“As COVID-19 indicators continue to rise, it’s time to shut down indoor dining. This is painful. So many restaurants are struggling. But we can’t allow this virus to reassert itself in our city,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, adding, “I fully support Gov. Cuomo’s decision.”

New York City is the former coronavirus epicenter that slowed down community spread in late spring and began to reopen. Friday’s move could devastate city restaurant owners who have been on the brink of financial collapse since the early days of the pandemic.

“Our restaurants need [financial] relief from D.C. immediately,” said Justin Brannan, a New York City Council member in Brooklyn. “If businesses need to close for public health, the government needs to pay them to stay closed.”

In New York City, hospitalizations surpassed the 200-patient threshold for the first time since May, de Blasio said Monday. City health officials reported 205 new hospitalizations across the five boroughs on Thursday, as well as an average 5.35% test positivity rate.

“I feel tremendous empathy for restaurant owners. A lot of them are mom and pop businesses. We want them to survive,” de Blasio said. “At the same time, these numbers don’t lie. For the first time, unfortunately, all three of our indicators are past their thresholds. That’s a second wave. We have to fight it back to save lives.”

Cuomo teased the move earlier this week, telling reporters that the decision to restrict restaurant operations again was all but finalized given the steadily increasing rate of new hospitalizations statewide.