The Democratic governor said on Friday that restaurants and bars could now be open until 11 pm on Sunday. The state’s restaurant industry pressed to loosen the previous cut, which was at 10 pm.
“Loosening the curfew will allow operators to comfortably accommodate guests at 9 pm, bringing business that had previously been interrupted,” said Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association, in a statement.
The announcement came after one earlier this week, saying New York restaurants could reopen indoor dining with 25% capacity from Friday to keep up with existing outdoor dining. Indoors meals have been banned since mid-December, when COVID-19 cases began to emerge.
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Cuomo said industry groups representing restaurant owners called for the ban on indoor dining to be lifted in February to allow them to profit from Valentine’s Day. He also allowed New York City and counties across the state to vaccinate restaurant workers, although many county executives say they have no supplies.
“If we keep infections reduced and vaccinations increased, we will stay ahead in the race on foot against this invisible enemy,” said Cuomo.
While loosening restrictions is a step in the right direction for many bars and restaurants, some wonder if it is a little too late.
“At the moment, we can have 18.5 people inside and it won’t pay rent, it won’t pay for electricity and it won’t pay staff,” said bar and restaurant owner Lauren Brie Lynch.
As restaurant restrictions in New York eased on Friday, parts of the city are seeing signs of an increase: The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island together averaged 2,580 new cases per day for the seven days through Thursday . This represents a 16% increase over the previous seven days.
Cuomo announced this week that large indoor and outdoor arenas and stadiums could reopen with 10% capacity, despite concerns from public health experts about the safety of large indoor meetings where people may be talking loudly and eating. He said the state would allow weddings of up to 150 guests with the COVID-19 test until March 15, although counties and wedding venues are still awaiting state guidance.
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Governor André Cuomo announced on Saturday that COVID’s daily positivity rate fell to 3.46%, the lowest since November 25. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate also dropped to 3.90%, marking the first time the rate has fallen below 4% since November 30
In addition, the state also recorded a drop in hospitalizations to 6,888. Unfortunately, there were 125 reported deaths.
State health officials said New York has seen a general drop in cases since the peak of mid-January, but warn that COVID-19 is still common. More than half a million people have tested positive so far this year in New York, while hospitals and nursing homes reported that nearly 6,700 people died.
“I think people don’t necessarily understand the amount of COVID we saw in the fall and winter of last year, and how bad we are,” Byron Backenson, acting director of the department of communicable diseases at the New York State Department of Health, said. Thursday in an online discussion with state health care providers.
New York now has the second highest number of new cases of COVID-19 per capita in the last seven days in the country, behind South Carolina, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
And while much of the country is seeing double-digit drops in new COVID-19 cases, New York is among the 12 states where the seven-day average of new cases is virtually stable compared to seven days ago, according to the Project COVID Tracking System.
Cuomo emphasized that New York’s figures reflect that it does more tests than any other state. New York reported the fifth highest level of test results per 100,000 residents, according to AP data, and the second highest number of test results after California.
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