Record Flu Cases Hit New York City 

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

Mfarghaly@queensledger.com

Millions of Americans are grappling with influenza as the 2025-2026 flu season intensifies across the United States, sending hospitalizations soaring and prompting renewed public health warnings. Health experts say the outbreak, fueled by a particularly severe strain of the virus, may continue for weeks as people return to work, school, and other public spaces following the holiday season.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 41 states are reporting “high” or “very high” flu activity, and visits to doctors for flu-like symptoms have reached levels not seen in nearly three decades. Nationwide, the CDC estimates that influenza has already sickened more than 15 million people, led to roughly 180,000 hospitalizations, and claimed the lives of at least 7,400 individuals, including 17 children. Experts caution that the actual numbers are likely higher, as many cases go unreported.

The 2025-2026 season is outpacing last year’s epidemic, which the CDC had classified as “high severity.” Public health officials are urging vaccinations, especially as some of the most heavily impacted areas, including New York, are experiencing record-setting outbreaks.

“When people refer to a ‘super flu,’ they’re describing how intense and widespread this flu season feels, not a new virus. What we’re seeing in New York is a combination of high community transmission, lower vaccination rates, and winter conditions that allow flu to spread more easily. Together, those factors can lead to more severe illness” said  Dr. Maja Castillo, Healthfirst Medical Director.

In New York State, hospitals in the Capital District have reinstated mask requirements for visitors amid the surge, signaling a temporary return to precautions reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Masks are making a comeback in 2026,” one official noted, highlighting the seriousness of the current outbreak.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported that flu cases this season have already exceeded the peak levels of the previous two seasons. A strain of Influenza A, known as H3 or H3N2, has dominated the state’s cases. Ninety-five percent of reported cases in New York have been Influenza A/H3, while just 5% were Influenza A/H1, according to the department’s latest data. Nationwide, H3N2 has also been the dominant strain, accounting for roughly 86% of Influenza A infections.

Influenza, a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses, can infect the nose, throat, and lungs, leading to mild to severe illness and, in some cases, death, the CDC said. Typical symptoms include cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and fatigue.

This season, some doctors have noted unusual gastrointestinal symptoms among patients infected with the H3N2 “super flu.” Reports indicate that many individuals, particularly children, have experienced vomiting of yellow bile, likely caused by suppressed appetite and stomach irritation. Diarrhea has also been observed more frequently in children than adults, raising concerns about dehydration and complications such as bacterial pneumonia.

Data from the New York State Department of Health shows Staten Island alone reported 1,297 flu cases in a single week ending Dec. 27, including 1,035 Influenza A cases, 24 Influenza B cases, and 238 unspecified strains. New York City, unsurprisingly, leads the state in overall cases due to its population density, though statewide totals have reached unprecedented levels this season. Flu activity generally peaks between December and February, suggesting the outbreak may continue for several more weeks.

Medical experts caution that the current H3N2 strain is only moderately covered by this year’s flu vaccine, which was formulated months in advance. Combined with declining vaccination rates nationwide, this leaves more people vulnerable to infection and increases the potential for widespread transmission. The CDC recommends that individuals at high risk—such as older adults, young children, pregnant people, and those with underlying medical conditions—seek antiviral treatment promptly if they develop flu symptoms.

Public health officials are urging all eligible individuals to get vaccinated, practice hand hygiene, and stay home when sick to limit the spread of the virus. While antiviral medications can reduce the severity of illness if administered early, prevention remains the most effective tool.

“This flu season has already proven to be more severe than many expected, but we still have effective tools. Vaccination, early recognition of symptoms, and antiviral treatment—especially when started within the first 48 hours—can significantly reduce complications and prevent hospitalizations, particularly for children, older adults, and people with chronic conditions,” Castillo said.

As the flu continues to sweep through communities, hospitals are preparing for sustained high patient volumes. The CDC reminds Americans that influenza can affect anyone and encourages vigilance, particularly in crowded settings such as schools, offices, and public transportation.

This flu season serves as a stark reminder that, even after years of navigating COVID-19, seasonal influenza remains a significant public health threat. Experts say that staying current with vaccinations, wearing masks in high-risk settings, and seeking early medical care for flu symptoms are key to mitigating the impact of this year’s outbreak.

Downtown Manhattan skyline at sunset over Hudson River in New York City

Minimum Wage, Sick Leave and Health Rules Change

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

A sweeping set of new laws taking effect in 2026 will bring significant changes for New York City residents, expanding worker protections, reshaping health care coverage and strengthening consumer rights as the city and state continue to respond to rising costs and workplace concerns.

One of the most consequential changes for city workers is the expansion of New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act. Beginning in late February, employers will be required to provide workers with up to 32 hours of unpaid safe or sick time in addition to existing paid leave. The unpaid time will be available immediately upon hiring and at the start of each benefit year, while the law also broadens the reasons workers may use safe or sick leave. The changes replace the city’s Temporary Schedule Change Law and are expected to affect hundreds of thousands of employees across industries.

Minimum wage increases will also directly impact city residents. Starting Jan. 1, the minimum wage rises to $17 per hour in New York City, matching increases in Long Island and Westchester County. Tipped workers will see corresponding increases in cash wages and tip credits, while salary thresholds for certain exempt employees will rise, expanding overtime eligibility for many workers.

Health care costs and access are another major focus. New laws taking effect at the start of the year require insurers to cap out-of-pocket costs for medically necessary EpiPens at $100 annually and mandate coverage for breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging when recommended by a physician. Large group health plans will also be required to cover scalp cooling systems used during chemotherapy, a benefit aimed at reducing the financial burden of cancer treatment for patients.

Beyond insurance coverage, the state is moving to strengthen health care systems that serve city residents, including investments in Medicaid, expanded mental health initiatives and new workplace violence prevention requirements for health care employers. Hospitals will be required to implement comprehensive violence prevention programs later in the year, reflecting growing concerns about worker safety.

New York will also allow terminally ill residents with less than six months to live to access medical aid in dying. The law, set to take effect six months after its January signing, permits eligible patients to request prescribed medication to end their life under strict medical oversight. It includes safeguards to ensure that patients are fully informed and capable of making the decision, requiring confirmation from multiple health care providers and opportunities for patients to rescind their request at any time. The legislation marks a significant expansion of end-of-life options for city residents, providing a legal framework for those facing terminal illness to make deeply personal choices about their care and quality of life in their final months.

Consumer protections are also expanding, with several laws designed to address common frustrations for city shoppers. Online subscription cancellations must be easier, retailers will be required to clearly post return and refund policies, and new rules will govern “buy now, pay later” loans. Another law targets so-called surveillance pricing by requiring businesses to disclose when prices are set by algorithms that use consumers’ personal data, a practice increasingly common in online commerce.

For New Yorkers navigating daily work and city life, additional protections are coming into force. Health care employers must implement workplace violence prevention plans and provide training on sexual harassment and assault. Employers will be barred from retaliating against workers who request reasonable accommodations, and new limits will apply to the use of consumer credit history in employment decisions, extending protections already familiar to city workers.

Several city-specific measures are also set to roll out. Amendments to the safe and sick leave law codify paid prenatal leave requirements and expand permissible uses of leave for caregiving, housing-related legal proceedings and public emergencies. New minimum pay standards and safety rules will take effect for grocery delivery and other contracted delivery workers, while proposed legislation could give drivers and app-based delivery workers new rights to challenge wrongful deactivations if enacted.

Not all planned changes are moving forward on schedule. A state law requiring certain new buildings to rely on electric heat and appliances has been temporarily suspended while legal challenges play out, delaying its impact on new developments in the city.

As 2026 begins, the volume and scope of new laws underscore a rapidly evolving legal landscape for New York City residents. From paychecks and paid leave to health care bills and online purchases, the changes are expected to touch many aspects of daily life in the nation’s largest city.

Trump Doubles Travel Ban List, With Major Implications for NYC

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

A sweeping expansion of President Donald Trump’s travel ban is expected to have an outsized impact on New York City, particularly in Queens, home to some of the nation’s largest immigrant communities from the affected countries.

Under a presidential proclamation signed last week, the Trump administration will impose full or partial travel restrictions on nationals from 39 countries and people traveling on Palestinian Authority–issued documents, doubling the scope of a ban announced earlier this year. The restrictions take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and apply to travelers seeking to visit, immigrate to or reunite with family members in the United States.

Advocates estimate that about 420,000 New Yorkers come from countries now subject to the ban, according to the New York Immigration Coalition. Many live in Queens neighborhoods such as Astoria, Jamaica, Woodside and Ozone Park, where families often rely on travel for work, education and reunification.

“This discriminatory proclamation, the largest race- and religion-based ban on immigration in contemporary U.S. history, continues the Trump Administration’s unjust assault on immigrant communities. By expanding the Travel Ban, the administration is slamming the door on vulnerable people in a way that is certain to cause widespread harm, including prolonged family separation. Students will be denied from pursuing their education, workers will be blocked from contributing to the economy, and families will be forced to remain separated across borders,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition.

The proclamation bars entry for most travelers from Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria and Palestine for those who do not already hold valid U.S. visas. An additional 15 countries, including Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Tanzania, face partial restrictions that limit access to tourist, business and family-based visas.

The administration said the restrictions are necessary because of what it described as unreliable civil documents, weak vetting systems, visa overstay rates and national security concerns in the affected countries. It also cited a recent shooting involving an Afghan national as part of its justification for tightening immigration controls.

People who already hold valid visas, lawful permanent residents, diplomats, athletes and individuals deemed to be traveling in the U.S. interest are exempt. Still, immigration advocates say the changes will disrupt families and create uncertainty even for those with legal status.

“This proclamation will separate families and destabilize communities that are deeply rooted in New York,” the New York Immigration Coalition said in a statement, calling the ban discriminatory and disproportionately targeted at African and Muslim-majority countries.

Queens is particularly vulnerable because of its high concentration of residents from countries now affected. New Yorkers from Haiti, Yemen, Togo and Venezuela already represent some of the largest such populations in the United States, and community leaders say the expanded ban will further strain households that rely on relatives abroad for caregiving, financial support and emotional ties.

The new restrictions also eliminate several humanitarian and family-based exemptions that existed under earlier versions of the travel ban, including exceptions for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and some refugee and special immigrant visa applicants, according to advocates.

The ban applies to anyone outside the United States when it goes into effect and limits visa renewals and extensions, raising concerns that New Yorkers could become stranded abroad or unable to bring relatives to the city.

“The Trump Administration’s expanded travel ban advances his quest to shut down any pathway to citizenship for Black and Brown immigrants. This policy further isolates the United States and deprives our nation of the expertise, culture, and humanity that immigrants bring. We must continue to resist policies rooted in fear and fight for our families, our freedoms, and our future,” said Diana Konaté, Deputy Executive Director of Policy & Advocacy, African Communities Together.

Critics say the policy revives one of the most controversial immigration measures of Trump’s first term and expands it to one of the largest race- and religion-concentrated mobility restrictions in modern U.S. history. The affected countries represent more than 1 billion people, roughly one-eighth of the global population.

The administration said it could revise the list of countries in the future, depending on whether governments improve cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities. For now, immigrant advocates warn that New York’s diverse neighborhoods, particularly in Queens, are likely to feel the effects first and most acutely.

“This expanded travel ban is a discriminatory policy that treats entire nations as suspect and deepens the othering of Muslim, African, and immigrant communities. At Muslim Community Network, roughly 75% of our staff have family members who will be directly affected, and our clients and allies across New York will feel the harm through separation, delayed reunification, lost study and work opportunities, and anxiety for thousands of New Yorkers. New York’s future depends on people being able to move, learn, contribute, and live with their loved ones, not on blanket restrictions that punish families for their passports,” said Husein Yatabarry, Executive Director, Muslim Community Network.

New York City skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan aerial panorama view in the day.

Mamdani’s Policies Raise Questions for Small Businesses

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

New York City’s small business owners are watching the early days of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration with a mix of cautious optimism and deep unease as the city’s new leader pushes an ambitious agenda rooted in affordability, worker protections and democratic socialist principles.

Mamdani has proposed sweeping reforms aimed at easing pressure on neighborhood businesses, including cutting city fines and fees for small businesses by 50 percent, increasing funding for support programs by 500 percent and appointing a dedicated “mom and pop Zar” to streamline permits and reduce red tape. His platform also calls for tackling high commercial rents, easing rising Con Edison and water bills and phasing in a $30 minimum wage by 2030, with additional time for smaller employers to adjust.

Supporters say the proposals acknowledge the reality that small businesses face some of the highest operating costs in the country. Critics argue the scope and pace of change could further strain businesses already operating on thin margins.

Mamdani’s relationship with the city’s business community is complex. While his proposals aim to reduce costs and simplify bureaucracy, many owners say steep rents, limited relief and climate-related disruptions continue to threaten their survival.

Much of the interest in Mamdani’s candidacy stemmed from his focus on affordability. His campaign emphasized freezing rents for rent-stabilized apartments and expanding housing development to ease the city’s shortage, moves he argued would stabilize both workers and the small businesses that rely on them.

For some business owners, however, anxiety intensified after Mamdani publicly embraced his political identity.

For small business in New York City the uneasiness that caused stress before Mamdani took office turned into despair after Zohran proclaimed he “… ran as a democratic socialist and will now govern as a democratic socialist.”

“What does that mean?” said one Greenpoint deli owner who witnessed a Mamdani-held rally in that Brooklyn neighborhood a few days after taking office. “I barely make enough money to get by now. How can they run a government owned deli? They can’t survive paying employees $30 and hour.”

The concerns reflect lingering confusion and fear around what democratic socialism would mean in practice for independent businesses. The ideology centers on public ownership or control of major economic drivers such as utilities and transportation, not small retail operations.

“The self proclaimed democratic socialists who have interviewed at The Queens Ledger/BQE media group,” according to Walter Sanchez, its publisher, “… tell us there is a major distinction with utilities and energy companies from the small business owner in the grocery store business. There is also a big distinction from what we know as communism, and that is the government doesn’t own your business and govern your economic viability. That said, there is, without a doubt, a democratic transition, over time, for the economy tied to its core value … a transition from a capitalist to socialist one.”

Mamdani has said empowering everyday workers to influence economic decisions will reduce inequality over time. He has reportedly met with members of the affordable housing development community to speed up construction. But developers say costs remain prohibitive. Recent estimates place the cost of building a single apartment at roughly $800,000, a figure that makes many projects financially unworkable without major subsidies.

Small business owners say similar math problems apply to their operations.

Under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who served from 2002 to 2013, the city leaned heavily on public-private partnerships to redevelop major corridors. Large developers bought properties that housed small businesses, giving corporate landlords greater leverage to raise rents and displace longtime tenants.

As New York enters a new era of leadership, employers are also preparing for broader workplace changes. Mamdani’s platform includes expanding worker protections, regulating gig economy platforms, banning noncompete agreements and increasing enforcement by city labor agencies. While he has promised a “fix, don’t fine” approach for small businesses, larger corporations would face tougher scrutiny.

Business groups say the combination of higher wages, rising taxes and expanded enforcement could reshape the city’s economic landscape. At the same time, faster permitting, increased case management and reduced fines could offer meaningful relief if implemented effectively.

For many owners, the question is whether the promised support will arrive quickly enough.