Hudson Region Re-Opening As New Cases Continue

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The spread of the new coronavirus has slowed in the Hudson Valley and across New York as businesses are beginning to open back up. The seven-county region, which includes Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties, has shown a continuous downward trend in the spread of the virus, but still 186 new cases were reported as of Monday.

New positive cases reported as of Monday in the Mid-Hudson region:

• Dutchess: 18
• Orange: 19
• Putnam: 6
• Rockland: 33
• Sullivan: 14
• Ulster: 15
• Westchester: 81

Over the weekend, officials in the region were training contagion contact tracers to meet the last metric required to enter Phase 1 of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's four-phase reopening plan. The businesses expected to be allowed to open Tuesday include construction, manufacturing, retail (for curbside pickup only), wholesale trade and agriculture (see below for the full list).

New hospitalizations continue to decline across the state, Cuomo said at his briefing Monday.

The governor confirmed 1,249 additional people tested positive, bringing the statewide total to 362,764 confirmed cases.

The 3-month total for the Mid-Hudson region: 64,264 people tested positive. Westchester, which has 42 percent of the region's population, has had 51 percent of the region's cases.

• Dutchess: 3,825
• Orange: 10,244
• Putnam: 1,214
• Rockland: 12,996
• Sullivan: 1,324
• Ulster: 1,632
• Westchester: 33,029

In total, fewer than 100 New Yorkers lost their lives to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

"Ninety-six is still painfully high," Cuomo said. "Only in the relative absurdity of our situation is that relatively good news. We remember those 96 families today."

Speaking from the U.S.S. Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on the Hudson River in Manhattan, he announced New York will pay death benefits for essential government workers who lost their lives to COVID-19. "They went to work because we needed them to," he said.

Opening in Phase 1

Construction

• Building Equipment Contractors
• Building Finishing Contractors
• Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors
• Highway, Street and Bridge Construction
• Land Subdivision
• Nonresidential Building Construction
• Residential Building Construction
• Utility System Construction

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting

• Other Animal Production
• Other Crop Production
• Support Activities for Animal Production
• Support Activities for Crop Production
• Support Activities for Forestry

Retail Trade

• Clothing Stores
• Direct Selling Establishments
• Electronics and Appliance Stores
• Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
• Furniture and Home Furnishing Stores
• Florists
• General Merchandise Stores
• Health and Personal Care Stores
• Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores
• Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores
• Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores
• Used Merchandise Stores
• Shoe Stores
• Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument and Book Stores
• Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers

Manufacturing

• Apparel Manufacturing
• Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
• Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing
• Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
• Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
• Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing
• Machinery Manufacturing
• Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
• Paper Manufacturing
• Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing
• Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
• Printing and Related Support Activities
• Textile Mills
• Textile Product Mills
• Wood Product Manufacturing
• Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing

Wholesale Trade

• Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers
• Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers
• Furniture and Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
• Household Appliances and Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
• Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
• Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers
• Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers
• Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
• Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers
• Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers
• Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers