Around Brooklyn: Virus cases in NY declined despite protests
Virus cases in NY declined despite protests
Many experts predicted an increase in coronavirus cases in New York City after the George Floyd protests, but it didn’t happen. On May 27, just before the protests, 754 cases were diagnosed. At the end of the first week of protests, the city was recording about 500 cases a day, and the number of cases went down into the low 400s after the second week of protests. Some experts say that the number of cases was already on the decline when the protests began. It’s possible that cases have increased in certain neighborhoods or clusters, but not enough data is available to support such a conclusion, according to The New York Times.
Subway to add face mask vending machines
The MTA will be deploying a dozen vending machines at 10 subway stations so that straphangers can buy face masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. Eight of the machines will be stocked by Canteen, while four others will be stocked by Swyft. The machine owners are renting space in subway stations for a percentage of their gross sales. This is a pilot program, and if it succeeds, more machines will be placed in subway stations. The stations where they will be first installed are all in Manhattan except for Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, according to Gothamist.