Epidemiologists say in late May, there was reason to be scared, with COVID cases surging in the Sun Belt and demonstrators packing the city's streets.

But they say the number of cases here has kept dropping because, unlike other places, New Yorkers have mostly worn their masks, minimized indoor gatherings — especially at bars — and embraced the great outdoors for socializing. They say with students going back to school, and cold weather and the seasonal flu on the horizon, New Yorkers will need to continue to be cautious, until better treatments and a vaccine arrive.