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Long Island and the Mid-Hudson region in New York could start reopening from their coronavirus-induced shutdowns as soon as next week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.
Cuomo, speaking during a press briefing in Manhattan, said those two regions could reopen as long as the number of deaths in both areas continue to decrease and their coronavirus tracing programs come online.
“We’re hopeful that the number of deaths continue to decline and then they’ll be reopening,” the governor said.
As of Friday, both regions had met five of the state’s seven COVID-19-related benchmarks. New York regions need to tick all seven boxes in order to enter phase one of the state’s four-phase reopening plan.
In anticipation of those two areas entering phase one in the days ahead, Cuomo said construction staging will be permitted.
Under phase one of the state’s reopening plan, construction, manufacturing and wholesale supply chains plus retail businesses with curbside pickup can reopen.
New York City met four of the seven state criteria Friday, and Mayor Bill de Blasio said a day earlier that the Big Apple is on track for reopening in the first half of June.
