Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced that three of the state's 10 regions have met the necessary metrics laid out by his administration to begin a partial re-opening this weekend.
The three regions are - the Finger Lakes, (including Rochester) the Southern Tier, and the Mohawk Valley. Each has met thresholds in seven areas including improved testing and contact tracing, adequate hospital capacity, and sustained declines in coronavirus cases and deaths.
The Phase One businesses slated to open include: Limited construction, manufacturing and curbside deliver for retail establishments.
In addition, outdoor activities deemed low-risk for virus transmission - such as drive-in movie theaters, landscaping and gardening and tennis - will be able to re-start.
The governor announced the establishment of regional "control rooms" with teams set up to monitor the Covid-19 infection and death rates as well as hospitalization, testing and contact tracing as re-opening progresses. These teams will be responsible for alerting the state if the numbers start moving in the wrong direction and adjusting the re-opening process accordingly.
The governor also released a guide to reopening the state and "building back better," called "NYForward," which can be accessed in full here.
