LI Could Reopen by Wednesday, Cuomo Says

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Saturday that Long Island’s economy could reopen as soon as Wednesday, as the number of the number of deaths continues to drop and contract tracing is coming online.

The statewide number of deaths since Friday dropped to 84.

The Mid-Hudson Valley is on track to meet all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state’s regional phased reopening plan starting Tuesday

The Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions have already reopened. The Mid-Hudson Valley met the requirement for hiring enough contact tracers, who are being trained. The region will be able to open 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.

Business guidance for phase one of the state’s reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state’s “NY Forward Reopening” Plan is available here. The state’s regional monitoring dashboard is available here.

Cuomo also announced the state is partnering with Advantage Care Physicians for 15 new testing sites at medical centers downstate, including testing centers in low-income and minority communities. There are now more than 760 testing sites across the state. 

“The numbers are going down every day and we’re making real progress to stop the spread of this virus, and now we’re focusing on reopening,” Cuomo said. “Reopening has been different in different regions all across the state, but each region has to meet the same criteria to reopen and we are keeping New Yorkers informed with where each region stands. We don’t want a region to reopen before its ready, and the Mid-Hudson Valley Region has now met all the criteria necessary to begin reopening on Tuesday. This has been a tough situation, but New Yorkers are tough and we’ve shown how tough we really are here.”

Suffolk County reported 130 new cases since Friday, bringing the total to 28,802. The county is the third highest total of new cases, behind New York City and Erie County. Nassau reported 118 new cases.

Cuomo issued an executive order Friday night that allows gatherings of up to 10 people as long as other safety measures are in place.

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