New York City could awake from its coronavirus-induced coma as soon as early June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.
By next month, the Big Apple is expected to meet its own targets for hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and the amount of those testing positive for the bug — as well as the state’s seven COVID-related benchmarks, the mayor explained.
“All roads are leading to the first half of June,” Hizzoner said.
But city-run beaches still won’t be open for swimming Memorial Day Weekend — and the mayor is urging Big Apple residents to stay off Long Island’s shoreline. Here are all of the beaches that will be open in the area — and here’s some advice on staying safe in the sand.
Meanwhile, it could be some time before Broadway returns, according to insiders — but other forms of entertainment are already planning a comeback.
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Here’s what else we learned today:
Reopening ruckus:
- The saga of the New Jersey gym that’s waged war against Gov. Phil Murphy’s lockdown order continues — the owners plan to reopen again Friday after getting shut down by the state health department.
- About a dozen Michigan barbers and hair stylists defied stay-at-home orders — by offering free haircuts on the state Capitol lawn.
- And President Trump wants churches to be allowed to reopen as the pandemic ebbs.
An empty Times SquareRobert MillerResearch continues:
- Canadian scientists have high hopes they’ve found strong strains of cannabis that could help prevent and then treat COVID-19 infections.
- Adults’ noses may make them more vulnerable to catching the virus than kids, according to a new study.
- A Wisconsin woman took the unproven coronavirus drug hydroxychloroquine for nearly two decades for another health condition — and says she was still infected by the virus.
- And the feds have ordered 300 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine from a British drugmaker.
- At least seven states may have botched their coronavirus testing tallies, potentially providing a distorted picture of how the disease has spread.
Eyes on China:
- New York GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik — one of the lawmakers appointed to the new China Task Force — believes the nation is now among the biggest threats to the US.
- The northeastern Chinese city of Shulan is now under a Wuhan-like lockdown as it battles its own coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile…
- Space for Peloton bikes are a must-have in New York real estate thanks to quarantine demand.
- The mayor of a town in Peru posed as a coronavirus victim — lying in a coffin while wearing a face mask — to avoid being arrested for violating lockdown rules.
- Could this bubble that resembles the Cone of Silence from 1960’s TV series “Get Smart” be the future of dining?
