May 4 (UPI) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday there will be a checklist of several criteria cities in the state must meet to reopen their economies, now that the worst of the coronavirus crisis has passed.
The governor said all key figures are still on the decline in New York — new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
At his daily briefing in Rochester, Cuomo reported the fewest new deaths since late March and said they’re down 70 percent from the peak in early April.
When his shutdown order expires May 15, he said reopenings will happen at different times in various regions but they all must meet a list of several requirements.
The criteria is they must have a 14 day decline in both hospitalizations and deaths, a low rate of new admissions, a 30 percent vacancy rate in hospitals, at least 30 percent of ICU beds must be available and each region must have at least 30 contract tracers per 100,000 residents.
“Regions can start to reopen and do their own analysis, but these are the facts that they have to have in place to do it,” Cuomo said.
Earlier, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city had “an excellent day” regarding the key daily statistics. Fewer than 100 patients were admitted Sunday and there were also steady declines in the number of ICU patients and the percentage of positive tests.
“This is the kind of day we have been waiting for,” he said, urging New Yorkers to resist the temptation to drop their guard amid warming weather.
The mayor said New York City has started the week with an adequate supply of protective gear for for the first time since March and announced 5 million non-medical masks and 2.5 million cloth face coverings will be handed out citywide.
Nationally, there have been 1.16 cases and 67,800 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 180,000 recoveries.
In New Jersey, which has had 127,000 cases, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday schools will stay closed for the rest of the 2019-20 academic year.
Murphy said the move was made to “protect the health of our children, our educators, and their families.
“Guided by safety and science, this is the best course of action.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced some businesses including clothing stores, florists, bookstores and sporting goods stores will be able to reopen with curbside pick-up beginning Friday.
“We are entering into the next phase this week … with modifications, we will allow retail to start operating across the spectrum,” he said during a press briefing. “This is a very positive sign and it has happened only for one reason: The data says it can happen.”
Newsom clarified that the shift to the second phase of the state’s reopening plan would not include business offices, seated dining at restaurants and shopping malls.
“We will allow additional movement through phase two and that includes the prospect of restaurants with modifications opening, hospitality more broadly opening again, with modification,” he said.
In Florida, officials said a third crew member from the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship died from the virus. Carlo Baluran of the Philippines died in a Broward County hospital.
Nine crew members were evacuated to South Florida hospitals in late March after testing positive. Two, from the Philippines and Indonesia, had died earlier.
Florida businesses and parks were allowed to reopen Monday under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ multistage plan, except for those located within the Miami metropolitan area, where most of the state’s cases have been reported.
Miami Beach has closed the popular South Pointe Park until further notice due what officials said has been non-compliance with social distancing rules. Park rangers issued more than 7,000 verbal warnings over the weekend, mostly for lack of face coverings.
In Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan touted progress in overcoming the crisis.
“Our COVID-19 deaths are dropping faster than almost any [other] city in the country,” he said Monday. “We still have a ways to go, but these numbers are a promising indication that testing and social distancing works.”
Duggan said less than 200 died in the city last week, a significant decline from the preceding two weeks.
