Time To Reopen Fully: Rockland County Executive

NEW CITY, NY — As Rockland County entered phase 4, County Executive Ed Day said officials and local business owners are not happy about changes in the plan made by state officials, including not allowing malls, gyms, movie theaters, or bowling alleys to reopen.

"There needs to be a sense of urgency here in order to move forward," Day said during a briefing Tuesday afternoon on Facebook. "They've had plenty of time to look at this."

He said the decision to postpone allowing professional sports to open had "killed" the Rockland Boulders season.

"I think it's a lack of understanding of what can be done," Day said, citing a plan the Boulders had put together that followed social-distancing guidelines.

Day said he thought the exceptions were not only unfair but also illogical. Owners and employees of businesses left out of phase 4 should be given answers, he said, urging people asking about driving schools specifically to contact state officials.

"How come I can go skydiving and not bowling," was one question submitted during the briefing.

State officials reported 19 new cases in Rockland County on Saturday. Overall, Rockland has had 13,668 cases since the outbreak began locally in March. Currently the rate of positive cases is 1.3 percent.

The total of fatalities in the since the outbreak started is 668. "Every fatality is a tragedy," he said. "We have not seen a death due to COVID since June 30."

In general, he supports phased reopening, but thinks Gov. Andrew Cuomo now needs to give up some power to local officials who know the reality in their local communities.

"We're doing things in a measured manner," he said, arguing against hiding under the bed. "That makes sense with what we have right now."

In general the outbreak remains low-key, according to county and state data, Day said. However, he warned, "COVID's not going away. We're going to have to figure out ways of living with this virus until there's a vaccine.

"Be smart about things. Do things that seemingly are working well. Face coverings, as annoying as they are, seem to be working well."