New York is extending vaccine eligibility to those 30 and over on Tuesday and to all adults on April 6, the governor said.

New York can begin vaccinating people 30 and over on Tuesday and will make all residents 16 and over eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine on April 6, exceeding President Biden’s goal of making every adult eligible for a vaccine by May 1, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday.

New York was one of the few states that has yet to set a timeline for universal adult eligibility since Mr Biden asked to do so.

Although Mr Cuomo has gradually relaxed the eligibility criteria for the vaccine over the past month, he expressed reluctance last week to set a specific target date to remove the state’s requirements. The governor said he did not want to set a schedule for more widespread vaccination until he was more confident that New York would have an adequate supply of vaccines for its people.

“I just want to make sure that the allocation forecast we’re getting from the federal government is correct, frankly,” Cuomo said at a press conference last week. “I don’t mean, ‘We’re going to open up to 30 in three weeks,’ and then something happens with the allowance.”

Mr Cuomo’s announcement comes as New York City added new cases of the virus at one of the highest rates among U.S. states. As of Monday, the state averaged 49 new cases of the virus per day per 100,000 population for seven days, according to a New York Times database, just behind New Jersey. (The country as a whole had an average of 19 new cases per 100,000 population.)

Even as the number of new cases continues to rise, the state has failed to cope with the level of devastation it experienced a year ago, when hospitals were overwhelmed with patients and morgues overflowed.

Building on its progress in vaccination, the state has also gradually reopened businesses in recent weeks. Mr. Cuomo allowed sporting events and concerts to resume in major theaters last month and theaters to bring audiences back this month. New York restaurants are now allowed to serve diners indoors at 50% capacity, their highest level of indoor dining since Mr Cuomo closed them last year at the start of the pandemic .

As of Monday morning, 29.6% of people in New York state had received at least one shot of the vaccine, while 16.8% were fully vaccinated, according to state data.

Currently, all people 50 and over are eligible to receive the vaccine in New York City, in addition to teachers, some essential workers, and people with certain medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to serious illnesses caused by the virus.