As COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations decrease in the Hudson Valley, some health departments are moving toward a new phase in combating the pandemic.

Because of the pandemic, Quickway Diner owner Teek Persaud has a lot on his plate. Staffing issues, supply chain issues and occupancy restrictions have tested the popular Bloomingburg eatery that Persaud and his brother have run for 35 years.

One big relief now, though, is occupancy limits and masking rules are no longer necessary in areas such as Sullivan County, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deems transmission to be low.

“It definitely takes the uncertainty out for people who were afraid to come in, not knowing what to expect,” Persaud said of the changes in protocols. “Definitely, we will see a difference.”

Sullivan County Deputy Public Health Director Nancy McGraw said Wednesday the department still has much work left to do, especially since vaccine demand has “trailed off” in recent months.

McGraw said the department will hold more clinics at schools to lift childhood vaccination rates, bring the vaccine to remote areas via mobile units and conduct more outreach to people who are still skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The department is still fighting misinformation, she said, adding that she is still not satisfied with the county’s vaccination numbers: 66.2% of the county’s population has received at least the first vaccine dose.

“There has been political controversy from the very beginning,” McGraw said in a Zoom interview. “I think, collectively, as have many health departments across the state, we have collectively done a phenomenal job in the face of a lot of factors that were against us.”