Orange Zones Disappear
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that with the continued lowering of the statewide positivity rate as well as the decreasing rate of hospitalizations, all Orange zone restrictions around the State have been lifted and only five communities remain within a Yellow zone, including certain parts of Washington Heights, Queens, Newburgh and two areas of the Bronx.
With this new change in the micro-cluster zones, Dr. Howard Zucker, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, clarified that the remaining Yellow zone restrictions would continue with limits on indoor and outdoor dining, 50% capacity limits for places of worship and a 25 person maximum for gatherings of people. When asked for further clarification on the zone change, Governor Cuomo pointed to the still existing statewide guidelines that would still need to be adhered to in addition to any remaining micro-cluster restrictions.
NYC Indoor Dining Plan Expected Friday
With Governor Cuomo lifting all Orange zone restrictions, indoor and outdoor dining outside of New York City has returned to pre-micro-cluster restrictions. The Governor indicated that the state would be working with stakeholders and issue an indoor dining reopening plan for New York City by this coming Friday. At this time the state is considering a return to a 25% indoor capacity as but will be working with industry leaders and local elected officials to craft the plan.
When asked about the recent lawsuits from around the State looking to move the current curfew for bar and restaurants from 10p.m. to midnight the Governor stated that he did not plan to make this change as the later hours encouraged gatherings and group socializing.
Mayor DeBlasio continued promoting the first ever NYC Restaurant Week TO GO, which can be found at www.nycgo.com/restaurant-week. The program runs through Sunday, January 31st, you can participate in Restaurant Week TO GO and order Lunch of Dinner for Takeout or Delivery for $20.21!
Vaccine Supply Issues
Governor Cuomo stated that he had been in contact with the Biden administration and is able to announce that beginning next week and for the two weeks following that New York would be receiving an additional 16% in the number of vaccines that it is allocated.
NYC Vaccine Push
Mayor De Blasio today announced NYC is working with faith leaders to encourage all people to get vaccinated once NYC receives more vaccines. The goal is to provide the public with information that will reassure them about the safety of the vaccine, and ensure racial equity in the distribution.
New York State COVID-19 Numbers
The statewide positivity rate yesterday was 5.44% with 8,771 hospitalizations, a decrease of 60 people over the previous day. There were 170 COVID-19 deaths in New York State yesterday.
