New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Warns Certain Areas May Go Back Under Restrictive COVID-19 Orders

Rising COVID-19 infection rates could mean that part of Manhattan, Staten Island and Long Island could face new restrictions on activities this week.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the warning Sunday in a press briefing.

“We have several communities that are in the warning track,” Cuomo said. “Right now … unless they dramatically change the trajectory of the infection rate, this week, they will go into those zones. Parts of Staten Island will go into an orange zone. Parts of Staten Island will go into red zone at the current rate.”

The governor singled out Staten Island as a particular worry.

“Staten Island is a serious problem,” Cuomo said. “Staten Island is also a problem in terms of overburdening hospitals, and we’re running into a hospital capacity issue on Staten Island that we have to have to be dealing with in coming days.”

The Upper Manhattan area, as well as Nassaul and Suffolk countires on Long Island, will be targeted for a yellow zone. Those zones mean in-person dining and outdoor dining and gatherings are limited to four people per table, to a maximum of 10, with indoor capacity set at 25 percent, the current indoor limit.

The added restrictions would join those ordered last week, when the Governor mandated that bars and restaurants with liquor licenses close at 10 PM.

Houses of worship would remain at 50 percent capacity in yellow zones. Schools can remain open, but only with mandatory testing.  New York City public schools are closed.

The orders are short of the most restrictive red zone, which would ban outdoor dining and limit restaurants to take-out and edelivery. Nonessential businesses would have to close and house of worship would be limited to 10 people.