Movie theaters in New York City will be brought in line with the rest of the state at 25-percent capacity, weddings and catered events can be held at 50-percent capacity, billiard halls — having won a lawsuit — can reopen statewide at 50-percent capacity, and nursing homes will be open to visitors.

“This variant was first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, in samples dating back to the beginning of October 2020,” reports the CDC, and also says, “Currently there is no evidence to suggest that this variant has any impact on disease severity.”

Starting on Wednesday, the state will ask local districts to report on how many teachers have been vaccinated and how many are teaching in-person classes.

Originally, scientists thought that the B.1.17 variant, while more transmissible, was not more severe. Recently, however, British scientists have reported “updated and additional analyses, which together strengthen the earlier finding of increased disease severity in people infected with VOC B.1.1.7 compared to other virus variants.”

“Tragically, and even worse,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, “life expectancy dropped by almost three years for African Americans and two years for Hispanics. This is exactly the reason why we need to continue to work towards getting the vaccine to our most vulnerable populations and minority communities.”

The Empire Center, which went to court to get data from the state on nursing-home deaths in New York, released an

“We want to see more Black and brown members of the community coming into our PODs,” Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said of points of dispensing

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will set up four more community-based vaccination sites in New York State, one of them in Albany at the Washington Avenue Armory at 195 Washington Ave. Each site will vaccinate about 1,000 New Yorkers a day beginning the first week of March with appointments reserved for residents of the communities in which the sites are located.

Much of the week’s focus turned to the cascading criticism of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s handling of nursing home death counts.

BETHLEHEM — A 61-year-old woman who fell while skiing on Monday at Five Rivers was rescued by Forest Ranger Tyler Mitchell.