D&C: New York to begin reopening Friday as coronavirus spread slows
May 13th, 2020
Democrat & Chronicle, May 11, 2020
ALBANY – At least three regions of New York will begin the reopening process Friday, clearing the way for some nonessential businesses to resume operations as the spread of the coronavirus continues to slow in the hard-hit state.
The Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier regions have met the necessary benchmarks to enter “Phase 1” of the state’s opening process, which will last for at least two weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday at a coronavirus briefing near Rochester.
In those regions, all construction and manufacturing firms will be permitted to reopen beginning Friday, along with previously closed retail businesses offering curbside pickup and the agriculture, hunting and fishing industries.
All businesses and industries permitted to reopen will be required to craft and implement specific plans to maintain social distancing, reduce density, restrict nonessential travel and implement strict cleaning and disinfection protocols, according to the state.
New York will also loosen restrictions on some low-risk businesses and facilities statewide beginning Friday: Gardeners and landscapers will be allowed to resume normal activities, while drive-in movie theaters will get the green light to open.
Certain low-risk, outdoor recreational activities such as tennis will also be permitted across the state, Cuomo said.
“It’s an exciting new phase,” Cuomo said. “We’re all anxious to get back to work. We want to do it smartly, we want to do it intelligently, but we want to do it. And that’s what this week is all about.”
The coronavirus has hit New York harder than any other state, with more than 21,000 confirmed deaths since the start of March.
But the vast majority of those deaths have been concentrated downstate — including 67% in New York City alone — while some upstate regions have come through relatively unscathed.
Cuomo first ordered nonessential businesses across the state to close March 22 as the virus was in the midst of its torrid spread. Essential businesses, including grocery and hardware stores, have remained opened.
Since then, Cuomo has outlined a four-phase approach to reopening businesses, with each phase lasting at least two weeks and more and more businesses added along the way.
The three regions reopening some nonessential businesses Friday represent 23 of the state’s 62 counties.
They are allowed to begin the reopening process because they met seven critical benchmarks laid out by Cuomo last week.
Among those benchmarks were a 14-day decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and death and having at least 30% of hospital and ICU beds available.
The regions were also required to implement a robust testing and contact tracing system — including having 30 tracers for every 100,000 residents — before being allowed to reopen.
At least two other regions — Central New York and the North Country — have met six of the seven benchmarks and could feasibly meet the seventh by Friday, Cuomo said.
Unshackle Upstate, a Rochester-based business group, called the regional reopening “encouraging.” But the group called on state leaders to help the rest of upstate reopen, including Western New York, home to Buffalo, the state’s second-largest city.
Western New York has met five of the seven required metrics to reopen, but has struggled to get its hospitalization and death rate down enough to reopen.
“We urge the state to do whatever is necessary to help the remaining upstate regions,” said Michael Kracker, Unshackle Upstate’s executive director.
“As employers and regional leaders work together to get upstate back in business, leaders in Albany should enact legal protections that give businesses the confidence to re-open with necessary safety protocols in place.”
The regions are based on the state’s 10 Regional Economic Development Councils, which are the groups of counties used by the state’s economic-development branch.
The Finger Lakes region is centered around the city of Rochester. It does not include Buffalo (which is part of the Western New York region) and Syracuse (which is part of Central New York).
The Southern Tier includes the cities of Binghamton, Ithaca and Elmira, while the Mohawk Valley is centered around Utica.
Some frustrated by regional construct
The construct of the regions has led to some consternation among counties that haven’t been hit hard by the coronavirus but are grouped in with counties that have been hit hard.
That includes some of the state’s westernmost counties along the Pennsylvania border, which have had low infection rates but are grouped in with Erie County, which has had a higher hospitalization and death rate than nearby counties.
“Our linkage with Erie County and its higher infection rates means that we don’t meet the metrics for reopening and our hurting, rural economies must remain shut down for at least another two weeks,” said state Sen. George Borrello, R-Hanover, Chautauqua County.
In a tweet Monday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the region is “headed in the right direction.”
“I thank everyone for your continued work to stop the spread and break the infection chain so that we can begin phase one re-opening,” he wrote. “We are in this together.”