This is our daily update on the recent news about COVID-19 for Sunday, January 17, 2021. Previous daily updates can be found here, en up-to-date statistics are here.
New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, en gymnasiums. Governor Andrew Cuomo cites rising hospitalization figures suspended indoor dining room in NYC from December 14th. After he closed for a few weeks, NYC public schools partially reopened on December 7 for students of 3K-5, with students with special needs returning on December 10th. Certain parts of Staten Island remain under a zoned closure.
Get answers to your questions can have with our series “Ask an epidemiologist”, or learn more about NYC COVID-19 Test Options with Our Explainer. Here are some local hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here is the latest:
10:13: City Hall spokesman confirmed Sunday that the vaccination site was closed 24/7 at the Brooklyn Army Terminal after doses ran out.
According to the spokesperson, the website has been temporarily closed, but it is not clear when it will reopen. The NY Post reports that it was closed for the second day in a row on Saturday.
The site opened for the first time last Sunday and will be the first 24/7 vaccination site, along with the Bronx Post Office in Bathgate.
Those who had appointments at the Brooklyn Army Terminal had to be offered new time slots to come back and be vaccinated. The spokesperson did not immediately have information on how many appointments were canceled.
The lack of doses has affected some hospitals in the city because the supply of COVID-19 is low. Mount Sinai canceled all appointments from Friday to Tuesday “due to sudden changes in the vaccine supply,” a hospital spokesman said earlier. The NYU Langone also had low doses, and there were 1,000 doses for second admissions for Monday, Bloomberg reported late last week.
Mayor Bill de Blasio warned on Friday that the city will be ready to take doses by the end of next week and that the city has only 186,000 doses left on Friday. He called on the federal government to send more doses.
City data from Sunday showed that 404,654 doses had been administered and 395,846 doses on hand, indicating that stocks had risen since Friday. But it is not clear how the stock will be allocated in the city or may have an effect on the Brooklyn premises or in the hospital vaccine appointments.
Just a few days ago, the Brooklyn Army Terminal site became a symbol of the logistical nightmare facing the city to be vaccinated millions. On Thursday night, a viral message on social media lured a swarm of New Yorkers to the site after the message spread that the Brooklyn Army Terminal would administer extra doses that would expire on a first-come-first-served basis.
In another snafu at a state-run vaccination site, about 20,000 appointments were canceled after a scheduled website was shared before it went live.