New York to impose curfew on restaurants, bars and gyms

New York will impose a handful of coronavirus restrictions on residents and businesses statewide as it tackles several ‘hot spot’ outbreaks and tries to prevent an increase in cases, Governor Andrew said on Wednesday Cuomo.

Restaurants and bars licensed by the State Liquor Authority will be required to close at 10 p.m. starting Friday, although they may operate for curbside pickup after that time, Cuomo said on a call with reporters. Gyms will also be forced to close at this time.

“What is a state approved facility?” It’s a bar, it’s a restaurant, for the most part, ”he said.

The state will also crack down on people who gather indoors ahead of the holiday season, banning gatherings of more than 10 people in a private residence, he said.

“What we are seeing is what they predicted for months,” Cuomo said. “We are seeing a national and global surge in Covid, and New York is a Covid tidal vessel.”

New York health officials are responding to a number of hot spots in zip codes that report a higher positivity rate, or percentage of tests positive, than other parts of the state. New York reports a weekly average of around 2,641 cases per day, an increase of more than 22% from a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

This daily average, however, is still far lower than at the start of the year, when New York was widely seen as the country’s Covid-19 epicenter. The state is also doing significantly more testing than in the spring, when it reported a peak of almost 10,000 new cases per day on average.

In the summer and fall months after New York was able to suppress the spread of the virus, Cuomo slowly began to allow more businesses to reopen at reduced capacity, such as dining in restaurants, gymnasiums and museums.

Now cases are starting to climb in neighboring states, a warning sign for New York. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced a set of similar new restrictions, including on indoor dining and a ban on interstate sporting events, which will begin Thursday as the state attempts to tackle its growing epidemic .

“They say in a race, ‘walk the strip’. Just finish the race. We have had eight terrible months. We are in this last little tour. Let’s just do what we need to do to get through and then we’ll rebuild together, ”Cuomo told reporters.

This is a developing story. Please check for updates later.