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•Nassau officials announced they are officially in phase 1 and moving forward following the coronavirus pandemic.
• "The goal of reopening is to do this in a way that mitigates the spread of coronavirus. We want to make sure we are doing it safely," says Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
• Phase one reopening includes construction, curbside retail, manufacturing, forestry, farming and fishing. For outdoor construction - six feet of space is required between workers. For indoor projects, no more than one worker per 250 square feet will be allowed on the sight.
• Curran says construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade accounts for 17% of the Long Island economy. When retail is fully back – it will account for 30% of the economy.
• Curran also outlined phase two plans, and says as of now there are two weeks between phases, but it can become shorter if numbers continue to go in the right direction.
• Phase two would include professional services like accountants and law firms. Curran says she is pushing for barber shops and beauty salons to be included in phase two, as well as full service retail.
• However, officials say those services will look different – with PPE and sanitizing being mandatory and the amount of people being at the establishments at the same time limited.
• Officials announced hospitalizations are down to 407 in the county – the 44th straight day of hospital declines on Long Island. Curran says this is the longest streak of any region in the state.
• A total of 67 new COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday and 3% of those being tested, tested positive for the virus. In addition, Long Island has seen a 14 day decline in hospital deaths and have put together an army of contact tracers.