PRESS RELEASE
Date: August 3, 2021
Contact: Southampton Town Emergency Management
631.702.1700
Southampton Town encourages safety precautions as Suffolk County continues to see an increase in COVID-19 spread. It is estimated that the current positivity rate among tested individuals for Suffolk County is between 3-4% and the daily increase in COVID positive individuals is between 200-300 people per day. COVID-19 continues to be a threat to our community. “The Southampton Town Board and Southampton Town Emergency Management continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and we are prepared to adjust health and safety protocols for the Town as necessary,” reports Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman.
The East End incident rate remains statistically low compared to other parts of Suffolk County. It is believed that this is due to elevated vaccination rates on the East End thanks to the wonderful efforts of community organizations that hosted vaccination sites and the amazing effort of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. East End hospitals also continue to report low daily totals for admitted COVID patients but are monitoring the situation closely due to the increased positivity rates in the County.
The Town of Southampton continues to have a procedure in place that unvaccinated individuals must wear masks inside Town facilities. Town Code Compliance and Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy stated, “We encourage people to continue to practice safety precautions and social distancing whenever possible in an effort to continue to try and stop the spread of COVID-19. It was a long and difficult road to get to our current level of openness and only by being smart and working together can we avoid having to reinstitute face covering protocols and other safety measures.” At the July 29, 2021 Town Board Work Session, Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni also took a moment to implore people to get vaccinated if they have not already done so, recognizing that vaccination is the most effective way to stop the spread.
