NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — On Monday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo held a press briefing in New York City where he updated the state on coronavirus and announced that on May 19, New York State will be reopening.
What does that mean? That means that on May 19, most capacity restrictions in New York State will be lifted. That includes retail establishments, food services, gyms, fitness centers, amusement parks, entertainment, hair salons, barbershops, and offices.
Cuomo said, however, “They may make their own economic decisions.”
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Cuomo added that stadiums in the state will be able to be at 33% capacity as of May 19. On May 17, the outdoor food and beverage curfew will be lifted and on May 31, the indoor food and beverage curfew will be lifted.
New York State will still be following the CDC guidelines of six feet of space, so that will impact how many people can be in an establishment.
“It’s fully open, subject to six feet,” Cuomo clarified.
Later in the briefing, it was clarified that in restaurants, if barriers were in place, the six-foot guidance could be relaxed.
Cuomo also updated New Yorkers on the positivity rates across the state. He said that the overall positive infection rate is 1.79%, which is down more than 50% over the last month.
Cuomo also commented on vaccinations in the state. He said that according to the CDC, New York State has the highest number of adults vaccinated that any other large state. More than 9 million New Yorkers have had one dose of the vaccine, while over 7 million New Yorkers are fully vaccinated.
“We still have more to do when it comes to vaccinations and vaccinations are key,” Cuomo said.
Right now the focus is on vaccinating the younger population and the doubtful people.
“It is irrefutable when you look at the numbers that New York has made progress,” Cuomo said.
Click the player below to watch Cuomo’s Monday briefing:
