What to know
- A state Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of several restaurants in Erie County that had sued the state because of its designation as an orange cluster zone; the judge granted an injunction
- Governor Andrew Cuomo’s legal adviser said the state is reviewing the decision, which he strongly disagrees with; meanwhile, it is allowing orange zone restaurants to operate under yellow zone rules
- According to the latest Cuomo update, there are seven areas of orange cluster areas in the state, including parts of Westchester County and New York, where indoor dining is prohibited, regardless of cluster rules.
New York City temporarily approved indoor dining in orange chip zones following a state Supreme Court decision this week in favor of some restaurants in Erie County that had processed the restriction, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s lawyer said on Thursday.
This means that parts of Westchester County that have been under these mid-level restrictions since mid-December can resume indoor meals – at least temporarily. Staten Island areas have also been under orange zone rules since then, but Cuomo has banned indoor dining across New York City, regardless of its cluster zone program. It is not clear how the state’s decision would affect this.
Up to four people per table can now dine indoors in seven so-called “orange zones” located in counties with some of the highest rates of COVID-19 cases or hospitalizations: including Monroe County in Finger Lakes.
Several restaurants across the state, including many in New York City, have prosecuted the ban on eating indoors, but State Supreme Court Judge Henry Nowak has granted an injunction to apply in the Erie case Wednesday market.
According to the rules of the Cuomo grouping zone, the orange zones – the second most restricted in the three-tier zone – completely prohibit meals indoors and limit the open air to four people per table. Schools also move completely remotely, unless they take the test; high-risk non-essential businesses close and meetings are limited to a maximum of 10 people.
In his decision, Nowak determined that restaurants in Erie County that were in orange zone areas could return to the indoor dining rules that apply to the yellow zones, which allow dining on site, but with a maximum of four people per table .
Nowak said he was unable to “find evidence that the state had a rational basis for designating parts of Erie County as an orange zone” and that restaurants would suffer “irreparable damage” without the injunction.
According to the latest Cuomo guidelines, which were last updated in mid-December, orange zone restrictions apply to areas that have seen a positivity rate of 4% or more for 10 consecutive days and the area reached 85 percent of hospital capacity or the Department of Health determines that the area has an unacceptably high rate of hospital admissions.
As of Thursday, Erie County had a 6.3% mobile positivity rate. The governor’s website does not divide hospitalization data by county, but state data shows that no region in the state has reached 85% of hospital capacity. This would trigger more aggressive shutdown measures. As of Thursday, Western New York, Erie County, had 32% and 36% of hospital beds and ICU beds available, respectively, based on a seven-day moving average.
Daily percentage of positive tests by New York region
Governor Andrew Cuomo divides the state into 10 regions for testing purposes and tracks positivity rates to identify potential access points. Here are the most recent tracking data by region and for the five districts. For the latest county-level results across the state, click here
It was not immediately clear whether the Department of Health’s assessment was what led to the orange zone restrictions. Erie County has confirmed almost 50,000 total cases of COVID to date, more than 69% of the 71,273 confirmed cases in the five counties that make up western New York since March.
Cuomo’s office says it is reviewing the decision. The parties will have to return to court to determine whether the injunction will be final.
In the meantime, Gibson said the state will allow all restaurants in the orange zone to operate under yellow zone rules “to ensure uniformity and fairness”.
“We disagree with the court’s decision and its impact on public health, as the federal CDC data clearly demonstrates that indoor meals increase the spread of COVID-19,” said Gibson. “Since the beginning of this pandemic, the state has acted on the basis of facts and advice from public health experts, and we will continue with this approach.”
According to the latest Cuomo update, there are seven orange zone areas in the state, including Erie County. Parts of Staten Island, Westchester County, Monroe County, Chemung County, Onondaga County and Niagara County (also in western New York) are classified as orange zones.
The NYC Hospitality Alliance, which represents the city’s restaurants, among other businesses, criticized Cuomo for the continued ban on indoor dining in light of the decision.
“The preliminary court decision and the governor’s action to remove restrictions on indoor meals in all ‘orange zones’ make the situation of banning indoor dining in New York City even more outrageous and destructive to thousands of people. restaurants in the five districts, especially when our infection and hospitalization rates are lower than most counties in the state where indoor meals are allowed at 50% occupancy, “said its executive director, Andrew Rigie, and his lawyer Robert Bookman in a joint statement on Thursday.
“The continuation of the ban on indoor eating in New York City is divorced from any of the data and criteria that the state has articulated and should be closed now,” they said.