Cuomo to take four-phased approach to reopening
Screenshot via Cuomo’s press conference
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 8-MAY 14, 2020 5
BY MARK HALLUM
With 24,891 deaths out of
324,890 cases in New York,
Governor Andrew Cuomo is
looking to a reopening plan
that has four phases instead
of the original two pitched in
April as COVID-19 hospitalizations
started declining.
Cuomo said by following
the metrics and taking a nuanced
approach, society could
get back to life while compensating
for rate of transmission
of the coronavirus at 1.1
or less. Any more than that
and it is at “outbreak” levels.
“As long as your rate of
transmission is low and manageable,
then reopen your
businesses. And reopen your
businesses in phases so you’re
increasing that activity level
while you’re watching that
rate of transmission,” Cuomo
said. “If it gets over 1.1, stop
everything immediately.”
A summarized by Cuomo
in earlier press conferences,
the Centers for Disease Control
mandates that before a
region can begin reopening,
they must have 14 days of consecutive
decline in hospitalizations
and deaths. As such,
the governor has set May
15 for the end of the PAUSE
program.
For regions with very few
COVID-19 cases, new total
cases cannot exceed 15, and
new deaths cannot exceed
five on a three-day rolling basis.
Before regions can begin
reopening, they would also
need a testing capacity of 30
for every 1,000 people.
Although the daily death
toll has gone from 299 on May
1 to 226 on Sunday, Cuomo
said this statistic is not on
the decline as fast his administration
would like.
In preparation of any
surges in cases, Cuomo says
30 percent of hospital and
ICU beds have to be reserved
for coronavirus patients as
not to overload the system.
This was announced
during Sunday’s press briefing
in which he said hospitals
will now be required
by the state to keep up to 90
days of personal protective
equipment in stockpile at any
given time.
“We have a couple of
weeks, but this what local
leaders, what a community
needs in order to reopen safely
and intelligently. It can’t
just be, ‘We want to get out of
the house,’” Cuomo said.
The success of a region’s
reopening can depend on
the competence of elected officials,
according to Cuomo,
which can mean the difference
between life and death,
he said.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum
by e-mail at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4564.
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