Central New York will be one of the first regions in the state to receive guidance on reopening businesses, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

Cuomo has ordered the closure of nonessential businesses in the state until May 15 to curb the spread of the coronavirus. At a media briefing today at Upstate Medical University, Cuomo presented a set of guidelines for a phased reopening of the state once the May 15 deadline passes.

“Let’s come up with data points, factual points, of what we have to do to reopen, so everyone has the same opening template,” Cuomo said. “Emotions can’t drive a reopening process.”

The coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected 295,106 people and killed 17,638 in New York state.

The number of new COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations, and intubations is down in New York state, Cuomo said. The state has confirmed 900 COVID-19 cases since yesterday, he said.

“Overall you see the numbers coming down,” Cuomo said.

The first phase of the reopening will allow construction and manufacturing to resume in central New York, which will bring 46,000 jobs back to the region, Cuomo said. The state is working to decide what businesses can open in the second phase, he said.

Under Cuomo’s plan, each business set to reopen must have measures in place to protect workers from infection.

Hospitals in each region must have 30% of their capacity available before resuming elective surgeries, Cuomo said. Each region must also have spaces to isolate people who test positive for COVID-19 and cannot self-isolate, he said.

Cuomo also said regions should avoid “attractive nuisances,” which are industries, attractions, and businesses that bring a large number of visitors to the area and could allow COVID-19 to spread. The New York State Fair is one example of an attractive nuisance, Cuomo said.

Universities don’t qualify as attractive nuisances, Cuomo said. He said he wasn’t sure whether New York colleges would be able to resume on-campus classes in the fall.

“I can’t tell you what September looks like,” Cuomo said.

New York’s goal is to reopen regionally without increasing the number of COVID-19 cases, Cuomo said. The state will also work with regions to expand testing, he said.

Cuomo thanked the medical workers at Upstate Medical University for their role in combating COVID-19.

“All these people who are showing up everyday…they’re doing it out of their sense of honor and their sense of dignity and their sense of pride,” Cuomo said. “They’re New Yorkers, they’re Americans, and they’re going to show up.”

Published on April 29, 2020 at 2:22 am