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Upper Manhattan, parts of Staten Island and Long Island are expected to land in restrictive COVID-19 zones this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo warned Sunday.
The targeted areas have recently been struggling with a worrying increase in infection rates.
“We have several communities that are on the alert path,” Cuomo said during a media briefing. “Right now… unless they drastically change the trajectory of the infection rate, this week they will go to those areas.
“Parts of Staten Island will enter an orange zone. Parts of Staten Island will be entering the red zone at the current rate, ” he said.
“Staten Island is a serious problem,” Cuomo said – as the borough last week battled a seven-day average infection rate of 4.5%, the highest in the city.
“Staten Island is also an issue in terms of hospital overloading, and we have a hospital capacity issue on Staten Island that we will face in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, “Upper Manhattan will enter a yellow zone,” as will Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island if their numbers don’t change drastically, the governor added, without going into details about the Big Apple neighborhoods that would be affected.
The least restrictive yellow areas mean in-person dining at the restaurant is limited to four people per table and overall indoor capacity is kept at 25%. Restaurants in New York City have already reached this 25% indoor limit.
Last week, the governor also ordered licensed bars and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. daily in an attempt to curb rising infection rates.
Under the yellow zone restrictions, indoor and outdoor gatherings would also reach a maximum of 25 people – although the governor has already issued an order overriding this limit, saying last week that groups cannot be more than 10.
Places of worship would remain at 50% of their capacity in the yellow areas.
Schools can remain open, but there would be mandatory testing for 20% of staff and students at schools, Cuomo said.
New York’s public schools are currently closed due to the rise in coronaviruses, Mayor Bill de Blasio said last week.
In the orange zones, dining inside restaurants would be suspended, while businesses considered non-essential and high-risk, such as gyms and barber shops, would close. Places of worship would reduce to 33% of their capacity indoors, while gatherings would be limited to 10 people.
Schools would all go remote unless they followed a mandatory testing plan, Cuomo said.
Under the most restrictive denomination, red, there would be a ban even on alfresco dining in restaurants, which would be reserved for take-out and delivery. All non-essential businesses would close as well, and churches were going to a maximum of 10 in-person worshipers.
Schools would go remote unless they agreed to a mandatory testing plan.
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