Coronavirus Updates: Uber Customers Now Ordered To Post A Selfie Showing They’re Wearing A Mask

Jen Chung

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David Cruz

Published Sep 1, 2020

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An Uber vehicle on August 9, 2018.

JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Jen Chung

and

David Cruz

Published Sep 1, 2020

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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Tuesday, September 1st, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens and bowling alleys. A look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

Passengers must now take a selfie showing they are wearing a mask if they order an Uber in the the five boroughs during the pandemic, the company announced.

The policy builds on an existing mandate from the San Francisco-based company that was introduced in May ordering passengers and drivers to wear a mask while inside an Uber. At the time, only drivers were the ones who had to show a picture on their profile showing a mask. Now passengers who use the app will have to upload a photo when making a reservation showing them wearing a mask. Drivers can cancel a reservation if they see a passenger did not send a selfie showing them wearing a mask. Passengers can also cancel a reservation if a driver isn't wearing a mask.

Since the mask policy went into effect, Uber vehicles have been retrofitted with protective equipment that include the installation of a plastic sheet separating drivers and passengers.

The May policy came two months after an Uber driver became one of the earliest cases of the coronavirus in New York City. The driver, a Queens man in his 30s, was immediately hospitalized and was self-isolated. It was unclear whether the man had sickened passengers while on the job.

The requirement takes effect late this month.

The stands in Arthur Ashe Stadium sit nearly empty as Naomi Osaka, of Japan, below, returns to Misaki Doi, of Japan, during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, on August 31, 2020

Frank Franklin II/AP/Shutterstock

245 COVID Cases At SUNY Oneonta

3:43 p.m.: After announcing 105 cases on the campus of the State University of New York at Oneonta on Sunday, school officials revealed that there are now 245 students with coronavirus, as of Tuesday.

Chancellor Jim Malatras, who had been serving on Governor Andrew Cuomo's coronavirus response team, decided to close the school for two weeks in order to control the situation. Malatras revealed on Sunday that the spread was likely the result of "several large parties of our students in Oneonta last week, and unfortunately, because of those larger gatherings, there were several students who were symptomatic for COVID, and upon testing, we found that 20 were positive for the COVID virus."

Five students were suspended for hosting the parties.

The school has an enrollment of just over 6,000 students. On Tuesday, the school said, "This morning the college received test results for 481 students screened on campus for COVID-19 this past Sunday. Sixty-eight new cases were confirmed." Of the 245 current cases, 65 students are in isolation and 44 are being quarantined. Some other students have returned home.

In a statement, the university clarified that "isolation is a way of removing a known infected person from the community so they cannot spread disease. In this case the campus has set aside a residence hall where COVID positive students can be housed and cared for until they are no longer infectious. Quarantine is a way of restricting the movement of people who may have been exposed to an infectious disease until it can be determined that they are not infected. In this case the campus is quarantining in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across the campus and to the community."

Rapid testing sites are being set up in Oneonta for all residents, starting on Wednesday.

SUNY Oneonta is reportedly the first SUNY school test campus wastewater for traces of COVID RNA in feces. Different municipalities, including New York City, are using wastewater as a surveillance method to detect the virus. According to the Daily Star, "A slight representation' of COVID RNA was detected in the wastewater during the first two days of classes, [spokesperson Kim] MacLeod said, 'as if someone infected with COVID was a guest on this campus for a short time.'"

Alaska And Montana Added To NY State's Travel Advisory

Two more states were added New York State's travel advisory on Tuesday, as Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the COVID-19 positivity rate remained under 1% for a 25th straight day.

Alaska and Montana were added to the travel advisory, which requires those coming to New York from any red-flagged states or territories to quarantine for 14 days. The areas in the advisory either have a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over seven days or a 10% or higher positivity rate over seven days. Montana has had 12 cases per 100,00 residents, while Alaska's own health department says their cases are between 5-10 per 100,000.

Montana only made mask-wearing mandatory in mid-July. Outside of Alaska's biggest city, Anchorage, mask mandates are few and far between.

In addition to reporting a positivity rate of 0.98%, Cuomo said that there are 109 intensive care patients (the lowest number since March 15th). In a statement, he noted that "As we continue to pursue a phased, data driven reopening, the number of areas that remain on New York's travel advisory is a stark reminder of the continued extent of the COVID-19 crisis throughout the nation." He asked New Yorkers to remain vigilant and continue to wear masks and socially distance.

On Monday night, the U.S. Open began in Queens, to empty spectator stands. Cuomo shared a message, saying, "I'm especially proud that despite the all challenges we faced, New York — and my home borough of Queens — is still hosting the 140th U.S. Open this year. The Open is one of the great events that makes New York New York. It's where champions like Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King and Serena Williams made history. And while it's happening a bit differently this year, I know these incredible players and the talented staff of the US Tennis Association will put on a historic show worthy of this great grand slam."

"You know, there is a New York accent even on tennis. In the language of tennis love means nothing, but in New York love wins every time," he added.

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