LI, Hudson Valley Can Start Reopening In Days; NYC Has To Wait

NEW YORK, NY — As deaths related to the coronavirus continue to fall in New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday said two of the three state regions yet to begin to reopen could do so within a week — assuming metrics are met.

The Mid-Hudson region, encompassing Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan and Ulster counties, met the criteria for the decline in deaths. The only unfilled metric is the amount of trained contact tracers, but if 857 more people take the online course during the weekend, the area can reopen Tuesday as planned.

Long Island's death numbers are dropping, Cuomo said. If they continue to do so, the 14-day decline in hospital deaths metric could soon be met. The contact tracers requirement is also expected to be met, so the region can "possibly" reopen Wednesday, Cuomo said.

Even if the two regions can reopen as planned, a limited number of industries are allowed to resume operation under Phase One guidelines: construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, retail (limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off), manufacturing and wholesale trade.

There is no timetable for New York City, however. The area has met four of the seven reopening metrics, but is still missing a share of total beds and ICU beds available, as well as contact tracers. The number of contact tracers is expected to hit its goal soon, though, and the bed numbers are closing in on their targets: 28 of 30 percent of available beds, and ICU beds are at 26 percent with the same goal.

Friday's reported COVID-19 deaths in New York hit 84 — getting below Cuomo's target of 100 for the first time since the outbreak got into full swing. The number is down from a 107.4 deaths five-day average.

"In my head, I was always looking to get under 100 [deaths]," Cuomo said. "We're under 100. It doesn't do any good for those 84 families that are feeling the pain. But for me, it's a sign that we're making real progress. And I feel good about that."

Cuomo recalled a conversation he had with an unnamed health care professional where the governor asked what number he should be looking for to get down to on deaths.

"The doctor said, 'If I were you, I would look for 100. You want to be below 100,'" Cuomo said. "I said, 'Why 100?' [The doctor] said, 'People are going to pass away when they're ill. And often, it's pneumonia or it's something else. If you can get under 100, I think you can breathe a sigh of relief.'"

New York was facing several hundred COVID-19 deaths per day when Cuomo had that conversation, he said.

Meanwhile, new COVID-19 hospitalizations fell to 208 on Friday.

The state now has 760 testing sites. Cuomo urged residents to get tested not once, but multiple times, as anyone can be infected with the coronavirus within minutes after taking a test, he said. Information on where to get tested in New York can be found here. People who should get tested, according to Cuomo, include those with symptoms, anyone who was exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, front-line workers, health care workers, grocery store or delivery workers, as well as anyone in a region that's reopening.

Industries that can return once Phase Two guidelines are met are professional services, retail, administrative support and real estate. Restaurants and food services can reopen under Phase Three, and Phase Four lists arts, entertainment, recreation and education.