Is Coronavirus Creeping Into Our Cookouts?

With summer in full swing, Dr. Jessica Justman, an epidemiologist at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, wants people to know fresh air reduces the chance of spreading coronavirus  -- but not enough to hang out in tight groups, without masks, drinking and eating.

"Try to pay attention to the six foot guidance, which might be hard to do," she said. "But even outdoors, you still want to keep a distance for people."

Suffolk County has experienced a surge of COVID-19 cases, which contact tracers say was related to parties over the Fourth of July weekend. County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said positive tests went from an average of 50 a day to over 100. And while there were reports of massive parties on Fire Island and elsewhere, Pigott said they did not cause the spike

"Everybody's looking for that one big smoking gun, but we didn't see any super spreader events or huge parties that were contributing to the numbers," he said. "It was a bunch of small parties."

Pigott said 47 percent of the people who tested positive in these clusters were in their 20's. The spike in positive tests has now returned to normal, he said. 

Justman says the government needs to get more creative and recruit a broader array of celebrities and influencers to get the message out, especially to young adults who are making up a growing share of new COVID cases in the city and around the U.S.