Gov. Cuomo Expected To Redraw COVID-19 Hot Zones As Infection Rates Improve
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to announce the redrawing of COVID-19 hot spot zones.
The governor will narrow restrictions to certain blocks, instead of whole zip codes, after complaints from residents.
That means relief for some businesses, schools and religious institutions that have been under tight restrictions for the past two weeks.
“We have total flexibility in these zones,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “As discrete areas get better, you can rewrite the size of the zones, and that’s what we’re looking at doing now.”
(Credit: NYC.gov)
The new plan was announced earlier this week, following a virtual meeting with Jewish leaders, who urged the governor that many in their community are wearing masks and social distancing.
“Please remember that when you see some, pardon me, idiots doing silly things, don’t paint us with that brush,” said Rabbi Yaakov Bender. “We are really beating up on them, we are doing everything in our power to stop these people.”
The red zone infection rates are coming down in Queens, Brooklyn, Rockland and Orange counties in the last week.
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However, a surge in cases in New Jersey has the president of University Hospital in Newark saying the second wave is here.
“We expected a second wave to happen in the fall. The question is how bad it gets,” Dr. Shereef Elnahal said.
Health officials attribute the spike to indoor gatherings, not schools or businesses, which Gov. Phil Murphy says makes the spread even harder to contain.
“These are mostly gatherings that are beyond our ability to effectively regulate or easily enforce compliance,” he said.
While cases are rising around the country, the Tri-State Area has added Arizona and Maryland to its travel advisory list, requiring visitors from 40 states and territories to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
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Even though New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania technically meet New York’s threshold for a travel advisory, Cuomo says they are exempt from the list.
“There is no practical way to quarantine New York from New Jersey and Connecticut. There are just too many interchanges,” he said. “It would have a disastrous effect on the economy… To the extent travel among the states or between the states is not essential, it should be avoided.”
Visiting family is not considered essential by the state.
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October 21, 2020 at 04:05PM
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