New York eases further restrictions after vaccinating 70% of the population

NEW YORK – New York state this week announced relief from several measures imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, now that at least 70% of adults in the state have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The state no longer requires many companies to follow cleaning protocols, take their employees’ temperatures or ask them about their recent symptoms.

Movie theaters will no longer have to leave empty seats between moviegoers. Restaurants will no longer have to space tables two meters apart. Shops will no longer have to limit the number of customers.

But not all the rules are being abolished: for the moment, New Yorkers must continue to wear a mask at school, on the subway, in amphitheatres, in homeless shelters, in hospitals. , in retirement homes and in prisons. Stricter rules apply to those who have not yet been vaccinated.

Seventy percent of adults in the state had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Monday.

It is not known exactly what percentage of the population needs to be vaccinated to achieve the herd immunity that controls the spread of the virus, but several experts estimate it to be at least 70%. About half of New Yorkers of all ages are fully immunized, according to federal data.

Dr. Anna Bershteyn, of the New York University School of Medicine, warns, however, that the emergence of more contagious variants could mean that herd immunity will not be achieved until 85% of the population has been vaccinated.

New York has had around 430 new infections a day for the past seven days, its lowest toll since the start of the pandemic. Some 600 victims of the virus were hospitalized across the state, the lowest number since the end of August.

The pace of vaccination has slowed down considerably. New York has administered about 580,000 doses in the past week, compared to an average of one million doses per week at one point in time.

The state tried to boost the immunization rate by pulling a US $ 5 million prize and offering four years of education at a public university.

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