Gyms, movie theaters, and bowling alleys remain closed as New York State moves into phase 4 of reopening.
Initially, they’d all been on the list of businesses expected to be able to start opening last Friday.
But last Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that re-start has been delayed indefinitely; it’s possible that they could reopen sooner than what’s become two weeks between phases.
Also last Wednesday, Governor Cuomo joined with Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Ned Lamont of Connecticut in passing a travel advisory for visitors from states with high COVID numbers.
They’ll be required to self-quarantine for 14 days to make sure they’re not bringing in COVID.
Though there could be fines as high as $10,000 for those who don’t comply, Governor Cuomo said he expects most people will cooperate and he likened it to speed limits and speeding ticket: not everyone gets a ticket, but most follow the law.
The travel advisory applies to anyone coming in from a state with a positive test rate of 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10 percent or higher positive rate, both over a seven-day rolling average.
States on the high-count list, updated Tuesday to add eight more, include: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Texas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and Tennessee.
“We’ll help you anyway we can,” Governor Cuomo said, “but we don’t want to see the infection rate increase here after what we’ve gone through…”
The travel advisory—which is neither a blockade or a ban—will also apply to New Yorkers traveling to the high-COVID states and then back home.
“I said from day one that the theory that the virus should be handled politically can’t be done. The virus doesn’t respond to political theory—it responds to science and data…” Governor Cuomo said, pointing out that the state’s numbers vindicate his actions and those of New Yorkers.
“We went from the highest cases…to some of the lowest rates in the country…”
It’s unclear how just how New York will identify violators, but Governor Cuomo said hotel clerks could flag travelers flaunting the rules and police could pull over cars with out-of-state license plates.
He also said the state could randomly follow up on air travelers and said many people would report rule-breakers.
Those caught breaking quarantine could be subject to a $2,000 fine for the first offense, $5,000 for the second, and a $10,000 fine after that.
Most local eyes, though, are on reopening.
As part of Phase 4, church services can move to 33 percent of capacity and social gatherings to 50 people—with masks and social distancing.
Low-risk outdoor arts and entertainment—including outdoor zoos, botanical gardens, nature parks, the grounds of historic sites and cultural institutions, outdoor museums, and outdoor agri-tourism, and low-risk indoor activities, including indoor arts and entertainment—indoor museums, historic sites, aquariums, and art galleries—are also now allowed.
Not in Phase 4: Malls, gyms, arcades, bowling alleys, casinos, indoor concerts and performing arts, and movie theaters or higher-risk outdoor activities for more than 50 people including amusement and water arks and carnivals and concerts.
Governor Cuomo said malls, movie theaters and gyms raise some particular concerns over ventilation; the state is continuing to monitor the science, he said, and watching what’s happened in other states.
“There’s new information that comes out of this virus every day and anyone who thinks this is a static situation is wrong.
“There is some reports that malls, bars, air conditioning may not be cleansing the air of the virus…so we are studying that and as soon as we get some more information, we will make an informed decision.”
Joining the Mohawk Valley in Phase 4 are Central New York, the Finger Lakes, North Country, and Southern Tier.
The Mohawk Valley’s percentage of positive tests continued to fluctuate after last week’s spike, averaging 2.2 percent positives on the week.
In Schoharie County, the number of positive COVID cases increased by one to 58.