Second Wave Of COVID Strikes Leading To Enforcement Blitz

Before Yom Kippur, widespread media coverage depicted predominately Orthodox Jewish areas of New York City as hotbeds for a renewed spread of COVID-19. In turn, City officials opted to announce and enforcement for face coverings and an institution of fines across nine of the city’s 146 zip codes seeing the troubling uptick.

Mayor Bill de Blasio made the stunning declaration at his Tuesday morning press conference, where areas in Brooklyn and Queens were singled out. The affected zip codes in – 11223, 11230, 11415, 11691, 11219, 11204, 11229, 11210, and 11367 – are confirmed to have seen a positive COVID test rate well above the city’s 3% target threshold; some are drastically higher, with 11367 well above 6 percent.

The disconcerting news comes after NYC’s daily positivity rate had not surpassed 2.2% since the beginning of August. The Mayor noted that the daily rate had crossed the 3% margin for the first time since early June, with a 7-day city average hovering around 1.4%.

To combat the rise, those caught without a mask in these areas will be “aggressively” advised that they must comply with the mask-mandatory mandate or be subjected to a financial penalty. The city officials will go so far to offer a free mask to offenders, and upon refusal the wrongdoer will be levied a fine, tapping out at a high of $1,000. The minimum charge or first violation fine had not been disclosed at the Tuesday briefing. The regions noted include the neighborhoods of Gravesend/Homecrest, Midwood, Kew Gardens, Edgemere/Far Rockaway, Borough Park, Bensonhurst/Mapleton, Gerritsen Beach/Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay and Flatlands/Midwood.

A similar fining policy was put in place by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, under the auspices of NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo where commuters refusing to done a face covering are fined $50 and a spring program of a comparable measure was disbanded after it was revealed that the New York Police Department chose to target people of color. It remains unclear how the city will act differently this time around.

Many private schools and yeshivas, including childcare centers, opted to cancel indoor learning until after the Sukkot holiday fearing the contagion spreading in their midst. Some schools are even deliberating a 14-day quarantine following the holiday vacation period. The mayor explained that educational institutions found in fault of the Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi’s order for these preventative health safeguards will be immediately shuttered.

The instructions given “require nonpublic schools to: maintain at least six feet of distance between individuals, unless it creates a safety hazard, and, based on community feedback, if barriers have been erected between people; to wear face coverings in school buildings at all times, except in cases of medical exemption; to coordinate with the Health Department and the Test & Trace Corps. on investigations, namely to identify, isolate, and prevent the spread of COVID-19; and follow the protocols established by the Department for opening and closing of classrooms and schools, if a student or staff member is confirmed with COVID-19, following all the guidance for exclusions, and close contacts.” The mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement is tasked with monitoring private school, but the mayor did note that if a rolling average remains high in particular areas, the schools there would be closed, while the public school system will remain open in other areas. This conflicts with in-person learning being canceled at NYC schools if the 7-day average is at 3% or above.

The City again mentioned that if improvements are not seen based on the infection numbers in the above-mentioned zip codes, it had a plan in place to begin imposing drastic restrictions, including forbidding gatherings over 10 people and a closure of all nonessential businesses. Dr. Mitchell Katz, President & CEO of NYC health + Hospitals, did however impart that sweeping progress regarding “mask-wearing in the affected communities over the weekend” had been seen in these areas and no further restrictions were pending.

Residents can expect to see additional testing capacity in these areas, and hundreds of Test and Trace Corps. Members, alongside community-engagement specialists to encourage added testing. According to the mayor there will be a push back against misinformation, robocalls, and seven sound-trucks driving through the area blasting safety messages. Inhabitants of Kew Gardens Hills were frustrated with Yiddish announcements blaring from a NYC Parks Dept. pickup truck. “We speak English here; why would the city send around messages in Yiddish here on Main Street?” questioned Katherine M. at the corner of Main Street and Jewel Avenue as she waited to board a bus. “I have worked here as babysitter for many years and not once have I heard anybody speak Yiddish. I felt like I was back at my old job in Williamsburg,” continued Katherine as she straightened her mask, noticing her bus pulling up.

De Blasio called the sudden rise over the Jewish holiday season an “inflection point,” he then added, “and we will be escalating with each day depending on what we see happening on the ground and the test results we are getting.”

Plans to allow indoor dining at 25% capacity remain in place and are being observed.

By Shabsie Saphirstein