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New York and neighboring states, New Jersey and Connecticut, will lift most coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses in mid-May, highlighting how the virus recedes in one of the hardest hit regions at the start of the pandemic.
Capacity restrictions on offices, theaters, museums and businesses, including retailers, bars and gyms, will be removed in all three states beginning May 19, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference Monday.
The coordinated reopening of the mirrors the three states made last year shut down parts of their economy as they faced an increase in coronavirus infections during the first wave of the pandemic.
It is the latest sign of how infections in the densely populated region, as well as in the US in general, are declining sharply as the country rushes to distribute vaccines.
The number of new Covid-19 infections reached a maximum of about 95 per 100,000 people a day in New York on January 12, and has since been reduced to a per capita rate of about 17, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To help reopen the economy, New York City will have to be served again by a 24/7 subway system for the first time in more than a year.
The metro will be operational again 24 hours a day from 17 May. The measure will reverse the decision in early May last year by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subway, to close the network between 1 a.m. and 5 p.m. to implement improved cleanup. and disinfection of carriages and stations.
Individual companies will be allowed to make their own decisions about capacity limits and some parts of the city will take longer to come back to life, such as Broadway, which is unlikely to reopen quickly due to the long preparation time required to prepare a show.
While the three states “do not have identical policies because we are in slightly different situations,” Cuomo said, the steps to reopen “would complement each other.”
Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City, said earlier that he planned to have the metropolis “Reopen completely” on July 1st.
After a devastating winter wave of the disease, cases across the US have been falling. According to CDC data, the seven-day average of new coronavirus infections fell below 50,000 over the weekend for the first time since early October and has dropped 80% from its January high. The average daily death toll has ranged from about 630 to 720 a day over the past month, the lowest rates since early July.
Some other states have already removed or completely removed many restrictions required by the state, including Texas and Arizona. California withdrew a stay-at-home order in late January and its most populous county, Los Angeles, has eased more business restrictions in recent weeks as the jump in cases has slowed.
Florida lifted almost all pandemic-era restrictions in September, but at the time allowed local authorities to limit restaurant capacity to half. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been a vocal critic of strict closures, signed a bill that puts new limits on officials’ emergency powers during a pandemic, ending all local restrictions in his state.
The bill, which also prohibits the use ofvaccine passports”, Will take effect on July 1. However, DeSantis plans to issue an executive order suspending local rules until then.
“I think that’s what needs to be done based on the evidence,” DeSantis said during a press conference at a St. Petersburg restaurant. “I think people who say they have to keep an eye on people right now, if you say so, really say they don’t believe in vaccines.”
Companies can still implement their own protocols, such as insisting that customers wear masks, DeSantis said.
The rapid decline in cases has come amid a major push by states and the Biden administration to distribute vaccines as quickly as possible. The United States has administered nearly 247 million doses of vaccine so far, well above President Joe Biden’s goal administrator 200 m dose of vaccine during his first 100 days in office. More than 44% of Americans have received at least one shot and 31.8% of adults are now fully vaccinated.
After an initial rush, some states are experiencing a drop in puncture demand. Officials are trying to lure reluctant people with incentives that include promises of relaxed restrictions, savings bonds and even free beers.
Despite progress in infections nationwide, some areas of the country continue to try to control new outbreaks. Oregon, which borders California, considered 15 counties an “extreme risk” and instituted a three-week closure, gym closures and indoor dining, following an increase in cases.
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