NYC ‘on track’ for June 8 reopening
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
New York City, the last closed
region of New York state during
the COVID-19 pandemic, finally
has a projected reopening date.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced Friday afternoon
that the city’s on track to begin
the first reopening phase on
Monday, June 8.
Cuomo said the state and
city governments will be working
over the next week to continue
a concentrated effort
to further reduce COVID-19
infections in hotspots located
across the Bronx, Brooklyn
and Queens. They will also be
working to get contract tracers
online and distribute further
PPE and masks.
The MTA will also be preparing
subways and buses over
the next week to increase scheduled
service, Cuomo added.
The reopening is not a return
to the pre-COVID-19 world,
but a new normal in which
more than 400,000 workers at
the start will be returning to
duty with various health precautions
in place.
“Remember that reopening
does not mean we’re going back
to the way things work. It’s going
to be different,” Cuomo said.
“It’s reopening to a new safer
normal. People will be wearing
masks and socially distanced.
It’s just a new way of interacting,
which is what we have to
do.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who
joined Cuomo for the announcement
via video, said both the
city and state were confident by
the progress made to pinpoint a
tentative reopening date.
“When I talked to the people
of the city this morning, I told
them the indicators were absolutely
moving in the right
direction,” de Blasio said, “but
the key to getting to the point
of definition for Phase 1 came
from the collaboration to get on
the same page and make sure
we were confident that this was
the right time to do it.”
Under Phase 1, construction
and light manufacturing will
be permitted to resume. Retailers
will also be able to open to
customers for curbside delivery.
All workers and customers will
be required to wear a mask and
practice social distancing. Photo via Getty Images.
TIMESLEDGER | 8 QNS.COM | JUNE 5-11, 2020
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