New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency for Long Island in response to heavy snow, high winds, and coastal flooding from this week’s winter storm, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has limited travel in the state to essential business only.
Cuomo said non-essential travel is prohibited.
“If you are not an essential worker you should not be on the roads when there is a state of emergency. And again, just from a safety and practicality point of view, you should not be on the roads — period,” Cuomo said.
Travel is dangerous with up to 18 inches predicted in most of the state and wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour.
The MTA has ended service on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North until further notice.
Cuomo said New Yorkers with appointments scheduled for Tuesday on Long Island and New York City will receive an email or text message rescheduling their vaccination.
Lamont said the state’s allocation of COVID-19 vaccines for appointments this week are still on track to be delivered despite the winter storm warning in effect for the entire state.
“We know exactly where these vaccines are supposed to be headed from Operation Warpspeed, they are all on special trucks and right now on schedule,” Lamont said.
Blizzard-like conditions postponed Connecticut vaccine appointments for Monday and some Tuesday. Those are expected to be rescheduled for later this week.
The National Weather Service has warned that high winds and snowfall could persist Tuesday in New York and Wednesday in New England.
