Coronavirus Updates: State Closes Two Long Island Vaccine Sites Ahead Of Snowstorm Sunday

Feb. 6, 2021, 12:45 p.m.

But the state-run sites at Aqueduct, the Javits Center, Yankee Stadium and Westchester County Center will remain open Sunday.

The signage at the Javits Center instructing people there for the COVID-19 vaccine.

This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Saturday, February 6th, 2021. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms. Citing rising hospitalization rates, Governor Andrew Cuomo suspended indoor dining in NYC starting December 14th, but it's slated to return with limited capacity on Valentine's Day.

After being shut down for several weeks, NYC public schools partially reopened on December 7th for 3K-5th grade students, with students with special needs returning on December 10th.

Get answers to questions you may have with our "Ask An Epidemiologist" series, or learn more about NYC COVID-19 testing options with our explainer. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

The state is closing two vaccine sites on Long Island Sunday because of the brewing snowstorm that may bring as much as 6 to 9 inches of snow to the island.

Anyone with appointments Sunday at Stony Brook and Jones Beach will be rescheduled for sometime over the next seven days, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo's Secretary Melissa DeRosa.

The state will reschedule the appointments via text or email. The state-run vaccine sites at Aqueduct, the Javits Center, Yankee Stadium and the Westchester County Center will remain open.

The state has administered 91% -- more than 1.6 million of 1.76 million doses -- of its allotment of first doses, Cuomo said Saturday. Long Island inoculated 263,323 people with the first and second dose since the rollout began in December.

Cuomo Warns New Yorkers Not To Get "Cocky" As Rates Decline

12:45 p.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo hailed the state’s declining COVID-19 rates Saturday while warning New Yorkers not to get “cocky” by gathering en masse to watch large sporting events this weekend.

The state reported 7,804 patients hospitalized Friday, a decline of 133 people since Thursday and the lowest number since December 27th, Cuomo said in his update Saturday.

Of those patients, 1,481 were in intensive care units, a decline of 35 patients from Thursday. Of ICU patients, 995 were intubated, a decrease of 5 patients from Thursday.

There were 158 deaths Friday, including 64 in the city: 14 people in the Bronx, 22 people in Brooklyn, 8 people in Manhattan, 19 people in Queens and one person on Staten Island.

The state’s seven-day rolling average of positive COVID-19 test rates was 4.58%, which Cuomo pointed out is the lowest rate since December 2nd.

But in the city, each borough showed slight increases this week in seven-day rolling average of positivity: the Bronx was at 7.07% Friday, Brooklyn at 5.7%, Manhattan at 3.81%, Queens at 5.54% and Staten Island at 5.27%.

A screenshot of the past three days of positivity rates in each borough, showing slight increases this week.

"New York's positivity and hospitalization numbers continue to decline from the holiday surge, a reflection of the discipline New Yorkers have shown to defeat the virus," Cuomo said. "The ultimate weapon to win the war is the vaccine and we are getting needles into arms every day, but we need more supply because we have the operational capacity to do much more. Super Bowl weekend is here and while the instinct may be to celebrate together, we cannot get cocky - we must continue doing the things we know are effective at taming the virus: wear a mask, adhere to social distancing, and avoid gatherings. We can beat this thing, but we must stay smart."