Governor Andrew Cuomo says it’s up to the different regions of New York State when they should reopen for business after his shutdown order expires on May 15th. But he says they’d better use the time until then to determine if and when they can safely reopen according to CDC guidelines, and be ready to show him the proof.
Delivering his briefing in Rochester on Monday, the governor didn’t specify which parts of the state can reopen first. He said regional leaders must form what he calls a “Control Room” to monitor infection and hospitalization rates. He said each region before reopening must show 14 days of declining hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. There should be no more than two new infections per 100,000 residents. Officials should be able to administer antibody tests to 30 people per every 100,000 residents, and hospitals must be no more than 70 percent full. The governor says if they can demonstrate meeting those conditions and a few others, the region can reopen.
In Sunday’s briefing, the governor announced a directive for all the state’s hospitals to establish a 90 day supply of personal protective gear against future pandemics. He also announced New York will join a seven-state partnership to jointly negotiate for and purchase PPE and medical supplies like ventilators, using their joint market power to get stable sources of supply and pricing. The Northeastern states include New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and New Jersey.
Cuomo says the statewide hospitalization rate is still dropping. New cases are now below 700 per day after hovering above that level for days. Deaths over the past 24 hours are down to 226, which Cuomo says is still too high. But he says the shutdown prevented 100,000 people at least from being infected, many of whom would have died. He says the shutdown literally saved lives.