COVID-19 At-Home Rapid Tests Available Now At Beacon Police Department - Limited To 1 Per Household

Announced by Mayor Kyriacou during Monday’s City Council Meeting 12/20/2021, Beacon is slated to receive a limited number of COVID-19 rapid self-tests that can be taken at home. Thanks to the COVID-19 response plan that New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on 12/20/2021, home tests and KN95 masks are being sent to municipalities, starting now. Other states like Ohio have been providing these since before Thanksgiving.

Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro announced today via press release that the tests are coming in limited supply, and will be issued 1 per household, where proof of residency in Beacon is required. Shortly thereafter Beacon’s Police Department announced today that the first shipment of tests has arrived and are available in limited capacity to 1 per household with proof of residency of living in Beacon. Tests aren’t the only thing arriving to the Beacon PD headquarters - see the two giant donated pallets of soda that arrived earlier in the week, which the Beacon PD is also looking to donate to residents.

ALBB called to verify hours of pickup with the call-in desk of the Beacon Police Department, and was told that the department is open 24/7, and that people can pick up one test at any time - with proof of Beacon residency, and it’s only 1 test kit per household. Inside of each kit there are two tests.

The Beacon Police Station is located at 1 Municipal Plaza, which is the building on the way to the train station. The police department is the door on the lower right, below the main door to City Hall. There is a parking lot for easier access.

County Executive Molinaro said: “As we are in the midst of this COVID-19 surge during the busy holiday season, the County’s goal is to distribute these tests and masks throughout our community to help curb this growth in positive cases. We thank both our local and state partners for their cooperation in assisting Dutchess in this critical mission.” He added that KN95 masks are being donated to municipalities as well and may be available with the test kits.

As of Wednesday 12/22/2021, according to the Dutchess County Dashboard, there are 1,745 Active Cases of COVID-19 in Dutchess County, which is an increase since last Friday, when it was 1,487. There are 99 Active Cases in Beacon (last week was 65), and there are 77 people in the hospital with COVID-19 in Dutchess County (last week was 68 people hospitalized).

Very few people are boosted, as their initial vaccinations begin to wane. The CDC says that boosting improves the body’s ability to fight the virus. Find out where to get vaccinated in or near Beacon at www.vaccines.gov (it’s such an easy website!)

How Many At-Home COVID-19 Tests Will Be Available?

According to the county’s press release, at home COVID-19 tests are being distributed based on population of the municipality. Tests will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis, and will not be held if someone calls ahead. The press release also stated: “While supplies are limited, distribution from New York State is expected to be recurring and the County will continue to work with local municipalities to distribute test kits as they are received.”

With To Do With A Positive COVID-19 Test Result

According to Dutchess County’s press release, residents who receive a positive result from an at-home COVID-19 test must:

• Immediately self-isolate, even if they are vaccinated; as part of 10-day quarantine; and

• take a picture of the positive at-home test result within 24 hours and report the positive case to the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH) at www.dutchessny.gov/COVIDpositive

After reporting the positive result to the County health department, residents will receive a phone call from a contact tracer and are strongly encouraged to answer that call. However, with current high case volume, it may take a few days before a contact tracer calls. Residents are asked to be patient and continue isolating. If a resident’s symptoms worsen or they experience difficulty breathing following a positive result from an at-home test, they should consult their physician or dial 9-1-1.

 While at-home tests approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are reliable, it is possible to receive a false negative. If residents experience symptoms and test negative, they’re urged to take another test within 24-48 hours. 

Negative test results from at-home tests may not be sufficient to return to work or school.  DBCH will not accept negative test results from at-home for early release from quarantine. Negative results do not need to be reported to DBCH.

Vaccination Status Of City Employees At City Hall

During the 12/20/2021 City Council Meeting, Mayor Kyriacou explained how they have decided to comply with Governor Hochul’s mask mandate for unvaccinated people in indoor spaces: “We have chosen to all wear a mask rather than to ask for vaccination,” he explained. “Upstairs, everyone is vaccinated. Other departments of the city where not everyone is vaccinated…they are wearing masks. Applies to all indoor spaces.”

The Police Department is located in the downstairs section of City Hall, as are other offices of other departments in the City of Beacon.

How To Know When A New Shipment Arrives

Mayor Kyriacou said that availability of the test kits would be posted on the city’s website. For this first round, that website has not been updated, nor did a SWIFT robo-call go out to make the announcement. The Beacon Police Department’s Facebook post was the first announcement. Within 24 hours, the first shipment of these tests have been picked up by residents. Consider following the Beacon Police Department Facebook page to see if they make updates as to when a new shipment arrives, and when it has been depleted.

Active Cases Of COVID-19 High At Holiday Time - 1,487 (almost double the summer high of 800s)

In case you hadn’t checked he Dutchess County COVID-19 Dashboard lately, the number of Active Cases of the virus has almost doubled since the summer, when alarm bells were sounding and mask recommendations were coming back. The number of Active Cases in Dutchess County as of today is 1,487 with a percentage of 6.02%, which is comparatively a higher percentage than officials have been comfortable with.

There are currently 68 hospitalizations, which is a relatively high number for Dutchess County. As for Active Cases in Beacon, there are 65. Again, a high number historically for Beacon. In East Fishkill, there are 213.

A Beaconite’s Experience Testing Positive

A family of 4 who got COVID-19 a few weeks ago (two vaccinated adults who were not boosted yet and two children under age 11 who had not received vaccination yet) took a home test to confirm results. They called Dutchess County to report in the numbers, and were told by Dutchess County that the county would not be counting them in the Dashboard. The reasoning, the Beaconite says the county representative gave them, was because the diagnosis may limit what kind of medical attention they could seek, aside from the ER. Unclear why that recommendation was made, since telehealth appointments are available when one has COVID-19, and prescriptions can be delivered by local pharmacies like Vogel or Beacon Wellness. Unless Dutchess County is referring to unrelated medical appointments, in which case that would indicate that the county may be OK with people testing positive visiting medical centers in an active state of COVID-19.

That means this family of 4 would not be in Beacon’s count.

State Of Active Cases In Beacon City Schools

Active cases of students and staff in the Beacon City School District continues daily, with about 6-8 cases reported to district families each day. Beacon has not shut down schools, but does contact trace people connected to those who test positive. According to one family of a student who was in the contact tracing lineage twice in the same week by two different exposures, and who is vaccinated and was not showing symptoms, the district advised them not to get tested. The Beacon City School District does offer the Test To Stay Program, which provides free rapid testing to those needing to quarantine, to let them return to school sooner. The free testing kit program is federally funded and administered through Dutchess County.

A few weeks before Governor Hochul declared her indoor mask mandate for all spaces that do not require proof of vaccination, Board of Education Member Anthony White asked to have a consideration about reducing the mask mandate in schools during a recent Board of Education Meeting. The current mask mandate in schools remains, and is a New York State requirement, as Beacon’s Superintendent commonly reminds parents and teachers who are against the mask mandate and present their opinions during Board of Education meetings.

How Is Dutchess County Responding To The Governor’s Renewed Mask Mandate?

Dutchess County is not enforcing Governor Hoschul’s mask mandate, as reported by the Highlands Current. Nor is Putnam County (Cold Spring). Both County Executives are Republican. According to the article, Molinaro said on Facebook that the “requirement is ‘unenforceable’ and ‘will become confrontational.’ The county will not ‘escalate tension or conflict or further burden our local small businesses.’” Dutchess County continues to promote vaccine and booster clinics, in addition to testing locations. Follow their Facebook page for notices.

According to the Highlands Current: “New York reported 18,000 new cases on Wednesday (Dec. 15), nearly 9x the 2,143 from Aug. 1. Although upstate counties are seeing the most infections, cases have also increased significantly in Dutchess, Putnam and other Mid-Hudson counties as the cold weather drives people indoors. Dutchess County’s 231 cases on Wednesday was its highest one-day total since Jan. 11, and Putnam County’s 84 cases on Dec. 10 its highest tally since Jan. 23.”

COVID-19 In Sports

The NFL is having an outbreak, despite it’s apparent 95% vaccination rate. Unknown if that statistic includes any recent boosters that need administered. According to a Washington Post article, a majority of players testing positive are asymptomatic.

Booster Cycles

The Beacon City School District has offered a second vaccination clinic, which offers pediatric vaccinations and boosters for those on cycle.

To learn where to get a booster for yourself, visit vaccines.gov and type in your zip code for an easy and local location. Beacon Wellness and Drug World in Cold Spring are locally owned vaccination locations. Sun River Health on Henry Street is also offering, as is Walmart and other big stores.

Beacon City School District Staff Are 84% Vaccinated

From Right: Beacon Board Of Education (BOE) Member Craig Wolf, and Meredith Heuer, President
Photo Credit: Screenshot of 11/8/2021 BOE Meeting

UPDATE 12/2/2021: Dr. Landahl responded to ALBB’s request for current staff vaccination rates: “We are at an 84% staff vaccination rate: 86% for teachers/admins, 83% all other staff.” The title of this article originally said “Near 80%” and has been edited to say 84%.

Craig Wolf, retired journalist for the Poughkeepsie Journal, and current Board Member for Beacon’s Board of Education (BOE) for the Beacon City School District, asked Beacon’s Superintendent of Schools Dr. Landahl during his COVID Update at the end of the 11/8/2021 Board of Education meeting about staff vaccinations.

Craig asked: "How are we doing in terms of vaccinations for our staff?"

Dr. Landahl answered: "About a month ago it was about 73% of our employees were vaccinated." The district staff had not tallied the numbers as of this BOE meeting in early November, but Dr. Landahl felt comfortable estimating that it had increased to close to 80% by early November. Staff vaccinations are recorded in broad terms, and not identified by department or type of staff, Dr. Landahl explained.

"Every week we have a few more folks who get vaccinated," Dr. Landahl expanded.

ALBB has requested the percentage closer to December, but did so close to this publishing, and is awaiting response. When and if an update comes in, this article will be updated. We are binge-listening to the BOE meetings for updates as well. if you are further ahead of us and know the answer, do send a link and video minute notation.

School Employees In New York Have The Choice To Get Vaccinated

School employees have the choice to get vaccinated, or go through weekly testing, as is the mandate from the New York State level. It is not one the Beacon City School District can make unique to their district. Wearing a mask in school is also mandated at the New York State level by Governor Kathy Hochul. She did this to create a safer space for students and staff to attend school in person, and possibly, remove safety precautions and extra layers of safety during an air-born based pandemic later on if enough people are vaccinated, which could reduce the ability for the virus to mutate.

From New York State's press release: "Governor Kathy Hochul today (9/2/2021) announced that her strategy to reopen schools safely took a major leap forward on two fronts, demonstrating her administration's commitment to making the health and well-being of students, teachers, and families a top priority. Earlier today, the Public Health and Health Planning Council passed an emergency regulation and the Health Commissioner issued a determination requiring all teachers, administrators and other school employees to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing unless they show proof of vaccination, with either a CDC vaccine card or the Excelsior Pass."

How Has The Anti-Vaxx Reaction Been At Beacon’s Board Of Education Meetings?

Very civil. A handful of people have come out to speak at the Public Comment portion of the beginning of the meetings both in support and not of vaccinations for teachers, masks for kids, and required weekly testing for the unvaccinated. Beacon’s Board of Education President Meredith Heuer has thanked participants for being cordial during this time of potential discord nation-wide. Board Member Kristan Flynn has also thanked meeting attendees for their calm manner in delivering opposing viewpoints.

The local paper, the Highland Current, was the first to report one of the first voices of dissent from a staff member on the vaccine mandate. Beacon City School District staff member who identified herself as Laurie Malin (pronounced “maleen” with a hard “e”) each time she speaks against vaccines and testing (an early time was 9/13/2021). The Highlands Current - and current students - confirmed that she is a science teacher at Rombout Middle School. She is tenured, as confirmed by Rombout Middle School’s Principal, Brian Soltish. Laurie spoke publicly and strongly against getting vaccinated, as well as against getting testing tested weekly in exchange for choosing to not get vaccinated.

In her reasoning for not getting regularly tested, she stated commonly debunked theories, which you can listen to here at the beginning of the meeting. While repeating her information in this article risks re-spreading that misinformation, one of the articles debunking what she said can be found here at Reuters, a national and internationally syndicated news source.

In another article, ALBB might transcribe Laurie Malin’s comments in order to provide further background of her future actions at public meetings and in front of students in her classroom.

Kids COVID Infections Continued: 9 Confirmed Cases In BCSD Over Thanksgiving Break

The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving was a question on many parents’ mind, safe to say, in any state in the nation. If kids cases were increasing right before the holiday break, what would it be upon returning to school?

The Beacon City School District’s (BCSD) Superintendent Landahl was quick to provide an answer, as is consistent with any confirmed case in the district on a daily basis. In an email to parents and caregivers sent today (11/30/2021), he said:

“Over Thanksgiving break, we learned of 9 total cases of COVID-19 in the BCSD. Two individuals at Rombout Middle School and seven individuals at Beacon High School. Due to the length of time these individuals have been out of school, there is no quarantining with these cases. This is an aggregate number of cases we learned about over the five days of break.”

UPDATE 12/2/2021: The confirmed cases that are announced by Dr. Landahl are those of any person in the district schools. A person could be a teacher, a student, etc.

The BCSD has layered safety measures in place inside of each school, such as more space in cafeterias, outdoor learning areas, reduced populations in the hallways during class changes, and other measures to encourage social distancing.

Ventilation Upgrades In Aging Beacon City Schools

During the last Capital Project for the district, Rombout Middle School did receive ventilation-based upgrades. This was a fortunate coincidence in preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Landahl explained during his 2021 presentation of this next Capital Project that did get passed by City of Beacon voters. Ventilation upgrades are planned for each of Beacon’s six public schools.

You can learn more of Dr. Landahl’s thinking during his presentation at a Board of Education Meeting here.

Vaccinations and Kids

For additional clinic opportunities, Dr. Landahl has been encouraging access to pediatric clinics from the holistic pharmacist Dr. Neal Smoller, who conducted the vaccination clinic at the Beacon High School in early November 2021. Because of the need for volunteers, Dr. Landahl said during a recent school board meeting that Beacon will most likely not hold additional vaccination clinics, or at least not very many, as it was difficult to get volunteers.

In an email to district parents and caregivers dated 11/30/2021, Dr. Landahl stated: “There are a number of opportunities to get the Pediatric Pfizer vaccine. Dr. Neal Smoller, the pharmacist we are partnered with, has a number of community clinics coming up that you can join. Visit drneal.co/kids to see the full schedule”

Appointments at stores and pharmacies are also available. You can visit Vaccines.gov for an easy zip-code based database that connects you with websites for online scheduling, or phone numbers for appointments made over the phone. These include Drug Mart in Cold Spring, Walmart in Fishkill, and other familiar locations.

Easy Local COVID Vaccination Drugstore For 5-11 Kids, Older Kids, and Adults - Plus Shopping For Prizes!

The little pharmacy in Cold Spring - Drug World - has been on the hunt to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to the area since the vaccination for adults first became available. The Highlands Current covered the behind-the-scenes in what was required to administer the vaccine in their article “Drug World Chases COVID Vaccine.” This, followed by a letter from a reader, “Thanks To Drug World” which described what owner Heidi Snyder did to secure doses and partnered with Mark Snyder and Father Steve Schunk from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church to organize a team of community volunteers to administer it, according to a letter from John and Eva Humbach, followed by several other letters of support published in the newspaper.

Soon after the child’s dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5-11 became available, Drug World secured doses and made scheduling available on their website. Drug World’s website is also connected to the national database of vaccination locations, called Vaccines.gov, an easy to use online tool filtered by zip code, age and vaccination brand to book a vaccination for any available age.

Locations that do not have online booking do offer a phone number to call, or directions on if walk-ins are accepted. In Beacon, for instance, the new local pharmacy Beacon Wellness Pharmacy with the black and white awning across from Rite Aid offers the flu vaccination for walk-ins, and needs an appointment made online for the COVID-19 vaccination. The kids ages 5-11 will be available soon at Beacon Wellness Pharmacy, said the owner Enrique Reynoso, RPH, M.B.A., BCMTMS (review to come of Beacon Wellness Pharmacy’s shopping selection! we totally shopped it while flu-shotting).

Benefits Of Going Local Pharmacy - Shopping!

At any pharmacy, you are going to find a shopping selection. If you know A Little Beacon Blog, you know we love a good drug store and hardware store. Drug World did not disappoint Their Hanukkah selection is front and center at the front doors, while inside, there is a well curated selection of designer band-aids, coveted poppet stress toys (they are the new fidget-spinner and are all the rage on Tik Tok - kids collect them), and even picture frames! Not sure if you know, but picture frames are hard to find.

Take a look at our shopping pictures below, and book yourself a vaccination or booster today! Drug World also offers COVID-19 testing.

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COVID Cases In Beacon Kids Ticks Up - District Offered Vaccination Clinic - Use Vaccines.gov To Easily Find Vaccination Appointments

New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul is recommending for people to use Vaccines.gov, which has an easy-to-use vaccination finder for all age groups and brands of COVID-19 vaccination.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and winter starts sending people indoors more, the predicted increase in cases has happened, including in children. According to a report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number of children infected by COVID-19 used to average 16.9% of total cumulated cases. For the week ending November 18, that percentage rose to 25.1%

From American Academy of Pediatrics 11/18/2021:

As of November 18, almost 6.8 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. This week nearly 142,000 child cases were added, an increase of about 32% from two weeks ago. Child cases have declined since a peak of 252,000 the week of September 2nd, but COVID cases among children remain extremely high. For the 15th week in a row child COVID-19 cases are above 100,000. Since the first week of September, there have been over 1.7 million additional child cases.

The age distribution of reported COVID-19 cases was provided on the health department websites of 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Since the pandemic began, children represented 16.9% of total cumulated cases. For the week ending November 18, children were 25.1% of reported weekly COVID-19 cases (children, under age 18, make up 22.2% of the US population).

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In Beacon, that increase seemed to correlate. As with other schools in other districts and states, parents receive emails from the districts stating if there are new confirmed cases in which schools. The Beacon City School District (BCSD) Matt Landahl emailed parents each day - sometimes twice a day - that new cases were confirmed to be within the district. In each email, he specified the number of confirmed cases within each school, and that individuals have been or will be notified to quarantine. Beacon has 4 elementary schools, 1 middle and 1 high school.

In mid-November, the number of confirmed cases in the BCSD increased. The list of dates and confirmed cases has been posted in this article to the right, which are based on confirmed case notification emails from Dr. Landahl. These show that on November 16, numbers of confirmed cases were doubling.

UPDATE 12/2/2021: A sentence in the above paragraph has been edited to just say “confirmed cases.” Dr. Landahl sends the number of confirmed cases, which could be children or adult staff working in the school buildings.

On Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving (November 22nd and 23rd, 2021) the there was a district-wide early dismissal for parent/teacher conferences. Thanksgiving break began on Wednesday, November 24th. Everyone will return on Monday November 29th, 2021.

Vaccination Clinic Hosted By BCSD A Success

Days after the vaccination for kids ages 5-11 was approved, the BCSD organized a vaccination clinic in order to provide easy access to parents and children in a familiar environment: the Beacon High School. Organized by Deputy Superintendent Ann Marie Quartironi in partnership with Village Apothecary who administered the shots (see the Village Apothecary’s list of upcoming vaccination clinics).

In terms of shots administered at those clinics, Dr. Landahl shared data with ALBB that over the course of both clinics (November 9th and 10th): 278 pediatric doses were given, and 106 boosters were given.

Another BCSD hosted vaccination clinic is not scheduled yet, but several other regular locations are available to people, including Walmart in Fishkill, Drug World in Cold Spring, and others. Visit Vaccines.gov to find locations by zip code and schedule an appointment. Insurance is not needed, but may be asked for, but is not required.

CONFIRMED CASES IN THE BEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (BCSD) IN OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2021
October 1
1 confirmed case

October 4
2 confirmed cases

October 5
1 confirmed case

October 6
2 confirmed cases

October 7
2 confirmed cases

October 12
2 confirmed cases

October 15
2 confirmed cases

October 16
3 confirmed cases

October 19
1 case

October 23
1 confirmed case

November 12
2 confirmed cases

November 12
1 confirmed case

November 16
2 confirmed cases

November 16
6 confirmed cases

November 17
3 confirmed cases

November 19
7 confirmed cases

November 19
7 confirmed cases

November 22
7 confirmed cases

Easy Vaccination Appointment-Finder

New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul is recommending for people to use Vaccines.gov, which has an easy-to-use vaccination finder for all age groups and brands of COVID-19 vaccination.

If people would like schools and businesses to stay open, then those people should get vaccinated, and boosted. Expect to get boosted on the regular.

The Beacon City School District has guidelines in place to keep kids and staff safe while in school together, and sends notifications quickly when vaccination clinics are available nearby, in addition to what can be found at Vaccines.gov.

So far for the 2021/2022 school year, the district has not closed any schools in the name of mass quarantining, and instead works diligently to contact trace individuals who may have been in contact with those who tested positive for COVID-19. Those people go into their own quarantine schedule.

The New Omicron COVID-19 Variant

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, a new variant emerging in South Africa was declared to be of concern as it is studied. It is has been named Omicron. Part of why Omicron is of concern is because of how many other mutations it produces. Watch the video below from the a South African epidemiologist, Salim Abdool Karim as he explains how Omicron works, as they know it so far.

Governor Hochul has declared a State of Emergency in New York State in preparation for Omicron to come to this state, which for the “surge and flex system” to go into effect, which can halt or limit non-essential or non-urgent hospital procedures.

Governor Hochul said: "The vaccine remains one of our greatest weapons in fighting the pandemic, and I encourage every New Yorker to get vaccinated, and get the booster if you're fully vaccinated."

Governor Hochul Makes Funding For COVID-19 Testing In Schools; Mask Mandate For Schools; Possible Vaccine Mandate For School Employees

Days after being sworn in as New York’s Governor on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul issued new directives for schools in New York. These include:

• Directed Department of Health to institute Universal Mask Requirement in all schools (public and private)

• Began pursuing options to mandate vaccines for school employees

• Launched COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program using $585 Million in federal funds in partnership with counties and BOCES

• Established Additional Back-to-School Testing Program in Partnership with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rite Aid and BioReference

• Acquired Millions of Masks for Students and Educators

Masking Mandate

While masking is generally accepted by Beaconites, some parents have indicated objection in social media and on reopening planning calls with Beacon City School Districts (BCSD) Superintendent, Dr. Landahl. He delivered his first reopening presentation on August 13, 2021, and is slated to present again via video call this evening with updated or clarified guidance based on New York State’s new guidance (read the slides here).

In response to this mask mandate, Dr. Landahl provided clarification on Mask Breaks, stating: “Universal Masking is now required by the state for staff and students in schools. Mask breaks will either be outside, or when students are separated from other individuals by 6 feet and under the guidance of a staff member for a brief amount of time.” Masking outdoors is not required by New York State at this time, and BCSD is following that guidance.

According to Governor Hochul’s press release, New York State has available more than 4.3 million child-sized clothed face masks, about 10 million adult-sized clothed face masks and almost 55 million non-surgical face masks to provide to students and teachers in schools across the state.

Possible Vaccine Requirement For School Staff

Said Governor Hochul in a press release: “As Governor, my priorities are now the priorities of the people of New York - and right now that means fighting the Delta variant," she said. "My number one priority is getting children back to school and protecting the environment so they can learn safely. I am immediately directing the Department of Health to institute universal masking for anyone entering our schools, and we are launching a Back to School COVID-19 testing program to make testing for students and staff widely available and convenient. We are also working to require vaccinations for all school personnel with an option to test out weekly, and we are going to accomplish all of this by working in partnership with all levels of government."

In response to the proposed vaccine requirement, Dr. Landahl is preparing to follow through with requiring vaccinated staff to test weekly. He stated: “Governor Hochul is preparing to announce a vaccine or testing requirement for all school staff. I am hearing that this will be announced in the next few days. If it becomes law, all unvaccinated staff will be required to undergo weekly testing.” Dr. Landahl stated in his 8/13/2021 presentation that is is strongly supportive of this vaccination.

COVID-19 Testing Accessibility

According to Governor Hochul’s press release, to help ensure testing is available to students as they return to school, Governor Hochul is using $335 million in federal funds to launch a new COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program in partnership with local health departments and BOCES in New York State outside of New York City. In addition, New York City has received $251 million directly to initiate a COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program there, for a total of $585 million in federal funding in New York State to support these programs.

This is a huge development, as getting required testing for kids is time consuming, and challenging with different health insurances. Testing, at this time, is not free like the vaccine. Unless via a federal or state funded school opportunity such as this.

Governor Hochul also launched an additional back-to-school COVID-19 testing program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rite Aid and BioReference to make testing more widely available for New York State public school students before the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

Active COVID-19 Cases Top 800 In Dutchess County - Numbers For The End Of August

As we go about making choices in our everyday lives during the pandemic and rising impact of the Delta varient, knowing the numbers of our community and surrounding communities can help. To give context, at the end of June 2021, there were 56 Active Cases of COVID-19 in Dutchess County, as reported by Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro during his first video Town Hall in response to other counties sending out public health alerts to the rising numbers on August 18, 2021. This week, the number of Active Cases exceeded 800 twice.

Also on the the day that the first Town Hall was broadcast, the Department of Health and Human Services made a joint statement with the CDC and other medical experts that it was preparing to roll out a 3rd Booster shot later in September, to be taken 8 months after the last shot of the first full vaccine series.

Since then, Dutchess County Executive Molinaro has made a second video Town Hall presentation on August 27, 2021 where he presented more data in context. It should be noted, that the County Executive stated that hospitals in Dutchess County have told him that they are concerned with the current number of COVID-19 hospitalizations (around 29 people hospitalized for COVID-19 at the time), as it stresses their entire system. Since stating that, the number reached 41 people hospitalized recently.

Giving context for the Positivity Rate Percentage: In June 2021, that percentage was .28%. One month later at the end of August, the number spiked to the 4.5% range. Other states that are currently fighting many more infections have higher percentages, like Florida (20%), and Texas (ranging between 10%-20% who needed to ask FEMA for additional refrigerated morgue trucks).

Currently, hospitalization numbers (people in the hospital) in Dutchess County have been rising to the high 30s. The number of Active Cases in Beacon have been fluctuating in the 30s. In this date range alone (8/18/2021 - 8/30/2021), 7 people in Dutchess County have died from COVID-19 related complications. Indications of vaccinated status is not included in the Dutchess Dashboard at this time, but Dutchess County Executive Molinaro has been providing it verbally in his Town Halls of late.

Peace, love and compassion for people fighting the virus, those who have passed, and to their loved ones. And to any condition anyone is suffering.

Below are the numbers of people impacted for the past few days, as recorded from the Dutchess Dashboard:

COVID-19 Numbers for 8/18/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 732 people
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 28 people
Dutchess County Deaths: 458 people
Dutchess County Positivity Rates:
8/18/21: 4.64%
8/19/21:4.64%
8/20/21: 4.64%
8/22/21: 4.64%
8/24/21: 4.64%
8/26/21: 4.64%
8/27/21: 4.64%
8/28/21: 4.64%
8/29/21: 4.64%
8/30/21: 4.64%

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 31 people
Fishkill: 63 people
Fishkill Village <5 people
Poughkeepsie: 106 people
Poughkeepsie City: 140 people
Wappingers Falls: 59 people
Wappingers Falls Village: 20 people
Hyde Park: 49 people

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/19/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 739
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 32
Dutchess County Deaths: 460

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 30
Fishkill: 64
Fishkill Village <5
Poughkeepsie: 101
Poughkeepsie City: 133
Wappingers Falls: 61
Wappingers Falls Village: 21
Hyde Park: 50

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/20/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 725
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 28
Dutchess County Deaths: 461

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 30
East Fishkill: 64
Fishkill: 56
Fishkill Village 6
Poughkeepsie: 103
Poughkeepsie City: 131
Wappingers Falls: 56
Wappingers Falls Village: 19
Hyde Park: 56

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/22/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 793
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 36
Dutchess County Deaths: 462

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 32
East Fishkill: 62
Fishkill: 54
Fishkill Village <5
Poughkeepsie: 107
Poughkeepsie City: 130
Wappingers Falls: 60
Wappingers Falls Village: 18
Hyde Park: 50

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/24/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 716
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 39
Dutchess County Deaths: 463

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 26
East Fishkill: 66
Fishkill: 74
Fishkill Village: 7
Poughkeepsie: 87
Poughkeepsie City: 128
Wappingers Falls: 51
Wappingers Falls Village: 11
Hyde Park: 50

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/26/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 752
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 39
Dutchess County Deaths: 463

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 27
East Fishkill: 65
Fishkill: 72
Fishkill Village: <5
Poughkeepsie: 81
Poughkeepsie City: 126
Wappingers Falls: 50
Wappingers Falls Village: 11
Hyde Park: 50

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/27/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 782
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 41
Dutchess County Deaths: 464

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 26
East Fishkill: 79
Fishkill: 85
Fishkill Village: <5
Poughkeepsie: 100
Poughkeepsie City: 132
Wappingers Falls: 48
Wappingers Falls Village: 10
Hyde Park: 51

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/28/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 844
Dutchess County Hospitalizations: 39
Dutchess County Deaths: 464

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 33
East Fishkill: 89
Fishkill: 82
Fishkill Village: 7
Poughkeepsie: 115
Poughkeepsie City: 127
Wappingers Falls: 55
Wappingers Falls Village: 12
Hyde Park: 56

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/29/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 878
Dutchess County Hospitalization: 36
Dutchess County Deaths: 464

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 38
East Fishkill: 91
Fishkill: 84
Fishkill Village: 7
Poughkeepsie: 109
Poughkeepsie City: 128
Wappingers Falls: 56
Wappingers Falls Village: 11
Hyde Park: 57

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COVID-19 Numbers for 8/30/2021

Dutchess County Active Cases: 750
Dutchess County Hospitalization: 39
Dutchess County Deaths: 465

Active Cases By Community:

Beacon: 30
East Fishkill: 77
Fishkill: 74
Fishkill Village: <5
Poughkeepsie: 90
Poughkeepsie City: 116
Wappingers Falls: 44
Wappingers Falls Village: 10
Hyde Park: 45

Only 56% Of Dutchess County Residents Are Fully Vaccinated; HHS Prepared To Roll Out Booster 8 Months From Initial Vaccination

As numbers and percentages continue to be the driving force of the pandemic used to justify decisions, there is one metric that has been quoted more often than its sibling metric: the percentage of the Dutchess County population 18+ who have received one of two vaccination doses (73.6% as of 8/28/2021), vs the percentage of people who have received two of the two doses of their vaccine (56.67%).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a joint statement with Medical Experts on August 18, 2021 including the CDC that stated their study of vaccinations wearing off and needing a booster shot. The statement did not detail if those who only had one dose of their vaccination were at greater risk for losing amounts of protection. The statement alluded to fully vaccinated people.

The HHS statement detailed: “The available data make very clear that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination, and in association with the dominance of the Delta variant, we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease. Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout.”

Community Protection Is Key

The CDC stressed on July 27, 2021 that as long as the community was not fully vaccinated, reduced risk of transmission would be difficult: “A growing body of evidence indicates that people fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) are less likely than unvaccinated persons to acquire SARS-CoV-2 or to transmit it to others. However, the risk for SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection in fully vaccinated people cannot be completely eliminated as long as there is continued community transmission of the virus.

44% Of Dutchess County Not Fully Vaccinated

While it is important to celebrate the accomplishment of half the population of Dutchess County being fully vaccinated, 44% of people traveling throughout the county and into neighboring counties is a lot of people. People may assume that a friend of theirs is vaccinated, and may assume incorrectly. While some industries are requiring vaccinations in order to return to work, some employees are opting to work from home to avoid that mandate. Others, like this soap opera star who is openly against vaccinating, are one such example. As of today, actors are not required by their union to vaccinate in order to work on set with other vaccinated people.

The Booster Shot Preparation 8 Months After Initial Vaccine Series

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is preparing for all Americans get the 3rd shot booster, according to their August 19, 2021 statement. HHS stated that they are awaiting data for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, but anticipates that boosters will be needed for that group as well.

From their statement : “We have developed a plan to begin offering these booster shots this fall subject to FDA conducting an independent evaluation and determination of the safety and effectiveness of a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines and CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issuing booster dose recommendations based on a thorough review of the evidence. We are prepared to offer booster shots for all Americans beginning the week of September 20 and starting 8 months after an individual’s second dose. At that time, the individuals who were fully vaccinated earliest in the vaccination rollout, including many health care providers, nursing home residents, and other seniors, will likely be eligible for a booster. We would also begin efforts to deliver booster shots directly to residents of long-term care facilities at that time, given the distribution of vaccines to this population early in the vaccine rollout and the continued increased risk that COVID-19 poses to them.”

For example, if you got your full vaccination sequence with your second shot on April 27th 2021, you would get a third booster shot on or around December 27th. Which happens to be the one year anniversary date of this blogger’s quarantine release date from recovering from actual COVID-19! Would not wish the actual virus to be in anyone. See you in the booster shot line.

Majority Of Hospitalizations Are Non Or Partially-Vaccinated People

Photo Credit: Screenshot of the Dutchess County Dashboard taken on 8/30/21, reflecting numbers from 8/28/2021.

County Executive Marcus Molinaro offered new vaccinated segmented data on his Facebook Live update on Friday, August 27th, 2021. The County Executive’s Communication Director, Colleen Pillus, confirmed with ALBB this data:

Hospital Demographics 7-day average (8/15-8/21)
29 patients on average [in the hospital]
76% [people] partially or not vaccinated vs. 24% [people] fully vaccinated on average

The HHS and group of experts who signed the statement maintains that vaccinating is a highly recommended mode of protection, by elaborating: “Our top priority remains staying ahead of the virus and protecting the American people from COVID-19 with safe, effective, and long-lasting vaccines especially in the context of a constantly changing virus and epidemiologic landscape. We will continue to follow the science on a daily basis, and we are prepared to modify this plan should new data emerge that requires it.”

In terms of vaccinated vs unvaccinated, HHS continued: “We also want to emphasize the ongoing urgency of vaccinating the unvaccinated in the U.S. and around the world. Nearly all the cases of severe disease, hospitalization, and death continue to occur among those not yet vaccinated at all.”

As of August 28, 2021, there are 844 Active Cases of COVID-19 in Dutchess County. That is a 4.57% positivity rate, according to the Dutchess Dashboard, which changes daily.

To get vaccinated for the first time, visit the Dutchess County Vaccination page.

86% Of Hospitalized COVID-19 Cases In Dutchess County Are Non-Vaccinated People; Hospitalizations Rising - Hospitals Explain Why That Is Challenging Their System

On August 18th, 2021, days after Sullivan and Orange Counties issued public health alarms about the rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, prompting them to put into place a preventative mask measure to slow the spread of COVID-19 in their regions, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro delivered a video presentation via Facebook addressing the rise of cases over the summer a week after warnings in neighboring counties.

When last he gave a video presentation at the end of June 2021, there were 56 Active Cases in Dutchess County. By August 18th, 2021, just over a month later, there were 726. The number remains between 700-800 Active Cases today.

“Those who are seeing more severe cases and are coming to a hospital setting are overwhelmingly not vaccinated.”

— County Executive Marcus Molinaro

Currently, he reported, there are 60-93 new cases each day of COVID-19 in Dutchess County. Whereas before, in June, there were 1-4 new cases each day. “None of these data-points individually would cause us to sound an alarm,” he said. “But collectively, we want to monitor those things.” With press releases coming out of the County Executive’s Office weekly about accomplishments including monies designated for grants, a new mental health website, agricultural spotlights, etc., no press release was sent about this spike from 56 to 726 new Active COVID-19 Cases in Dutchess County from June to August.

After Sullivan County mandated that all people in county buildings must wear masks, and Orange County strongly recommended that all residents wear masks indoors, ALBB reached out to the County Executive’s office on August 16th to inquire if Dutchess County or their Health Department had made similar announcements, but received no reply. Days later on August 18th, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro delivered his first COVID-19 update video. A week after that, the Dutchess County Commissioner of Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH), Dr. Anil Vaidian MD, resigned, thanking the county for the opportunity to have worked for them.

Positivity Rate Rises To 4.8% (August) From .28% (June)

"Today we are at a 4.8% positivity rate. Not a 'transmission rate' this is a 'positivity rate,’” County Executive Molinaro explained, and then continued to give a reference point: “At the end of June, we were at .28% transmission rate. We are now at 4.8%." ALBB has confirmed with the County Executive’s office that the quoted .28% transmission rate was indeed referencing the positivity rate.

86% Hospitalized With COVID-19 in Dutchess County Are Not Vaccinated; 77% of Active Cases Are Not Vaccinated

County Executive Molinaro released hospital data not included in the Dutchess Dashboard that presents tracked COVID-19 data, confirming that 86% of those hospitalized in Dutchess County are not vaccinated. "Those who are seeing more severe cases and are coming to a hospital setting are overwhelmingly not vaccinated."

As for Active Cases, according to the data collected by Dutchess County Contact Tracers, who personally call people with Active Cases to check in on them to learn about transmission patterns, 77% of people recovering from COVID-19 told Contact Tracers that they were not vaccinated, County Executive Molinaro said.

Hospitals In Dutchess County Are Concerned And Explain Why 28 COVID-19 Hospitalizations In 1 Month Is Too Much

“Not every particular hospital room is built to contain an airborne virus of this kind. As those rooms fill up, hospitals have to use other rooms. As those rooms fill up, hospitals have to use other rooms. Use of those rooms might close down a whole floor.”

— Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro

With 60-93 new Active Cases a day, and 8 new hospitalizations in a week, County Executive Molinaro exclaimed: “That is a pace that is of concern to all of us, in the public health world and in the health care world.” He went on to explain why the number of 28 hospitalizations in 1 month stresses the hospital system in Dutchess County, by explaining that not all hospital rooms are designed to entrap an airborn virus.

"The growth in hospitalization is what puts pressure on the health care system. There are several hundred beds that might be available in the region. That is true. Keep in mind that not every room in every hospital is protected in a way that would prevent an airborne virus - a virus that travels in the way that this does - to escape the room,” he stated. “Not every particular hospital room is built to contain an airborne virus of this kind. As those rooms fill up, hospitals have to use other rooms. Use of those rooms might close down a whole floor."

He went on to explain that hospitals have voiced concern: "Our health care providers - our hospitals - with whom we are on calls with every week - they have a level of concern about the transmission among individuals, visitors who come into the hospital, visitors to staff, and then those staff members have to isolate. Those become big challenges for health care providers."

As of 8/18/2021, in the last 10 days, 9 Dutchess County residents have lost their life to the virus, the County Executive said. “There are severe cases, and those severe cases are taking some lives." Later in the presentation, Molinaro said: "The severity of the cases have been on the incline.”

County Executive Molinaro ended with a push to get vaccinated, walking a middle line between encouragement and recommendation: "We encourage you to choose to get vaccinated. I hope that you will. We encourage you to get the answers to the questions you may have."

Where To Get Vaccinated In Beacon

Vaccinations are free, and available at the new Beacon Wellness Pharmacy on Main Street. An appointment is necessary to make on their website. Sun River Health on Henry Street is now vaccinating any person, not just current patients. Dutchess County is offering home services to those in need. Castle Point is offering a driving service for Veterans to be driven to an appointment, and is looking for volunteers to drive. Details for all of these locations is at the Dutchess County vaccination page.

As You Go Out And About...Weekend Guide For 8/20/2021

As the last days of summer are here, you are wanting to enjoy them at fairs, festivals, movie nights under a pavilion, and more. When you do, we are recommending you be mindful of the high positivity rate of COVID-19 right now in Dutchess County. During the decline in June 2021, there were 56 Active Cases in Dutchess County, according to Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro during an address this week. As of August 18, 2021, there are 732 Active Cases. As of today, there are 30 Active Cases in Beacon. To help you track it, ALBB has revived our publishing of local Active Case and Hospitalization Numbers. You can read today's here. When you go out, try to create social distancing for yourself, even if it is not being provided for you. Like at a fairground or amusement park. Use your body language to make your space big. Only 55% of residents in Dutchess County have been fully vaccinated with all of the recommended doses of their brand (meaning, a good handful did not get their second shot).   THE EVENTS + RETAIL THERAPY GUIDE Edited and Written By Teslie Andrade and Katie Hellmuth Martin You can sponsor this Event Guide with your event, for extra promotion of it! If you'd like to guarantee to see your entertainment event listed here, book an Event Promotion Advertising spot here. Stony Kill Butterflies & Blooms Day: August 14-21, 2021 Location: 79 Farmstead Lane, Wappingers Falls, NY) Information > 51st Riverside Craft Fair Day: Saturday, August 21, 2021, & Sunday, August 22, 2021 Time: 10am-5pm (Rain or Shine!) Location: Garrison Art Center, 23 Garrison's Landing, Garrison, NY Rain or Shine! Over 60+ vendors, artists, craft persons, new gourmet food items and more. Information > Back2School Block Party from I Am Beacon Day: August 21, 2021 Time: 12pm - 4pm Location: South Avenue Park (by Loopers Basketball Court) I Am Beacon and Key Food Marketplace announce the return of the “Back 2 School Block Party” on Saturday, August 21st at South Avenue Park in Beacon. Organizers say the purpose of the event is to support students as they head into the 2021-2022 school year by connecting families to local organizations, youth services and resources. President of I Am Beacon, Reuben Simmons, shares his sentiment for youth activities - “My Mom had me in many different programs growing up that helped shaped me into the person I am today. From playing sports to joining Boy Scouts and even being a part of Yanerella School of Dance. I believe it is important to keep our kids busy and active.” The free event will also provide people with an opportunity to donate school supplies to local children in need. The Back 2 School Block Party will have a free giveaway of  drawstring backpack to the first 100 students, which include informational material and a starter kit of supplies provided by Staples. The event will also have airbrush tattoos, activities, and music by DJ King Cyrus. There will be live performances throughout the day put on by The Beacon Players Club, Cub Scouts Pack 1, and Howland Chamber Music Circle. Additionally, a friendly basketball game between Beacon Hoops Coaches vs. City of Beacon Police Department and Dutchess County Sheriff’s Department followed by the Beacon Hoops All Star game is scheduled to begin at 12:30PM. Check our Calendar and Events Guide regularly for upcoming events throughout the week!   TWO WAY BREWING COMPANY 18 West Main St. Serving up cold beer, tasty dishes, and live music tonight at Two Way! Music starts at 7:30 with Mike Oleary, and The Flying Jib offers their delicious menu all night long.  See beers on tap here > PS: Don't forget about Trivia Thursdays! PPS: More live music coming up! Stay tuned OPEN: Thursday 4:00pm - 9:00pm Friday 4:00pm - 10:00pm Saturday 12:00pm - 9:00pm Sunday 1:00pm - 8:00pm Two Way Brewing Company is a Sponsor, thank you!   EAT CHURCH 3091 U.S. 9, Cold Spring, NY MISSION-STYLE BURRITO from Eat Church! Black beans, yellow rice, queso, avocado, salsa, crema, hots. Old school vegetarian! Looks delicious and we want to get our hands/mouth on this. Find Eat Church in the wild! Thur-Sun at Industrial Arts Brewing DAILY GrabnGo at Marbled Meat Shop Sunday at the Beacon Farmers Market Website > Eat Church is a Sponsor, thank you! BEACON BREAD COMPANY 193 Main St. We love drink specials! Especially from BBC! Hibiscus Iced Tea - refreshing cold-brewed iced tea makes the PERFECT Arnold Palmer when mixed with their homemade lemonade. Flower Power Latte *hot or iced* made with house lavender - rose - vanilla syrup Tres Leche Latte *hot or iced* REALLY does taste like a slice of tres leches cake! French Toast Latte *hot or iced* made with house brown sugar - cinnamon syrup Open this weekend 8am - 5pm! Menu >  Order Pick Up or Delivery >  Beacon Bread Company is a Sponsor, thank you! MEYERS OLDE DUTCH 184 Main Street, Beacon, NY Who needs a Double Dutch to kick off their weekend?! 2 1/4 lb. beef patties, cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, & fry sauce! We'll take one with a side of Fries topped with beef chili, pimento cheese & coleslaw (Dirty Fries). Open Sunday thru Thursday for Food 11:30am - 9pm; Bar until 10pm Friday and Saturday Food 11:30am - 11:00pm; Bar until midnight. Order Now > Meyers Olde Dutch is a Sponsor, thank you! TITO SANTANA TAQUERIA 142 Main St. Some extra cheeeesy quesadilla deliciousness served with the freshest pico & sweet créme for your weekend needs! Always made just the way your tastebuds crave with the best selection of fillings! Skip the line! Order ahead on Tito's website. PS: Vegan options available (tacos, bowls, salads, & soups. PPS: Dinner takeout special available Monday-Friday from 4pm - 9pm: 4 tacos, + 2 street corn, + 1 chip & salsa, + 1 rice & beans for only $24! PPPS: Catering available! Menu >  Catering >  Tito Santana Taqueria is a Sponsor, thank you! HOMESPUN 232 Main Street, Beacon, NY Gift Cards are available in-store at Homespun! Letter-pressed card stock from Raghaus Studios in Newburgh, printed on their very old, very special Heidelburg Windmill letterpress. A gift for you or someone special! PS: Order cutoff for Farm Kits is Tuesday at 5pm, and pick up will be at Homespun on Friday, anytime between 10am-7pm. Find more Farm Kit Info Here > OPEN HOURS: Thursday - Monday, 10am - 7pm Order Food > Homespun is a Sponsor, thank you!  HUDSON VALLEY FOOD HALL 288 Main Street, Beacon, NY OMG the choices of fries you can get from Barbs Fry Works located inside of the HV Food Hall are so creative! Naked fried, loaded fries, anti fries - all gluten-free! With your choice of sauce(s): Cheddar, Garlic Aioli, Ranch, Mustard Aioli, Cilantro Aioli, Bleu Cheese, Buffalo, Malt Vinegar, Sausage Gravy. Stop in & give them a try! Follow HV Food Hall's foodies: Miz Hattie's BBQ: Southern Style BBQ, from North Carolina. Order ahead via their Toast-app menu! Momo Valley: Himalayan Spiced Hand-Crafted MoMo & More Barb's Fry Works: Gourmet, small-batch-loaded fries. And salads. El Nica: Nicaraguan Food Roosevelt Bar: Cocktail Bar in a well-ventilated space with Outdoor Patio! Schmuck's Sweet Stuff: Local Ice Cream, Hot Waffles, and Other Sweet Stuff Hudson Valley Food Hall is a Sponsor, thank you! BAJA 328 328 Main Street, Beacon, NY YUM! Calamari from Baja - Made with Tequila-Tomato Jam / Pickled Red Onion / Scallions / Lime. This is definitely what we want for an appetizer! Also check out Baja's tacos, quesadillas, main plates, sides, and kids menu! Delish and made with fine fresh ingredients! PS: Happy Hour Tues-Fri 4-6pm Check out their specialty drinks >  Check out the specials > BAJA 328 is a Sponsor, thank you! ZIATUN 244 Main St. Ziatun is reopening this Sunday, the 22! Regular hours are from 11am-8pm. Go on in and enjoy a Shawarma Wrap on the patio or in their air-conditioned dining room, paired PERFECTLY with the Za’atar Fries and fresh Rose Lemonade. Ziatun also has new hours for this month! Monday 11am-9pm Tues & Wed 11am-4pm (open for lunch) Thurs- Sat 11am-9pm Sunday 11am-8pm Menu >  Order Online >  Ziatun is a Sponsor, thank you!   DIRTY BACCHUS 380 Main Street, Beacon Gregoire & Judicaëlle Perron / La Combe Aux Reves / 100% Jacquère / Jack Erre Dans Les Abimes 2019 - Jack Erre “in the depths” offers a stunning example of that mouthwatering Alpine acidity that can transform a wine from very good to truly great by way of a kind of earthy transubstantiation that arises when grapes from generous mountainside soils are tended by committed, scrupulous vignerons. Here, that acid functions as a fine mesh purse to hold the rest of the experience - citrus and other tree fruits, a hint of dried banana chips, a rock dust minerality that has the sharpness of fresh early morning mountain air - together in thrilling harmony. $33. Such a beautiful bottle! Might buy - might save and use as a flower vase. PS: Dirty Bacchus is hiring! HOURS: Mon-Wed: 12-6pm Thur- Sat: 11am-7pm Sun: 12-5pm Dirty Bacchus is a Sponsor, thank you! BINNACLE BOOKS 321 Main Street, Beacon Michelle Zauner, “Cryinh in H Mart” Binnacle has copies, go on in and get it! “From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.” Find books like these and many other genres at Binnacle! NOW *Open daily! Binnacle Books is a Sponsor, thank you!   BRETT'S HARDWARE 18 West Main Street, Beacon Keeping it cool over at Bretts! Go on in and get your ACs - it's still hot and there is still a month or more left of hotness! Plus, better to buy now than next year when you really need it! Also, outdoor activity supplies & swimming goggles from Bretts is still available! Stop in. Get yours. Get ahead of the game! That's really the way to do it... Look for Clearance pricing!  Brett's Hardware is a Sponsor, thank you! LUXE OPTIQUE 181-183 Main Street, Beacon Luxe Optique is all about bringing you the latest & greatest in eyewear from some of the best collections in the world. ⁠And they've been a little busy this month getting some WONDERFUL new collections in!⁠ Check out the Masunaga collection, hand-crafted eyewear made in Japan. We are obsessed! Simple & chic. Classy & sexy. ⁠There are as many as 200 manual processes involved in making an optical frame, and Masunaga is the only eyewear in Japan that manufactures each step in-house. The company’s mission statement is “We manufacture excellent eyeglasses. We want to make a profit if we can, but we don’t hesitate to take a loss."⁠ Who else could see themselves in this "Audrey" frame?⁠ We sure can! Luxe is a full-service optical store and an Optometrist is always on-site for eye exams. Stop in today to see their fabulous collections in store!⁠ Monday: 10am–5pm Tues-Saturday:10am–6pm Sunday: 11am-4pm Shop Online > Luxe Optique is a Sponsor, thank you! LA MÉRE CLOTHING AND GOODS 470 Main Street, Beacon Sneak peek of fall over at La Mere! We heard the Magic Show had so many great vendors and showed all the great Fall trends. New items will start trickling in! You don't want to miss it! This boucle vest comes in TWO colors! Let’s get this party started. Can't wait to see the mens fall line too! PS: Everything is under $100!! PPS: Men's clothing is available now! Shop Online > La Mere is a Sponsor, thank you! Yanarella Dance Studio 312 Main St., Beacon, NY Teacher Spotlight Native Beaconite and award-winning choreographer Kayla Romine began her dance education at Yanarella when she was just two years old. She took lessons in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Moden, Acrobatics, and Baton- even taking multiples of the same classes because she just loved to dance! Awards at various competitions throughout her dance career. She also has had the opportunity of competing and performing in Walt Disney World (Including dancing in their parade down Main Street USA), Hershey Park, and Universal Studios Florida. Aside from her lessons at the studio, Kayla has studied at Broadway Dance Center and has attended many dance conventions throughout the country. She has had the honor of attending classes with dance legends such as Frank Hatchett, Bob Rizzo, Mandy Moore, Sheila Barker, Twyla Tharpe, and "So You Think You Can Dance" choreographers Mia Michaels and Sonya Tayeh, just to name a few. She has continued her education and love of dance, studying dance at Manhattanville College and attending teacher workshops and summits every year, keeping up with the latest trends and innovations in dance education and artistry. She currently serves as Chapter Vice President and Social Media Coordinator of the National Association of Dance and Affiliated Arts and has been on faculty for their one-day and three-day workshops for over ten years. Currently, in her thirteenth year of teaching, Kayla is a very dedicated and passionate instructor & Choreographer. A jack-of-all-trades, Kayla teaches classes for all ages and skill levels. She is also currently the assistant creative director of the ballet program at Yanarella. Combining dance techniques with a positive upbeat outlook, Kayla strives to create a fun and stress-free environment in her classroom. She firmly believes that sparkles aren't just for costumes and tried to spread a little sparkle wherever she goes! Visit Yanarella Dance online.  Register for classes today!  Yanarella is a Sponsor, thank you! ANTALEK & MOORE INSURANCE AGENCY 340 Main Street, Beacon This is what customer reviews look like from Antalek & Moore because Antalek makes their customers their families! They are always beyond happy to do everything they can to make their lives easier. Personal Insurance, Business Insurance, Life Insurance, and more!  Give Antalek & Moore a call today: 845-831-4300 and visit their website. Latest Announcements > Antalek & Moore is a Sponsor. Thank you!   TIN SHINGLE When we are not broadcasting a live TuneUp, we will host an Office Hours session. The Office Hours is a Private, Small-Group Session for Media Members of Tin Shingle. We are able to connect together in person via video conference call. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas happen during this Pitch Whisperer session, so the 4 session dates are set to accommodate those vacation days. If you want to join in on these Office Hours, activate your membership so that you can access the secret link: www.tinshingle.com/membership Find out more > Tin Shingle is a Sponsor. Thank you!                           KATIE JAMES, INC. Your website is your most solid footprint for people to know what you do and how to buy from you. Social media accounts offer an emotional connection to your brand, and your website needs to reflect that energy. The designer's and lead producer, Katie Hellmuth Martin, can guide you through this process and design you a website that both looks stunning, and works well to help people do what you need them to at your website. Check out a recent project we did for Barb's Butchery in Beacon! > Find out more > Katie James Inc. is a sponsor. Thank you! HIRING: Social Media Leaf At The Hyacinth Group Details > HIRING: Daycare Teacher & Assistant Wanted At Care 4 Me, Inc. Details > HIRING: Beacon City School District Food Service Department Is Looking For Substitute Food Service Helpers Details > HIRING: Sous-Chef Position At Homespun Foods Details > HIRING: Part-Time Production Assistant At SallyeAnder Details > HIRING: Brett's Hardware in New Windsor Details > HIRING: Meyers Olde Dutch Details > List your job in ALBB's Job Listings > SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Malouf's Mountain featured on Good Morning America! Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Campground is nestled on the foothills of the Fishkill Ridge. The trails that lead to the campground are owned and operated by the NY-NJ Trail Conference who maintain the trails and trailheads. You can find Malouf’s Mountain on the NY-NJ trail map, East Hudson Trails, Map 102. When you reach the campground, you will notice how close to nature it is. You will find your campsite nestled into the mountain terrain and the sites are well spaced for your privacy. ALBB's Business Directory is a Deep Dive List of services you need right now in Beacon and the Hudson Valley. There is a lot of talent here in the 12508 and beyond and we want to highlight all of them. Check out the Business Directory HERE. BUSINESSES IN THE BUSINESS DIRECTORY BRANDING  >  MARKETING & PR Samantha Cuello Consulting Tin Shingle Katie James, Inc. CAMPING Malouf's Mountain CHILDBIRTH  >  CLASSES Juniper Birth CHILDBIRTH  >  DOULA Juniper Birth EDUCATION > MUSIC Maple Street Studio (guitar!) EDUCATION > TUTORING Heads Up Learning HEALTH & WELLNESS > MASSAGE Focus On Massage Therapy HOME IMPROVEMENT > INTERIOR DESIGN Jacklyn Faust Interiors HOME IMPROVEMENT > LAWN SERVICES Blue Green Lawns INSURANCE > BUSINESS, HEALTH, LIFE, HOME Antalek & Moore Insurance Agency REAL ESTATE > HOUSE INSPECTIONS Rizzi Home Inspection Services, Inc. List Your Business In The Business Directory >

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Beacon School District Releases Reopening Details; Presented By Superintendent Landahl

On August 12, 2021, Beacon City School District released reopening guidelines for the 2021/2022 school year, presented delivered by Superintendent Landahl. Overall, the district is following the New York Department of Health and the New York State Education Department’s guidance, who advised districts to follow the CDC school opening guidelines for the upcoming school year. Dr. Landahl opened his presentation with this observation: "New York has been an interesting state to do my profession in, as no one wants to seem to give any guidance."

“I’m a big believer in vaccines, and a huge believer in this one.”

— BCSD Superintendent Landahl

The overall goals for the 2021/2022 school year is for a full 5 days of in-person learning with safety measures put into place to keep schools open and students healthy during the ongoing pandemic. The number one item that Dr. Landahl asked of parents was for patience, as guidelines shift and realities of implementing guidelines with young people can be challenging.

District Practices For Reopening

The biggest change from last year is that the hybrid model will be discontinued. Dr. Landahl reiterated that every level of government that is issuing guidance has prioritized in-person learning, but to be prepared to shift into Remote if a school has an exposure, or if Contact Tracing will take too long to identify individual students or staff as an alternative to closing. For students with serious health compromises, Dutchess BOCES may be offering a program, Dr. Landahl said.

Kickoff Guidelines:

• 5 Days In-Person Instruction/Experience. The hybrid schedule will be discontinued. No cohort groups will be made (this was when students in a class were divided into 2 groups: blue and gold).

• Remote Learning will be available to all students, a school, or a classroom if there is a closure due to COVID-19.

• Masks indoors will be required for all individuals, students and staff, regardless of vaccination status. The policy will be reviewed throughout the school year. All of the governing bodies recommenced wearing a mask indoors, including Beacon’s District Physician.

• Masks are not required outdoors. When kids are outside for recess, lunch, etc. This guidance was released at the end of the 2020/2021 school year in the spring.

• Masks are required on buses and for indoor sports, but not for outdoor sports per the outdoor mask guideline.

• “Rugs are coming back!” to the elementary schools, Dr. Landahl confirmed.

• Distancing will be the CDC distancing requirement of 3 feet. When distancing is not feasible, layered prevention strategies will be implemented.

• Ventilation will be in all classrooms, which are outfitted with a portable HEPA filter and MERV-13 filter.

• Daily health screener (the online health form to fill out) will be continued.

• Cleaning protocols will be continued. Classrooms will be sanitized every night.

• Vaccination opportunities will be promoted. Most drug stores are now offering free vaccines.

• Positive Test Result of Child: If a whold class is out due to a positive test result with large exposure, then the whole class switches to Remote. If it is a single child pulled out resulting from Contact Tracing indicating a small or no exposure, the district is currently brainstorming this with the county. “We don’t have a Remote apparatus that a child can just slide into,” Dr. Landahl stated. He may have been referring to the Blue and Gold hybrid days, where Remote instruction was always in motion on any day for a different group.

BCSD Is Getting Guidance From New York State Governing Bodies

On advisement from the New York Department of Health and the New York State Education Department the BCSD will be following the CDC school opening guidelines for the upcoming school year. Dr. Landahl reiterated that the CDC “highly recommends a mask mandate in Dutchess County” based on community transmission, which currently is “High” and is climbing. To illustrate the spike, the number of active COVID-19 cases in June 2021 was 56 people. The number of people on August 12th, 2021 was near 700 (as of August 28, it was 878).

Masking is so important to be mandated, Dr. Landahl explained, because: “Proper masking allows us to reduce the number of staff and students who have to quarantine through contact tracing. If you are wearing a mask, you are mostly exempt from quarantining per CDC.”

Remote Learning

The current intent is full time 5 days, with preparations in place for if a school needs to be shut down for COVID-19 exposure. Last year, Contact Tracing was rigorously conducted within the district by district staff to advise affected persons to stay home, while the school could remain open.

“We are evaluating a program for remote learning at BOCES for students with a serious medical condition that prevents them from attending in-person education and creating a process that will identify those students,” Dr. Landahl said.

Vaccines In Beacon City School District

Vaccines are not mandatory for students or staff in the Beacon City School District. When asked why by a parent on the webinar Town Hall call, Dr. Landahl answered he was not aware that any district is able to require vaccinations, unless that directive comes from New York State. “All of our employees work under contracts, which have different bargaining units. If we were to go in that direction, directive would be coming from the state level.”

At this time, the percentage of teachers, staff, and students over the age of 11 who are vaccinated is unknown. BCSD was not in the habit of collecting it, as collecting it was not required by any governing body. However, Dr. Landahl is looking into ways to collect that data to make available to the public.

In terms of Dr. Landahl’s personal opinion on vaccinations, he was not shy to state it: "I'm a big believer in vaccines, and a huge believer in this one. Vaccines are working, please consider getting vaccinated!"

The district will work on holding vaccination clinics to increase the rate with students and will work with the local health department on education efforts for people who have questions. Dr. Landahl stated that he is interested in finding funding to assist with testing.

Ventilation In The Schools

The currently known transmission method of COVID-19 is primarily airborn, with less focus on surface transmission. Each classroom uses a MERV-13 filter in its air handler unit and has a portable HEPA filter. Nightly sanitation will continue.

Editor’s Note: not every classroom has an air conditioning unit, such as in South Avenue. Perhaps the pandemic or climate crisis can allocate funding for standing air conditioning units or mini-splits to help the children and teachers stay cool. Concentrating and staying hydrated is quite difficult in high temperatures.

Outdoor learning opportunities are at the schools, such as a math class on a sidewalk at South Avenue Elementary, and band class held outside at Rombout Middle School may continue. Lunches at schools were taken outside at times, weather permitted.

Health Screening In The District

While no longer recommended by New York State, Dr. Landahl said, the district will continue with using the daily health screener, which is an online form parents need to fill in an hour before school. It can make a parent extra mindfull that they are sending in a sick child when they click the box that says “sore throat” or “sneezing.” It is unclear at this time if submitting a sick screener triggers the need to get a COVID-19 test, which is burdensome on the parent for time and health insurance reasons, as tests are not free (unless you find a New York State facility), and can trigger an additional doctor appointment for a cold that would otherwise have been mild enough to forgo a doctor appointment.

The district is discontinuing the use of temperature screening before the school year. “Very few districts used it last year and there is a growing consensus that it is not an effective way to screen COVID-19,” Dr. Landahl stated. “It is not the best allocation of resources to identify [active cases of COVID-19]."

Distancing and Breakfast/Lunch

"Last year, distancing recommendations were a lot different,” Dr. Landahl said during the presentation. “That was our biggest reason for being in the hybrid model for as long as we were." Following these recommendations, he said, there was little transmission. “If [a situation] needs to be below 3 feet [of distancing], we will use other layered methods. Like filtration and staying home if you are sick.”

The CDC recommends 3 feet distancing in schools with mask wearing. This is an example of a layered approach to achieve more desirable circumstances.

As for eating breakfast and lunch, each school is preparing different lunch plans to make sure students can eat lunch and stay as distanced as possible, Dr. Landahl said. Plans include some outside eating, split lunch shifts, etc. Exact plans for this are still in development and will be developed in a school-by-school plan.

COVID-19 Testing In The District

COVID-19 testing is voluntary, and testing is recommended for staff and students as a further mitigation effort. “We are exploring different ways to accomplish this hopefully in partnership with Dutchess County,” Dr. Landahl stated, reiterating that he hoped for funding from Dutchess County.

Editor’s Note: As of August 24, 2021, Funding has since been introduced by the new Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. COVID-19 testing is very burdensome for those with different health insurance requirements. Some health insurance companies require doctor's note (which requires an additional appointment). If COVID-19 testing is required for school, like to return to school from a sick health screen form, some health insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield won't cover the test at all (which can range between $150 - $300), and defers coverage to the school district's health insurance.

Since Governor Hochul took office, new guidelines have been released, like a universal mask requirement being instituted at all schools by the Department of Health, as well as options to mandate vaccinations for school employees. Dr. Landahl will deliver an updated to this initial presentation on August 31st or September 1st.

Click here to access the slides to his August 12th presentation.

Click here to watch his August 12th presentation on YouTube.

COVID-19 Cases In Town Of Red Hook Impact School and Camp; Vaccinated People Amoung Infected, But Mild

The Dutchess County Executive’s Office sent out the following press release regarding to a COVID-19 cluster being reported on in the Town of Red Hook. “Several of the individuals confirmed as positive for COVID-19 in the Red Hook outbreak had been previously vaccinated, however most are only experiencing mild symptoms, if any. There are no related hospitalizations or deaths.”

Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH) Commissioner Dr. Anil Vaidian stressed: “Those who are unvaccinated remain a vector for the virus. Getting vaccinated is the most important protection you can take, as the more people who are vaccinated, the less chance the virus has to spread.”

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The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH) is currently investigating multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Town of Red Hook that are believed to be related to a party at a private residence.

There are currently 8 confirmed cases, including children and adults. The cases have impacted the Red Hook Central School District summer school program as well as the Red Hook Recreation Summer Camp and Pool programs, with health officials working with each organization for contact tracing, quarantines and other precautionary mitigation efforts.

There was limited impact in the Red Hook Central School District. The district has been in communication with DBCH and all impacted families. Summer school is otherwise operating on a normal schedule with all appropriate precautions. The Red Hook Recreation camp and pool programs are expected to return to normal operations in the next day or two, as there was minimal exposure risk for participants.

“This is a critical reminder to our community that the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much here and it is as important to be vigilant and continue to take steps to protect yourself and your family,” said DBCH Commissioner Dr. Anil Vaidian. “Those who are unvaccinated remain a vector for the virus. Getting vaccinated is the most important protection you can take, as the more people who are vaccinated, the less chance the virus has to spread.”

Several of the individuals confirmed as positive for COVID-19 in the Red Hook outbreak had been previously vaccinated, however most are only experiencing mild symptoms, if any. There are no related hospitalizations or deaths. “Though we have not had a lab-confirmed case of Delta variant to date in Dutchess County, the new, aggressive COVID-19 variants continue to spread and nationally we are seeing more instances of the variants “breaking through” to vaccinated people. However, vaccinated individuals generally experience only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. The risk of being hospitalized or dying is minuscule for vaccinated individuals,” said Dr. Vaidian.

Residents should be alert for symptoms and in the event they do experience symptoms, such as coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath or loss of taste or smell; get tested for COVID-19 and stay home to rest and recover.

“The mitigations people took to protect themselves over these many months against COVID-19 are as important as ever to staying healthy and safe, not just against COVID-19, but basic illnesses like summer colds which are on the rise,” noted Dr. Vaidian. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses, continue to practice smart health and safety measures including:

• Washing hands regularly with soap and water; or using hand sanitizer when necessary

• Practice physical distancing – particularly in congregate settings

• Stay home when sick! If you are experiencing cold or COVID-19 symptoms, including coughing, sneezing, loss of taste or smell - stay home to rest, recover, and help prevent the spread of virus and disease

• Carry a mask and wear in crowded settings, particularly when you may be in contact with people who you do not know their vaccination status or are experiencing symptoms.

COVID-19 vaccine is widely available and anyone 12 years and older is eligible to be vaccinated. To learn more about where to get COVID-19 vaccine, visit www.DutchessNY.gov/covidvaccine.

With One Tweet, New York's COVID-19 State Of Emergency Comes To An End

The lead-up to New York’s State of Emergency was a steep escalation, as people began to understand the severity of COVID-19 as people around them were getting so sick with what most people thought was the flu. Governor Cuomo took control of New York State, making several Executive Orders to ease the shock of closing down businesses, and cutting people off from other people in social distancing mandates. Effective June 24th, 2021, Governor Cuomo tweeted and stated in a press conference that New York’s State of Emergency is over. “Fighting COVID & vaccinating New Yorkers are still top priorities, but the emergency chapter of this fight is over. All thanks to New Yorkers who were #NewYorkTough.”

Senator Sue Serino sent an email to constituents, grateful for the move to lift the State Emergency power from Governor Cuomo, something that Republicans and Democrats have been pushing for. She ended her note with the following sentiment: “To every New York family that lost a loved one during this tough time, please know our hearts are with you always. As we rebuild, we will do so in their honor.”

Moments before her email arrived in inboxes, Hudson Valley Primary Care sent an urgent message to patients, encouraging adults and children age 12+ to get vaccinated, especially as the Delta variant is spreading in the United States. Said Hudson Valley Primary Care:

“The vaccines are safe and effective, and they prevent COVID-19 illness. They will help protect you and your family and keep your community safe. We strongly encourage everyone age 12 and older who are eligible to receive the vaccine under Emergency Use Authorization to get vaccinated, as the benefits of vaccination far outweigh any harm. Especially with the troubling Delta variant increasingly circulating, and more readily impacting younger people, the risks of being unvaccinated are far greater than any rare side effects from the vaccines. If you get COVID-19, you could get severely ill and be hospitalized or even die. Even if your infection is mild, you or your child could face long-term symptoms following COVID-19 infection such as neurological problems or diminished lung function.”

The lifting of the State Emergency triggers some local rules to go back to pre-pandemic statuses, which did not leave room for discussion on how those roll-backs would be implemented, or felt at the local level. According to local leader County Executive Marcus Molinaro, who is also the Second Vice President for the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC): “Counties across the state learned about the end of the State of Emergency by a tweet from the governor,” the County Executive told A Little Beacon Blog. “There was no coordination.”

Marcus Molinaro as well as Senator Serino have been pushing for Governor Cuomo to release power he holds through the State of Emergency, which have resulted in immediate changes, some for good, some for negative impact. Said Molinaro to A Little Beacon Blog: “Certainly we wanted to see an end to the emergency powers, but a transition was needed in order to negotiate the changes, and advocate for businesses as they recover. Regarding some rules that were waved to make it easier for businesses to do business responsibly, we have discussed why we should restore them ever. Some of these rules just don't make sense.”

The New York State Legislature could make a difference in overturning some of these rules, but they have gone on recess until January 2022. “They may have gone on recess because they didn't think a sunset of the State of Emergency would happen so soon,” Molinaro told A Little Beacon Blog. He hopes that when they return, some of these rules will be taken up for discussion and votes.

New York State Reaches 70% Vaccinated In People Age 18+; Governor Cuomo Lifts Many Restrictions

As reported by everywhere, including WHAM and Dutchess Business Notification Network, New York State has reached the milestone of 70% of people 18 and older having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Mid-Hudson region has reached 71.9%, as stated in Governor Cuomo’s press conference today (6/15/2021). To celebrate, the governor has lifted many restrictions, and has scheduled firework celebrations throughout the state.

Last year at this time, according to WHAM, the COVID-19 positivity rate was 48.16%, while today it is .4%. Also last year at this time, Governor Cuomo himself was complaining about unexpected firework launchings, as remembered by Gothamist: '“But it is somewhat unexpected that Cuomo would spring fireworks on unsuspecting New Yorkers considering the proliferation of illegal fireworks last summer led to lots of complaints...including from the governor himself. ‘You can be in New York City, it sounds like the Wild West at night. Even in Albany, I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t know what has happened,’ Cuomo said last summer, adding that he was so startled at night at times that he jumped out of his bed.”

Last summer In Beacon, Councilperson Air Nonken Rhodes also encouraged people not to launch their own fireworks, and continues to encourage no private fireworks into this summer was well.

Most importantly, however, are the restrictions that are lifted by Governor Cuomo, effective immediately. Federal orders related to COVID are still in place for now, which include masks for children indoors in school. Children and adults can be masks off outdoors, however, on school property. According to his 6/15/2021 announcement, the lifted restrictions are as follows:

Effective Immediately, State-Mandated COVID Restrictions Are Lifted Across Commercial and Social Settings:
Social Gathering Limits
Capacity Restrictions
Social Distancing
Cleaning and Disinfection Protocols
Health Screening
Contact Information for Tracing Purposes

Effective Immediately, State-Mandated COVID Restrictions Are Lifted Across Commercial and Social Settings:
Retail
Malls
Movie Theaters
Food Services
Offices
Gyms and Fitness Centers
Amusement and Family Entertainment
Hair Salons
Barber Shops
Personal Care Services
Sports and Recreation
Construction
Manufacturing
Trade
Child Care
Camps
Food Services
Real Estate
Buildings
Agriculture
Fishing
Forestry

Unvaccinated Individuals Responsible for Maintaining Social Distancing of Six Feet and Wearing a Mask, Per Federal CDC Guidance

Exempt and Still Adhering to State's Existing COVID-19 Health Protocols:
Large-Scale Events Venues
Pre-K to 12 Schools
Public Transit
Homeless Shelters
Correctional Facilities
Nursing Homes and Health Care Settings