New York state’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis continues as the state hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced the number of new cases. However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday parts of the state might find themselves moving back on the reopening process instead of forward if behaviors don’t change.
The state can celebrate the recovery, but it should do so cautiously the governor said as statistics from other states that have reopened show significant increases in new patients.
Those numbers may also foreshadow what New York sees in the coming weeks, especially if people stop wearing masks and abiding by social distancing guidelines. Already, the state has received 25,000 complaints from people accusing businesses of violating the state’s rules for reopening.
Cuomo said businesses in Manhattan and the Hamptons have drawn the most violations, and if the behavior doesn’t stop, he may roll back the reopening in New York City and Long Island. New York City just entered phase one last Monday and Long Island entered the second phase on Wednesday.
He called on local governments to step up enforcement and told bar and restaurant owners they could lose their liquor licenses if they violate reopening guidelines.
“These are not hard-to-spot violations,” the governor said. “People send video of these violations. You can look it up on social media. You don’t need a detective squad to go out and find it. They are rampant, and there’s not enough enforcement.”
On Saturday, Cuomo retweeted a video posted on Twitter by EV Grieve, an East Village blog. The video showed people gathering outside a bar on St. Marks Place in Manhattan. Few people wore masks and most people stood well within six feet of others.
“Don’t make me come down there,” Cuomo posted.
In New York, bars and restaurants can offer takeout and delivery services only in phase one. In phase two, they can offer limited outdoor service.
In addition to calling out businesses for not abiding by the guidelines, Cuomo also called out people who aren’t wearing masks.
“It is just disrespectful not to wear a mask,” he said. “It is disrespectful to the health care workers and the essential workers who sacrificed themselves for 100 days, some of whom died and gave their life to crush this COVID virus.”
On Saturday, the state reported just 23 deaths due to COVID-19 and 1,657 people hospitalized, the latter of which is the lowest the state has had since March 20.
The state continues to conduct up to 50,000 tests daily and is using data from those results to monitor the reopening process. Most regions report less than a 1 percent positive test rate.
For the regions currently in the third phase of reopening, Cuomo announced “low-risk” youth sports may start July 6. That includes baseball, softball, gymnastics, field hockey, cross-country and crew. There can be up to two spectators per child.
