COVID-19

A college in New York’s Hudson Valley has retooled its theatre production season in the face of COVID-19 requirements.

In New York, Ulster County health officials say an employee at a health food store in Kingston has tested positive for COVID-19.

Becket, Massachusetts is a rural Berkshire community of just under 2,000 in the wooded hills of the county’s eastern edge. This week, WAMC spoke with select board vice chair Michael Lavery about how the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn is affecting the town. Dance center Jacob’s Pillow, one of Becket’s biggest cultural landmarks, canceled its summer festival for the first time in its 88-year history. Last month, Lavery was re-elected to a second term.

Health insurance companies regulated by New York state are waiting to hear back about their requests for 2021 rate changes for premium holders. The companies, like nearly every other industry, face many uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, Times Union Columnist Chris Churchill, Communications Faculty member at SUNY New Paltz & R.P.I. and former NYS Senator Terry Gipson, and Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick.

SUNY Orange is the latest college in the Hudson Valley to announce its plans for the fall semester.

With the Mid-Hudson region in Phase Four of reopening Tuesday, the Westchester County executive delivered his final daily coronavirus briefing Monday. Democrat George Latimer discussed the Chappaqua COVID cluster along with Phase Four questions for the state.

  The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, investigative journalist and UAlbany adjunct professor Rosemary Armao, The Empire Report’s J.P. Miller, and former Associate Editor of The Times Union Mike Spain.

Senator Chuck Schumer was in Schenectady today calling for immediate fiscal relief for cash-strapped local governments throughout the Capital Region.

Dr. Eric Yager And Dr. Eli Rosenberg join us on the line today to discuss the coronavirus and the latest developments with the COVID-19-related inflammatory illness found in children. WAMC's Ray Graf hosts.

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker issued a report Monday on the deaths from COVID-19 in New York’s nursing homes. He says shows the virus came in through infected staff, not through hospital readmissions. 

America has not limited the spread of COVID-19.

In today’s Congressional Corner, New York Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat from the 20th district, continues his conversation with WAMC’s Alan Chartock.

          The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, UAlbany Lecturer in Africana Studies Jennifer Burns, Albany Law School professor and director of the Immigration Law Clinic Sarah Rogerson, and Professor of Web and Cognitive Sciences at RPI and Director of the RPI-IBM Artificial Intelligence research collaboration Jim Hendler.

A private college in Dutchess County, New York, is one of the latest schools to announce its blueprint for the fall semester amid COVID-19. 

Months after the lower Hudson Valley became the first epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., Rockland County officials say a new COVID-19 cluster has emerged after a person who was ill with the virus held a party in June. COVID has since spread, and the county health commissioner says partygoers have not been cooperating with contact tracing. And officials are promising enforcement July Fourth weekend as they find out about more parties.

A state park in Sullivan County will close for July Fourth weekend amid concerns about spreading COVID-19.

New York’s fiscal crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic has led to temporary funding reductions for some cities and postponed planned pay raises for state workers. It has also led to reductions to some smaller programs, including an organization that has helped New Yorkers with intellectual disabilities during the pandemic. The program is slated for significant cuts this month. 

A landmark amusement park in Westchester County will stay closed for the first time in history. The summer closure comes amid concerns about spreading COVID-19. Meantime, the number of positive cases from an outbreak at graduation events in Chappaqua is rising. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo says the rate of the COVID-19 virus continues to be low in New York, with 11 deaths on June 30, but he says he worries that compliance with safety rules is slipping. Because of that, the governor says he’s postponing permission to allow indoor dining in New York City.  

It sounds impossible to believe, but hundreds of thousands of music lovers will not be taking in concerts from the rolling green grass at Tanglewood this summer because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is taking its acclaimed, months-long music festival into the digital realm.

BSO musicians — along with a wide range of guest artists including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax and violinist Joshua Bell — are helping to produce original, pre-recorded performances for the new Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival.

Encore and archival performances are also part of the lineup, in addition to informal conversations with artists and master classes.

According to BSO president and CEO Mark Volpe, more than eight million people have engaged virtually with the organization's output over the past two months and they hope for much more this summer.

Another big event has been canceled because of the pandemic. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo is adding eight more states to a travel advisory list for states with high levels of the coronavirus. Visitors from California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee will now be required to self-quarantine for two weeks.

       With the coronavirus pandemic raging in other parts of the country, officials in the largest city in western Massachusetts Monday implored people to remain vigilant about keeping social distancing, wearing face coverings and other precautions.

Governor Andrew Cuomo says New York is offering help to states like Texas and Arizona that are struggling with spiking COVID-19 infections. At the same time, the governor says he’s talking with airport officials and federal border control officers on how best to enforce a travel advisory that requires travelers from states with high rates of the virus to quarantine for 14 days.

A new survey takes a look at health coverage during the COVID-19 recession, finding more people uninsured, with many furloughed workers holding onto employer coverage.

     The future of healthcare is being shaped by COVID-19.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will impose mandatory quarantines for travelers from states with high rates of the coronavirus effective midnight tonight.