There has been a rise in cases in some communities - largely in Nassau County - which have been linked back to some attending parties with upwards of 25 to 30 people who fail to socially distance themselves or wear facial coverings.
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Health officials said that they’ve been busy contact tracing certain clusters, and found that many of those clusters could be traced back to one or two parties or large gatherings that were held in recent weeks as some have grown complacent in combating COVID-19.
Some of the spread has also been attributed to nearby Queens and Brooklyn, which have 16 of the 20 zip codes with the highest infection rate in the state, prompting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to shut down some nonessential businesses and limit gatherings there.
With the holiday season approaching, Dr. Anthony Fauci has cautioned that large gatherings should still be avoided, and extra precautions should be taken due to the possibility of spreading or contracting COVID-19.
"I say that some people in this country are going to be able to have a relatively normal type of Thanksgiving, but in other areas of the country, it's going to be better to hold off and maybe just have immediate family,” he said.
“Make sure you do it in a way that people wear masks where they have, you don't have large crowds of people. You know, I'd like to say that everything is going to be great by Thanksgiving, but honestly, I'm not so sure it is.”
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