State readies to reopen; L.I. 'close,' governor says

Long Island is “close” to meeting the criteria to reopen its battered economy, Governor Cuomo said at his Monday press briefing. He did not, however, elaborate.

His statement appeared to contradict a prediction made Friday by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, who said Nassau would not be likely to meet the state’s stringent reopening requirements until the end of June. Curran asked the governor to look closely at reopening of the retail and construction sectors.

Many sectors of Long Island's economy have been shut down since mid-March because of the coronavirus epidemic.

On Monday, Cuomo said the state’s economy would open by region, and in phases. Rural upstate counties with relatively low numbers of coronavirus cases would come first, and several such counties are already ready to reopen, he said, adding that the retail and construction industries would be among the first allowed to restart operations.

Retail, however, would be for curbside pickup only, no in-store browsing, the governor said.

The state is set to reopen its economy, at least partially, on Friday, May 15. Preparing for the reopening, he said, will be “what this week is going to be all about.”

Statewide, the number of overnight deaths dropped below 200 for the first time since mid-March, Cuomo said. From Sunday into Monday, 161 people died, an 80 percent decline from the state’s peak of the crisis on April 9, when 799 people died overnight.

The state will follow federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that call for a 14-day decline in the infection and hospitalization rates before the economy can begin to reopen. Cuomo noted that a number of states are not following CDC guidelines during the reopening of their economies, which many are forging ahead with, even though their infection rates continue to climb.

In addition to a drop in infections and hospitalizations, New York state is requiring that counties and regions demonstrate that adequate testing and contact tracing are available, and that hospitals have 30 percent of beds available for use in the event of a second wave of infection.

Cuomo also spoke of allowing certain recreational activities such as tennis during the reopening.