Several Westchester communities face new restrictions as COVID cases rise

NEW YORK - Coronavirus cases are once again on the rise in several Westchester County communities, leaving some fearing the worst.

At least five areas of the county have been designated as yellow "micro-cluster" zones by New York State, including parts of Yonkers, Tarrytown, Ossining, Peekskill and New Rochelle, the city where coronavirus first made itself known in New York.

On Friday, County Executive George Latimer supplied thousands of masks and hand sanitizers to New Rochelle, while Mayor Noam Bramson said the multiple zip codes now considered "micro-clusters" was unnerving but not unexpected.

"I will admit to a little bit of PTSD as we go back to the future here," Bramson said. "But we should remember that whereas New Rochelle really was an outlier back in March, now we're more of a typical community."

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New Rochelle's schools have also switched to fully remote learning through December 3, although that could change. 

Meanwhile, Latimer says that the rising number of cases should level out and is hopeful that residents have learned how to beat the virus from their experience in the spring.