Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a press conference on Friday, May 29 that starting on June 8, New York City will be undergoing its phase 1 reopening after a monthslong lockdown over the CCP virus pandemic.
“We are on track to open on June 8 which is one week from Monday, and next week, as I mentioned, we’ll be following up on these issues,” Cuomo said during the conference.
Cuomo stated that to reopen in New York City—as the city was one of the hardest-hit cities in America, it is also the most complicated cities—it needs to be able to meet all the metrics.
As a part of the reopening process, hospitals need to be below 70 percent capacity. The governor explained that it is a precautionary measure taken so that if something goes wrong, there will be hospital beds available. He also said that testing and contact tracing also needs to be brought up to speed.
During the press conference, Cuomo said that he believed that these requirements can all be achievable by June 8—and this includes the MTA’s preparation for reopening, as well.
“I can understand why people would be anxious about taking public transit,” Cuomo said about the soon-to-be-opened MTA system. “The public transit system will be safe.”
However, in addition to addressing the major metrics for reopening, there is a focus on the areas that have more infections of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus—Cuomo called them virus hotspots—and aside from the task of reopening New York City, the teams would do their best to address these hotspots.
Phase one reopening would mean that around 400,000 employees would return to their jobs in the construction, manufacturing and retail businesses in New York City, according to the press conference.
However, Cuomo stated in the conference that just because New York City is reopening, it doesn’t mean that things are going to go back to how it was before.
“It’s going to be different—that is reopening to a new normal, a safer normal. People will be wearing masks, people will be socially distanced,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo also stated that starting on Friday, the five regions—Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country, and Southern Tier—can undergo its phase two reopening, of which included businesses like barbershops and hair salons, which are open via appointment only.
Phase two will also include all office-based jobs, real estate services, and retail services and businesses, according to the press conference. However, Cuomo addressed phase two reopening and said that the office occupancy rate must not exceed 50 percent, and employees all need to undergo mandatory daily screenings, according to the conference.
