NY Governor Cuomo extended his “PAUSE” order through May 28 for New York City and Long Island, which have met just four of the metrics required to start reopening. The extension applies to the three other regions — Capital, Mid-Hudson and Western New York — that have yet to check all seven boxes as well. Cuomo says they can be “UN-PAUSED” the moment they do.

All enforcement mechanisms “shall continue to be in full force” until June 13 unless extended or amended by a future executive order.

The governor says five regions – Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley – can begin Phase One of reopening Friday.

Cuomo says they’ve met the seven metrics required to start reopening, meaning construction work can resume and retailers can reopen with curbside or in-store pick-up only.

The rest of the state can only begin to reopen after hitting a series of benchmarks.

Earlier this week, the governor said New York City still needs to meet three more. Long Island and the Mid Hudson Valley are missing two.

Those benchmarks include a decline in the number of new hospitalizations and an increase in the total available hospital and ICU beds.

For a region to reopen, it must:

• According to CDC guidelines, a region has to have at least 14 days of decline in total hospitalizations and deaths on a three day rolling average
• Regions with few COVID-19 cases can not have 15 new cases or five deaths on a three day rolling average
• A region must have fewer than two new COVID-19 patients per 100,000 residents per day
• Hospitals can’t be filled to more than 70% capacity – including ICU beds – leaving 30% available in the event of a surge
• All hospitals must have a 90 day stockpile of PPE
• There must be 30 tests per 1,000 residents ready to go
• Regions must have 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents, with additional tracers available based on the projected number of cases in the region
• A risk/reward analysis of which businesses can reopen, with most essential businesses with lowest risk being prioritized
  • Phase 1: Construction, manufacturing and wholesale supply chain, select retail with curbside pickup
  • Phase 2: Professional services, finance and insurance, retail administrative support, real estate/rental leasing
  • Phase 3: Restaurants/food services, hotels/accommodations
  • Phase 4: Arts/entertainment/recreation/education
• Businesses must adjust their practices to ensure a safe work environment and track cases
• There will be a regional “control room” to monitor progress

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)