A fourth region of New York State has met requirements to fully reopen the economy, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Wednesday.
The North Country, the North Country has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state’s regional phased reopening plan when NYS on PAUSE orders expire on May 15, joining the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. The four regions can begin opening businesses for phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. The Central New York region has met six of the seven metrics and could potentially be ready at the end of the week, as the state moves to reopen from the shutdown brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
A guide to the state’s “NY Forward Reopening” Plan is available here.
Suffolk County Numbers
Suffolk County continues to report the second-highest number of new Covid-19 cases, according to the state, with 243 new cases since Tuesday, for a total of 37,305. Nassau has more total cases, at 38,587, 153 of which are new. New York City leads the state in both categories, 1,127 new cases, for a total of 187,250.
Wear a Mask
Cuomo urged New Yorkers to wear their masks in public out of respect for the nurses and doctors who are fighting to save lives and for the essential workers who continue showing up to work amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “This mask says I respect the nurses and the doctors who killed themselves through this virus to save other people,” Cuomo said. “And I respect the nurses and the doctors, so I’m not going to infect anyone, or allow anyone else to be infected unnecessarily so I don’t cause more stress on the nurses and the doctors. This mask says, I respect the essential workers who get up every day, and drive the bus, or drive the train, or deliver the food, or keep the lights on so that I can stay home and I can stay safe. It says I respect others. And I respect you. And that is a statement that we should all be willing to make any day. But especially in the middle of this.”
‘Americans First’ Bill
The governor announced that members of New York’s Congressional Delegation – Reps. Nydia Velázquez, Thomas Suozzi, Carolyn Maloney, Hakeem Jeffries, Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Eliot Engel, Paul Tonko, José Serrano, Joe Morelle, Adriano Espaillat and Yvette Clarke – will propose the ‘Americans First Law’ to help prevent corporate bailouts following the COVID-19 pandemic.
First proposed by the governor on May 10, the law states that a corporation cannot be eligible to receive government funding if it doesn’t maintain the same number of employees that the corporation had before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elective Surgeries
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo Wednesday announced 12 more counties are now eligible to resume elective surgeries. None are in the tri-state area. The governor previously said the state would allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 47 counties can now resume elective surgeries,
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Albany |
Genesee |
Putnam |
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Allegany |
Herkimer |
Rensselaer |
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Broome |
Jefferson |
Saratoga |
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Cattaraugus |
Lewis |
Schenectady |
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Cayuga |
Livingston |
Schoharie |
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Chautauqua |
Madison |
Schuyler |
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Chemung |
Monroe |
St. Lawrence |
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Chenango |
Montgomery |
Steuben |
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Clinton |
Niagara |
Sullivan |
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Columbia |
Oneida |
Tompkins |
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Cortland |
Onondaga |
Uster |
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Delaware |
Ontario |
Warren |
|
Dutchess |
Orange |
Wayne |
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Essex |
Orleans |
Wyoming |
|
Franklin |
Oswego |
Yates |
|
Fulton |
Otsego |
|
Ambulatory surgical centers in these 47 counties will also be able to resume elective surgeries. Additionally, the State Department of Health clarified that these centers may continue providing certain diagnostic or screening procedures such as for cancer. Empire State Development Corporation also clarified that doctors’ visits continue to be permitted and remain open as essential businesses.
“When this pandemic first began our hospital systems were overwhelmed and we stopped elective surgeries to increase our hospital capacity for COVID patients,” Governor Cuomo said. “We have made tremendous progress to stop the spread of this infection and all the arrows are pointing in the right direction. We are now at a point where we can restart elective surgeries in counties without a significant risk of a surge of COVID-19 in the near term, and a total of 47 counties have met the criteria to begin resuming these elective treatments.”
Governors on Aid
National Governors Association Chair Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and NGA Vice Chair Andrew M. Cuomo issued the following statement:
“As Congress reconvenes, delivering urgent state fiscal relief must be a top priority. Each day that Congress fails to act, states are being forced to make cuts that will devastate the essential services the American people rely on and destroy the economic recovery before it even gets off the ground.
“With widespread bipartisan agreement on the need for this assistance, we cannot afford a partisan process that turns this urgent relief into another political football. This is not a red state and blue state crisis. This is a red white and blue pandemic. The coronavirus is apolitical. It does not attack Democrats or Republicans. It attacks Americans.
“The nation’s governors are counting on our leaders in Washington to come together, put partisanship aside, and to get this done for the American people. This is why the National Governors Association continues to call for the passage of critical priorities that will help states and territories lead us through this pandemic response and get America moving again: $500 billion in fiscal support for state budgetary shortfalls resulting from the pandemic, enhanced FMAP funding to provide healthcare to our most vulnerable, and 100 percent federal cost share for FEMA response and recovery efforts.”