Yesterday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, provided greater detail on how his plan for opening up the Empire State. As we reported last week, the state will be opened on a regional basis.
The Governor stated:
“Re-opening is not going to happen statewide all at once – New York has diverse regions and those regions have different circumstances, so rather than wait for the whole state to be ready to re-open we are going to analyze the situation on a regional basis. We will measure whether a region can re-open based on four factors – the number of new infections, health care capacity, diagnostic testing and contact tracing – and we will continue to monitor these factors throughout the re-opening process to prevent a second wave of the virus and protect the health and safety New Yorkers.”
The Governor provided specific standards for opening up a region:
- New Infections: Based on guidelines from the CDC, regions must have at least 14 days of decline in total net hospitalizations and deaths on a 3-day rolling average. In regions with few COVID cases, the region cannot exceed 15 net new total hospitalizations or 5 new deaths on a 3-day rolling average. In order to monitor the potential spread of infection in a region, a region must have fewer than two new COVID patients admitted per 100,000 residents per day.
- Health Care Capacity: Every region must have the health care capacity to handle a potential surge in cases. Regions must have at least 30 percent total hospital and ICU beds available. This is coupled with the new requirement that hospitals have at least 90 days of personal protective equipment stockpiled.
- Diagnostic Testing Capacity: Each region must have the capacity to conduct 30 diagnostic tests for every 1,000 residents per month. The state is rapidly expanding capacity statewide to help all regions meet this threshold.
- Contact Tracing Capacity: Regions must have a baseline of 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents, and additional tracers based on the projected number of cases in the region. The state is currently building an army of contact tracers with Mayor Bloomberg to meet the needs of each region statewide.
In order to reopen, businesses will have to:
- Adjust workplace hours and shift design as necessary to reduce density in the workplace;
- Enact social distancing protocols;
- Restrict non-essential travel for employees;
- Require all employees and customers to wear masks if in frequent contact with others;
- Implement strict cleaning and sanitation standards;
- Enact a continuous health screening process for individuals to enter the workplace;
- Continue tracing, tracking and reporting of cases; and
- Develop liability processes.
Within a region, businesses will reopen based on level of necessity – most essential and lowest risk first:
Phase 1: construction, manufacturing and wholesale feeders of supply chain, retail establishments offering curbside pickup
Phase 2: professional services, finance and insurance, retail, administrative support, real estate/rental leasing
Phase 3: restaurants/food service, hotels/accommodations
Phase 4: arts/entertainment/recreation, education
For more details and to view the Governor’s press release click HERE.
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