friday. NBC New York’s Ray Villeda reports.
What to Know
- As a means of getting more people vaccinated, New York City announced that it is bringing mobile vaccination sites to its beaches and popular summer spots starting Memorial Day weekend.
- This comes on the same day that the city announced it is just shy of reaching 8,000,000 vaccine doses administered.
- As another incentive for people to get vaccinated, the mayor also announced another perk: those who get vaccinated at Madison Square Garden can enter to win Knicks tickets.
As a means of getting more people vaccinated, New York City announced that it is bringing mobile vaccination sites to its beaches and popular summer spots starting Memorial Day weekend.
"We are going to combine the joy of summer and the beaches reopening with the vaccination effort and this weekend mobile vaccination buses will be out there at beaches all over the city and other key spots where people are going to be congregating to enjoy the summer," Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his Tuesday press briefing.
The mobile vaccination sites will include:
- Coney Island
- Brighton Beach
- Rockaways
- Orchard Beach
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Central Park
- Flushing Meadows Corona Park
- Prospect Park
- Governors Island
This comes on the same day that the city announced it is just shy of reaching 8,000,000 vaccine doses administered. According to the mayor, 4.1 million New Yorkers in the city are fully vaccinated.
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As another incentive for people to get vaccinated, the mayor announced another perk: those who get vaccinated at Madison Square Garden Tuesday will enter to win tickets to the Knicks' game Wednesday. Those who get vaccinated Thursday will enter to win tickets to a game next season. Knicks merchandise will also be given out to lucky winners.
The mayor also announced weekly prices as incentives to get more Big Apple residents vaccinated Monday. Including that anyone 18+ is invited to enter the contest after the first dose of their vaccine at city-run sites. The contest runs through early July and prizes will include staycation packages, concert tickets, Broadway shows, among other perks.
Additionally, to get more people vaccinated, pop-up vaccine sites will be set up outside courts Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lou Gehrig Plaza in the Bronx, Staten Island Courthouse Plaza, and Queens Borough Hall.
Meanwhile, on Monday across the state anyone who gets vaccinated at select state-run vaccination sites this week will receive a lottery scratch ticket with prizes potentially worth millions, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo tries to boost slowing vaccination rates.
The pilot program will offer prizes from $20 up to $5 million and run from Monday to Friday, May 28 at 10 state-run sites, Cuomo announced last week. Only residents 18 and older are eligible and there's a one in nine chance of winning a scratch ticket prize in New York, which is joining other states with similar lottery incentives.
Hoping to take advantage of the nicer weather and upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, the state will also be offering two-day passes to state parks (as well as beaches like Jones Beach on Long Island) for those who get vaccinated this week. The new incentives come as the pace of vaccinations has slowed: New York has recorded an average of 123,806 daily shots in arms over the past 14 days. That's down 43 percent from 216,040 as of April 12.
Also on Monday, seven new pop-up vaccination sites open at airports across New York state to reach more travelers who haven't gotten the COVID-19 vaccine. All sites are open for walk-in vaccinations on a first come, first served basis, Cuomo said. Click here for the list of vaccine sites.
Tracking Coronavirus in Tri-State
As of Sunday, New York has fully vaccinated about 43.9% of its 20 million residents, above the national average of 39.3%.
COVID isn't over, Cuomo said Monday, "it's being managed by what we are doing and the tool that is managing it is vaccinations." The state, the governor said, is averaging less than 100,000 vaccines a day -- a drastic drop.
But even as vaccination rates slow, the recovery inches forward. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said on MSNBC Monday morning that all city schools would reopen full-time in September, with no remote option.
"You can't have a full recovery without full-strength schools, everyone back, sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again," De Blasio said in an MSNBC interview.
As of now, students will still need to wear masks and adhere to other CDC guidelines once the schools reopen to all students on Sept. 13, according to NYC Chancellor Meisha Porter. However, masks and other guidelines are subject to change. The state did change its mask policy regarding summer camps Monday, saying they are "encouraged" rather than required.
The governor said that he supported a full return to schools in the fall, adding at a late-morning press conference that he saw "no reason why every school [in the state] shouldn't be open in September." Cuomo added that a statewide school policy for return to in-person learning would come soon.
Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, the largest labor union for the city's teachers, issued a statement following the NYC Schools announcement saying in part that "there is no substitute for in-person instruction," but there are still "concerns."
"NYC educators want their students physically in front of them. We want as many students back in school as safely possible. We are glad the Department of Education will hold open houses to show parents how safe our schools are," Mulgrew said in his statement. "We still have concerns about the safety of a small number of students with extreme medical challenges. For that small group of students, a remote option may still be necessary."
During his daily coronavirus press briefing Monday, de Blasio made clear that, if needed, city schools would be ready to go back to remote-learning seamlessly, although he does not foresee that taking place based on the current COVID-19 information and data.
The update on schools took place on the same day that de Blasio revealed that the positivity rate in New York City is at 1.13% -- the lowest since September 2020. Meanwhile, the positivity rate for the entire state is at 1.09%.
In recent weeks, the Empire State has slowly emerged out of pandemic restrictions with no more outdoor dining curfew, no more capacity limits at most businesses and fully vaccinated people can shed their masks in most circumstances. More than 15,000 people gathered over the weekend at Madison Square Garden for a New York Knicks playoffs game. It's a sign that the end of the pandemic may be in sight.
The Knicks were able to increase seating capacity with the addition of sections for fully vaccinated fans, announcing during the week that Games 1 and 2 had both sold out. They're the largest indoor events in New York since the coronavirus pandemic began.
New Jersey is also attempting to raise its number of vaccinated residents, with Gov. Phil Murphy announcing a bevy of new incentives last week. The most lucrative: A free season pass to any state park — including Island Beach State Park — for anyone who has received at least one shot by July 4. Eligibility includes those who have already gotten shots before the initiative was announced.
On Monday, the Garden State, however, said it was making enough progress in its battle against coronavirus that it will end to its indoor mask mandate and social distancing requirement for fully vaccinated individuals effective Friday.
New Jersey and Hawaii had been the only two states that didn't announce a timeline of when they will ease indoor mask-wearing at a time when the majority of states already either lifted the mandates or announced a date.
Like New York, the Garden State lifted its outdoor mask mandate last week but the difference in indoor mask rules have caused confusion and frustration for business owners who say they could lose out on customers who can just travel to New York if they want to be maskless.
Murphy said Monday that businesses will still maintain their right to request that masks be worn and social distancing be met if they so choose after the mask mandate lifts. However, businesses will not have the right to ask a patron to take their masks off if they enter their business with them on.
New York City officials have similar concerns despite the lifting of indoor mask rules. Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi last week said the risk of COVID-19 outdoors is low but he still worries about unvaccinated people.
Not sure how the process works? Check out our handy tri-state vaccine site finder and FAQs here
New York City and New Jersey Vaccine Providers
Click on each provider to find more information on scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 Vaccine.
Data: City of New York, State of New Jersey • Nina Lin / NBC
