NEW YORK (AP) – New York has extended some executive orders due to the coronavirus in recent days, but still hasn’t decided on how long it would extend the stay-at-home order, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said Saturday afternoon.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Cuomo did not extend New York’s stay-at-home restrictions to June 7 — despite a claim by a spokesman that he did, according to a top aide to the governor.
Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, released a prepared statement Saturday evening saying the May 15 expiration date for the restrictions still stands “until further notice.”
Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi had said earlier in the day that Cuomo in an executive order extended the stay-at-home restrictions into early June, though regions of the state would be able to phase in reopenings sooner if they meet a series of benchmarks. He later said he misinterpreted the order, which extended the expiration date of other emergency actions.
Cuomo plans to allow regions to gradually begin restarting economic activity after May 15 if they demonstrate progress in taming and tracking the outbreak. DeRosa said new guidance will be issued for regions of the state at that time based on those metrics.
Some upstate areas hope to begin reopening later this month, though none of the state’s 10 regions had met all seven required benchmarks earlier this week.
Regions wishing to phase in economic activity must show that COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations are trending down and that there are enough hospital beds to meet a surge. Counties will have to increase testing and tracing and businesses will need to adapt to protect workers.
Businesses will reopen in four phases, starting with construction, manufacturing and retail with curb-side pickup.