On Thursday, Nov. 19, New York State established a yellow COVID zone in parts of New Rochelle as well as several other communities in Westchester
County, including Yonkers, Port Chester, Tarrytown and Peekskill.
In Westchester, the daily infection rate has ticked up to a concerning 4.6%, significantly higher than previous months when that rate had consistently
remainder under 1%. Similarly, statewide has seen an uptick of the infection rate to 3.1%.
As a part of that continuing increase in COVID-19 cases throughout New York, cluster areas have been identified by zip codes and tagged micro-clusters.
New Rochelle’s zone covers about half of the 10801 zip code and a portion of the 10805 zip code, mainly encompassing the city’s downtown district.
If a community is tagged with a Yellow Zone it triggers tightened restrictions such as restaurant dining limited to four people per table; houses of worship limited to 50% capacity; non-residential gatherings are restricted to a maximum of 25 people; gatherings at private homes are already limited to a maximum of 10 people statewide; and information on public school impacts will come directly from the school districts.
Beginning on Monday, Nov. 23, New Rochelle City Hall was closed to the public, except by appointment. Multiple services will remain available online.
The New Rochelle City School District of New Rochelle, with the exception of a cohort of special education classes, reverted to a fully virtual learning experience, effective, Nov. 20. That plan will remain in effect until at least Dec. 3, according to the school district.
”If you look around the country, around the world, COVID is surging. In New York, we are not immune to what’s happening around us—and with the cold
weather and holiday travel, from here to January is going to be very dangerous. We’re going to add some additional micro-cluster zones. While some areas have improved over the past weeks, other parts have seen a higher positivity rate,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press briefing on Nov. 21. “These next few weeks will be challenging with the holidays, especially since we all want to see our loved ones after the year we have had, but we cannot let our guard down. Love is sometimes doing what’s hard—this year, if you love someone, it is smarter and better to stay away, as hard as that is to say and hear. We can get through this if we all continue to wear our masks, stay socially distant, avoid gatherings, wash our hands and above all, stay New York Tough.” Back on Nov. 13, Cuomo put enhanced restrictions into effect statewide.
Bars, restaurants and gyms, as well as any State Liquor Authority-licensed, SLA, establishment, must close in-person service from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.
SLA licensed establishments, including bars and restaurants, will close daily at 10 p.m. Bowling alleys that have liquor licenses are also included in the new
measure. After 10 p.m. restaurants will be able to provide curbside/food pickup only. Gyms will also close daily at 10 p.m. (Submitted)
