New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that hospitals and group homes can start accepting visitors again as the state continues to emerge from the coronavirus.
It’s the latest step showing the governor is willing to relax some restrictions as the state has seen an ongoing decline since COVID-19 peaked in April.
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Hospitals will have the choice to allow visitors. Those that do will be allowed to welcome individuals provided they wear protective equipment and submit to temperature and symptom checks. On Friday, homes certified by the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities can start accepting visitors if they first tell the state and follow similar guidelines as hospital guests.
“This was always a balance of public health versus the personal relationships,” Cuomo said. “People who are in hospitals who desperately want to see loved ones and loved ones who want to see people in hospitals.”
The order excludes nursing homes. Cuomo told reporters Tuesday that while he understands there’s a similar demand, state health officials still have concerns about being able to contain the spread in those facilities.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that elderly residents are still most at risk of dying of COVID-19.
Dr. Howard Zucker, the state’s health commissioner, said the state may consider a pilot program for nursing homes like it ran for hospitals before allowing all hospitals to accept visitors.
Tuesday’s announcements come a day after Cuomo announced that regions in the third phase of reopening will be able to allow gatherings of up to 25 people. When the Capital Region enters phase three on Wednesday, seven of the state’s 10 regions will be in the next-to-last phase.
The announcements also come after Cuomo has received questions from reporters in recent days about differences between allowing protests and easing restrictions for events like graduations and such businesses as bars and restaurants.
Cuomo has said the state is still reviewing data from protests to determine if there has been any additional spread in the virus and that he’s thankful they occurred while the state’s numbers were low.
In addition, the governor announced another major sporting event will take place in New York later this year. The U.S. Open tennis tournaments will take place as scheduled, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows in Queens.
The tennis center will also host the Western and Southern Open, a tournament traditionally held near Cincinnati, Ohio, from Aug. 15 to 23. The Western and Southern is considered a tuneup tournament for top pros preparing for America’s major championship.
Neither tournament will be able to allow fans at the tennis center, like this Saturday’s running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.
“We can now give fans around the world the chance to watch tennis’ top athletes compete for a US Open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport,” said Mike Dowse, the USTA CEO and executive director.
