When New York State shut down for COVID-19, it was relatively simple, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
“You go in the basement, you throw the big power switch, and everything goes down.”
Reopening the state will be more nuanced, he said, more careful, and measured day-by-day on a regional basis “based on the data, based on the facts. And that will be a little different for every region in the rate.”
The statewide New York on PAUSE expires May 15.
After that, businesses including construction, manufacturing, and select retail with curbside pickup can reopen—as long as they can keep COVID under control.
Two weeks—or more—after that, Governor Cuomo said, regions can start to reopen based on criteria from the Center for Disease Control that includes at least 14 days of decline in COVID hospitalizations and deaths on a three-day rolling average.
The state will also require every hospital to have 90 days of PPE, the ability to do 30 tests for every 1,000 residents monthly, and a baseline of 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents.
New York City may be the last to reopen, Governor Cuomo said.
“If upstate has to wait for downstate to be ready, they’re going to be waiting for a long time,” he said.
But based on the state’s blueprint, even upstate is going to be waiting for a while:
No region meets the state’s reopening requirements with the Capital Region yet to see a decline in positive cases; the Capital Region, Mohawk Valley and Central New York all also fall short of the testing requirements.
“We have a couple of weeks but this is what local leaders, this is what a community has to deal with,” Governor Cuomo said. “This cannot be ‘We have to get out of the house. We’re going.’”
Who’ll open first?
“You open businesses first that are the most essential and pose the lowest risk,” Governor Cuomo said.
“Most essential and lowest risk.”
And those businesses will need to have plans for how they’ll address the CDC and state requirements as well as things like social distancing, masks, and non-essential employee travel.
Construction, retail and select retail with curbside pickup are poised to open May 15.
Phase two: Professional services, retail, administrative support, real estate,
After that, restaurants, food services and accommodations, followed by arts, and entertainment events, recreation and education in the final phase.
It’s unclear where gyms and hair salons fall on that list; a spokesman for Governor Cuomo said they will look at their plans for reopening before deciding which category they fall into.