Reopening New York State Today Governor Cuomo re-iterated that NYS on PAUSE will remain in effect until May 15th  and will most likely be extended in various regions around the State that are continuing to experience high infection rates. The planned stay at home order will continue while the State evaluates re-opening the economy regionally. He stated you can make the case to un-pause certain regions but the approach needs to be smart.  There are ten factors the Governor outlined that [...]

Executive Order 202.24 The Governor last night issued Executive Order 202.24, authorizing licensed pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests, subject to completion of appropriate training developed by the NYS Department of Health. As discussed yesterday, the Order expands testing capacity in New York State by allowing independent pharmacies to conduct coronavirus tests. Additionally, this Order cancels a special election for the office of City Council in the 37th district and stipulates that this seat will be filled at the November [...]

Executive Order 202.23 Governor Cuomo last night issued Executive Order 202.23, guaranteeing that every New Yorker automatically receives a postage-paid application to receive an absentee ballot for the June 23rd primary elections and any previously rescheduled election.  This Order also cancelled the June 23rd State Assembly, State Senate, and Queens Borough President special elections; these seats will be filled at the November general election.  (NOTE: the June 23rd special elections are separate from the June 23rd State Assembly and Senate primaries, [...]

COVID-19 Economic Impact Analysis Governor Cuomo announced today that he expects New York State revenues in the current fiscal year to be $13.3 billion below the initial Executive Budget forecast.  Over the financial plan period of FY 2021 to FY 2024, the projected deficit is $61 billion.  The Governor stated that these shortfalls completely are due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. Facilitating Absentee Voting The Governor will be issuing a new Executive Order guaranteeing that every New [...]

Antibody Study         Today Governor Cuomo announced the preliminary Phase 1 results from the statewide antibody testing that has been running for the past two days. This testing was initiated to determine the prevalence of trace antibodies in individuals and to set a projected baseline of the population believed to have been infected with COVID-19 and since recovered. They have collected samples from 19 different counties and a total of 40 different grocery and big box stores across the state. Phase 1 [...]

White House Meeting Revisited Today Governor Cuomo provided details from yesterday’s meeting with President Trump. The Federal Government will work on the international supply chain to ensure New York will be able to work with its roughly 300 local labs to perform a combined 40,000 diagnostic and antibody tests per day. In addition to the testing, the State will launch a tracing program focused on downstate New York that will work in conjunction with Connecticut and New Jersey.  This program will [...]

Updates from White House Meeting This afternoon Governor Cuomo met in Washington D.C. with President Trump and members of his staff to discuss a number of COVID-related issues.  As part of their discussion the Governor stated this evening that the Federal government will work with testing manufacturers to increase production of testing materials while the State will be taking the lead with in-state laboratories to increase the antibody and diagnostic testing capacity from 20,000 tests per day to 40,000, which will [...]

New York Reimagine Task Force Governor Cuomo announced the formation of the “Reimagine NY Task Force” which aims to re-build the downstate economy by investing in the public transportation, housing, safety and health systems while balancing social equality and the use of technology once NY PAUSE is lifted. The taskforce is made up of Westchester County Executive George Latimer, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Federal Partnership Governor Cuomo [...]

New Executive Order Governor Cuomo has issued Executive Order 202.20, which waives the 60-day waiting period for obtaining a marriage license, and permits those persons who were unable to marry within the time frame issued on an original marriage license to waive the fees necessary to obtain a second marriage license. This Order also authorizes any issuance of a marriage license application, marriage license, or witnessing or solemnizing of the marriage ceremony to be performed remotely by utilizing appropriate audio-video technology [...]

New Executive Order Governor Cuomo has issued Executive Order 202.19, his latest directive for all public and private labs in the State to coordinate with the Department of Health to ensure prioritizing of diagnostic testing.  The Order also provides a penalty of $2,000 per violation per day for any nursing home, skilled nursing facility or adult care facility that does not notify family members or next of kin, within 24 hours, if any resident tests positive for COVID-19 or suffers a [...]