Selected and Edited by Rafaela Prifti/

At Monday’s Press Conference Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that the city was “dangerously close” to a second wave that might mean more restrictions. According to reports, the cases of Coronavirus have surged across the country. Last month the data released by the Department of Health shows the daily cases within the range of 500 to 700. The number of new infections is swiftly rising, with more than 1,000 cases identified in the city for five days in a row, a level that last occurred in last May. Last Sunday, the numbers were up in all five boroughs, with 1,156 new cases. Unlike the spring, the number of hospitalizations and deaths related to Covid 19 are low, and the test positivity rate in New York City is still well below that in neighboring states. New Jersey and Connecticut are seeing a continued surge in cases. The weekly average was 2.26 percent, according to the city’s health department. As per guidelines, should the seven-day average of positive test results climb at above 3 percent, the mayor said that further lockdowns were possible.

There have been reports of discussions between city health officials and Mayor de Blasio’s aides regarding new restrictions including a broader shutdown of nonessential businesses, if the seven-day average rate of positive test results climbs up. Mayor de Blasio said that the restrictions “could mean even having to shut down parts of our economy again,” and having to close schools. He noted that he is watching three indicators to determine if the city is dealing with a “full-blown second wave”: the overall number of cases in New York City; the positivity rate, and the number of hospitalizations, which he doesn’t want to exceed 200 a day. With regard to the limited in-door dining that is allowed in the city, the mayor said that it was time to ‘re-evaluate’.

Governor Cuomo reiterated that the effectiveness of any state restrictions would be dependent on local enforcement. He also rejected the idea that the state was seeing a second wave rather than an uptick. The officials said that this week is very important in keeping the cases under control and avoiding new restrictions which would put in jeopardy the city’s recovery from the pandemic. In the early months, the outbreak killed tens of thousands, overwhelmed the hospital system and severely undermined the local economy. Governor Cuomo’s “microcluster strategy” has earned him praise by the public health officials, while New York has become a national model for curbing the outbreak.

New Jersey Governor announced new coronavirus restrictions on Monday, rolling back his reopening strategy to confront a statewide infection rate that has reached levels not seen since the pandemic ravaged cities and towns across the Northeast. Under the new restrictions, which begin Thursday, restaurants and nightclubs across the state must close to indoor customers at 10 p.m.

On Monday the coronavirus cases remained at record high in the United States and around the globe. Pfizer and its partner, the German company, BioNTech, announced preliminary results that suggested their vaccine was more than 90 percent effective. It is worth noting that the news is still preliminary, and there remain a lot of questions about the vaccine. Most importantly, the next several months are very critical and the public needs to follow the health measures of wearing the mask, practice social distancing and personal hygiene.