NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 4: A Staten Island Ferry sails in front of the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center on September 4, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Regular Staten Island Ferry riders may have noticed a longer wait for their next ride between its namesake borough and Manhattan.
That's because a growing number of sick calls related to rising COVID-19 infections has left the ferries with fewer workers to meet the around-the-clock schedule.
The ferry system will run fewer ferries during rush-hour for at least two weeks, running instead in 20-minute intervals from 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
Outside of rush-hour operations, the ferries are scheduled to leave every 30 minutes.
The city's Department of Transportation said the adjusted schedule will be in place through at least July 26. Overnight cancellations are also a possibility, the agency tweeted July 13.
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COVID-19 transmission is up 33% in New York City in the last week and rising markedly in each of the five boroughs, new health department data out Thursday shows, amid a sixth pandemic wave fueled by what some have called the "worst version" of omicron yet.
News
The omicron subvariant BA.5 now accounts for most NYC COVID cases, and all five boroughs are seeing skyrocketing transmission rates; reinfection risk is also up and may be connected to the strain.
Staten Island is seeing the highest rolling new case rate in this latest wave, followed by Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn, according to the latest data from the health department.
