WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MAY 28, 2020 7
NYC will be last to reopen: Cuomo
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
With some New York City ZIP codes still
having up to 40 percent COVID-19 infection
rates, Governor Andrew Cuomo said
Tuesday that the fi ve boroughs will be the last to
open, as neighboring Long Island and the Hudson
Valley got the green light for a restart this week.
With 73 deaths on Memorial Day and 200 new
cases statewide — about where New York was on
March 25 — Cuomo said better testing and tracing
resources would be focused on those New York City
ZIP codes that have seen such high infection rates
for an ultimate reopening of the fi ve boroughs.
Ten of these ZIP codes led the city in the number
of new COVID-19 infections over the past week, according
to the Governor’s offi ce. Half of them are
in the Bronx:
• 10467, Norwood/Gun Hill/Allerton, 100 cases
• 10469, Williamsbridge/East Bronx/Pelham
Gardens/Baychester, 73 cases
• 10468, Fordham Manor/Fordham Heights, 69
cases
• 10458, Little Italy/Belmont/Fordham Manor,
69 cases
• 10456, Morrisania, 64 cases
Three other ZIP codes with the highest number
of new COVID-19 cases this past week include
Queens’ Far Rockaway (11691, 95 cases), Corona
(11368, 86 cases) and Elmhurst, which was once
the epicenter of the city’s COVID-19 crisis (11373,
69 cases).
Two others were in Brooklyn: Flatbush (11226,
78 cases) and East Flatbush (11203, 66 cases).
But even as city residents clamor for the much
anticipated reopening, the New York Stock Exchange
has welcomed employees back on the trading
floor, but not without social distancing and
masks, according to Cuomo. The governor rang
the opening bell on the NYSE earlier Tuesday.
“It’s the one region that is not reopened yet,
and we’re now going to focus on reopening New
York City,” Cuomo said. “We have data. We have
tests. We can focus on the new cases in New York
City — where are those new infections still coming
from — and we literally can now focus on those
areas by ZIP code.”
With lower infection rates in frontline workers
than in the general public, Cuomo told reporters
the virus is infecting people largely within communities
of color, with community spread in the
home. Once the infection rate is brought further
under control, the governor is confident the city
can begin reopening.
Cuomo said the ZIP code-centric approach to
reining in the virus has already begun, but will
be increase this week.
“You can see that the infection rate is some of
these ZIP codes is double the infection rate in the
city. The infection rate in the city, general population
is about 19 percent, almost 20 percent. In
some of these communities the infection rate is
40 percent, literally double the citywide average,”
Cuomo said. “When you look at these new COVID
cases coming into the hospitals, they’re coming
from these ZIP codes.”
While Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday morning
that 1,500 tracers had been hired, Cuomo said
the effort would be increased with the federal
government recommending at least 30 tracers
for every 100,000 people in a region.
But even when New York City does reopen,
wearing masks will remain the protocol for
daily living, Cuomo said. He reiterated previous
remarks that essential workers have had lower
infection rates because they have worn masks to
prevent the spread of COVID-19.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
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