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With Western New York and the Capital Region on track to join the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Central New York, Mohawk Valley, and North Country in Phase 3 this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that gatherings of up to 25 people will be permitted, up from 10.
Western New York will now officially move to Phase 3 on Tuesday, June 16 and the Capital Region on Wednesday, June 17.
The Hudson Valley is scheduled to reach Phase 3 on Tuesday, June 23 and Long Island on Wednesday, June 24.
The Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Central New York, Mohawk Valley and the North Country are now all in Phase 3. New York City is in Phase 1.
“The rules and regulations are very clear,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his daily COVID-19 briefing on Monday, June 15 at the Westchester landing for the newly unveiled shared bike-pedestrian path at the new Tappan Zee Bridge in Tarrytown. “It’s just about following the guidelines … it’s been working. We have months of data that say the guidelines make sense, so we should keep following them because they’re working.”
In Phase 3, indoor dining is permitted, as well as personal care services such as nail salons and tattoo parlors, though all businesses will be under strict restrictions.
Cuomo said that it is up to local governments to “do their job” and enforce the rules and guidelines set forth by the state as it methodically reopens following the COVID-19 crisis.
“Local governments are supposed to be enforcing compliance. Compliance is hard … people have been cooped up for a long time, but people want to do what people want to do, and I get that,” Cuomo said. “We have to stay smart and if local governments don’t enforce compliance, you’re not doing anyone a favor.
“People are concerned, and people are scared, so when they see a business doing the wrong thing, they’ve been snapping a picture and I’ve been seeing those,” the governor continued.
“The people of this state know what they did and the sacrifice they made to get this virus down and they don’t want anyone else’s irresponsibility to get in the way with that.”
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