Long Island’s predominantly minority communities had the highest infection rates at the peak of the pandemic.
“Everybody was scared … in communities of color, a lot of those individuals were your frontline workers — they had to go out.” -Suffolk's Deputy County Executive Vanessa Baird-Streeter
Like Luisa Araya, 63, who worked as a cashier at a Mineola supermarket.
"We didn’t have masks…we weren’t provided gloves, nothing."
But since July, rates have equalized across LI in one of the country’s unique turnarounds.
“I want to know what Long Island did right so that we can try and replicate that in other areas that are diverse.” - Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable
Precautions like those taken by Huntington Station's Shirley Bradford and her granddaughter, Kiara, may hold answers.