Here’s the latest on the coronavirus in the region:
At least 10 people with positive COVID-19 cases have been linked to an early voting site at the Stony Brook Southampton college campus. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said six of those people are election workers. Contact tracers reached at least 48 people who went to the poll site and are now in quarantine.
Just under 50,000 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in October. That’s double the number who got the virus in September.
Connecticut’s COVID-19 infection rate has increased to 4.6%. The positive test rate on Long Island and Westchester County, New York is 1.8%, the highest since June. Governors Andrew Cuomo and Ned Lamont discourage travel between their states.
Restaurants in Connecticut are concerned that limited hours and capacity that will be required starting Friday as the state returns to Phase 2 will hurt their economic recovery from the first shutdown.
Connecticut also added Oregon and Washington to its quarantine list. There are now 44 states and territories on the list.
At least 55 more Quinnipiac University students have tested positive since Monday. Quinnipiac will now hold most classes online, and is stepping up student testing. It also will also stop in-person gatherings on campus, and not allow students to eat in its dining halls.
Advocates have urged National Grid and county governments on Long Island to automatically enroll tens of thousands of eligible ratepayers in a state program that will help them pay for natural gas heating bills. They say pandemic-related job loss will keep families in the cold this winter.