Bethpage Air Show to Return Memorial Day Weekend With Covid-19 Attendance Limits

 The Bethpage Air Show will return to Jones Beach Memorial Day weekend, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday.

After being shut down last year because of the Covid-19 epidemic, the show will be a ticketed event, with reduced capacity and social distancing measures in place to ensure a safe return. 

“As we continue to see progress in our fight against COVID and cautiously reopen our state, we can look forward to enjoying more and more outdoor adventures this summer – including the annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park,” Cuomo said. “With safety measures in place, New Yorkers and visitors can get back to enjoying all that Jones Beach and Long Island State Parks have to offer, and this annual festival is a great way to get outdoors and support the regional Long Island economy.”

This year’s show features the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog), United States Army Golden Knights U.S. Army parachute team, and United States Coast Guard Search and Rescue team, as well as many other world-class civilian performers. The Bethpage Air Show will take place Friday, May 28, (Practice show); Saturday, May 29, and Sunday, May 30, 2021 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. each day.

Visitors must purchase a ticket in advance to park at Jones Beach during the show. Details on purchasing a ticket will be announced at a later date. Parking capacity will be reduced by 50 percent, and only those with a ticket will be allowed to enter. State Parks will have additional staff on hand to enforce all health and safety requirements, including face covering requirements and social distancing. State Park Police will be supplemented by assistance from New York State Police. Individuals with appointments at the Jones Beach Covid-19 testing or vaccine sites will not be impacted, and will be able to enter through dedicated traffic lanes.

Meanwhile, Cuomo also updated New Yorkers on the state’s vaccination program. 122,778 doses have been administered across New York’s vast distribution network in the last 24 hours, and more than 1 million doses have been administered over the past seven days.

“New York’s weekly vaccine allocation has been increasing over time, and we’re getting shots into arms as quickly as possible using our vast distribution network,”  Cuomo said. “It’s critical that we continue to expand that network as eligibility expands and supply increases, and the state is doubling down on its commitment to equity and fairness in the distribution process, including reaching underserved communities. New Yorkers have gone through hell to reach this point, and now that the vaccine is here, we need to continue practicing safe behaviors until more residents and their families take the vaccine.”

 Due to limited supply, New Yorkers are encouraged to remain patient and are advised not to show up at vaccination sites without an appointment.                

The ‘Am I Eligible’ screening tool has been updated for individuals with comorbidities and underlying conditions with new appointments released on a rolling basis over the next weeks.

New Yorkers can use the following to show they are eligible:

  • Doctor’s letter, or
  • Medical information evidencing comorbidity, or
  • Signed certification

The governor also announced three  additional mass vaccination sites will open on Long Island this week. The sites will be located in Brentwood, Old Westbury and Southampton. All three sites will have the ability to vaccinate more than one thousand New Yorkers daily dependent on supply from the federal government. Appointments will be available for booking Wednesday, March 17 at 8:00 a.m.

Eligible New Yorkers will be able to schedule appointments by using the eligibility tool or by calling the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).

Each site will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Locations below:

SUNY Old Westbury

Clark Center – Gate C

Store Hill Road and Cherry Road

Old Westbury NY 11568

 

SCCC Brentwood

Suffolk County Community College

Suffolk Federal Credit Union Arena

1001 Crooked Hill Road

Brentwood, NY 11717

 

Southampton

SUNY Stony Brook Southampton Campus

70 Tuckahoe Road

Southampton, NY 11968

 

Numbers below are for doses distributed and delivered to New York for the state’s vaccination program, and do not include those reserved for the federal government’s Long Term Care Facility program. A breakdown of the data based on numbers reported to New York State as of 11AM Monday is as follows.              

Statewide Stats

Total doses administered – 6,699,848

Total doses administered over past 24 hours – 122,778

Total doses administered over past 7 days – 1,059,142

Percent of New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 22.5%

Percent of New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 11.6%

People with at least one vaccine dose

People with complete vaccine series

Region

Cumulative

Total

Increase over past

24 hours

Cumulative

Total

Increase over past

24 hours

Capital Region

275,575

3,709

139,131

2,220

Central New York

248,492

2,822

134,580

2,851

Finger Lakes

283,490

3,936

147,471

2,658

Long Island

510,862

6,716

283,776

3,800

Mid-Hudson

428,102

6,954

216,718

2,524

Mohawk Valley

122,523

1,901

65,854

1,067

New York City

2,038,813

43,527

1,009,036

31,915

North Country

141,817

1,032

79,166

1,372

Southern Tier

151,546

3,489

79,462

2,293

Western New York

292,537

3,512

162,358

2,089

Statewide

4,493,757

77,598

2,317,552

52,789

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