Mid Hudson to Reopen on Tuesday!

Mid Hudson to Reopen on Tuesday! Well, Gorge Latimer, who said that Westchester County could reopen by Memorial Day, missed it by a day. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this morning that the Mid Hudson region, which includes Westchester County will begin Phase 1 reopening on Tuesday. The region met its final of seven health metrics today when its three-day moving average of COVID deaths dropped to 5. It’s been a week-long march down from 10 reported on Monday of this week – after a precipitous drop from 69 on May 14.

The New York State Regional Monitoring Dashboard (shown here) shows that the region has still not met the benchmark for Contact Tracers which requires each county to hire 30 contact tracers per 100K population. However, it is expected that all seven Mid Hudson counties, which include Rockland, Putnam, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Westchester, will reach this metric by Tuesday. Note, that this final of the seven metrics is not a “epidemiological” benchmark. Meeting it is merely a function of the county bureaucracy, or rather its outsourced recruiting agency, to finish the task they have been working on for several weeks.

The seven health metrics include, declines in Total Hospitalizations, Deaths, and New Hospitalizations. And exceeding minimum benchmarks for Hospital Bed Capacity, ICU Capacity, Diagnostic Capacity (testing), and Contact Tracing Capacity. Regions must continue to meet all seven metrics or they would lose their reopening status and return to being subject to the guidelines outlined in NY Pause. The metrics are based on guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Department of State.

Beaches, Tennis and libraries

State and County beaches opened yesterday, including at Rye Playland and Croton Point Park, Jones Beach, Robert Moses, Sunken Meadow and Hither Hills. All beaches will open at 50% capacity with the following physical distancing requirements. Beachgoers should visit only with members of their immediate household and:

• Maintain 6 feet of distance of others while swimming and on beaches and boardwalks.
• Keep beach blankets and chairs at least 10 feet apart from others;
• Wear a mask when unable to maintain social distance;
• Refrain from group activities.

Tennis courts also opened on Friday including for doubles play. The Chappaqua Library announced this morning that they will reopen on Tuesday for curbside pickup.

Latimer’s Timeline for Phase 2 and 3

Phase 1

The first phase of the NY Forward plan  includes reopening construction, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, wholesale trade and retail businesses. In this phase retail openings would be limited to curbside or in-store pick-up and drop off. The State has released mandatory guidelines for all Phase 1 businesses regarding physical distancing, protective equipment, hygiene and cleaning, communication, and screening. You can read them here. Phase 1 Retail includes:

• Clothing Stores
• Direct Selling Establishments
• Electronics and Appliance Stores
• Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
• Furniture and Home Furnishing Stores
• Florists
• General Merchandise Stores
• Health and Personal Care Stores
• Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores
• Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores
• Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores
• Used Merchandise Stores
• Shoe Stores
• Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument and Book Stores
• Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers

Phase 2

The second phase of the New York State plan would open up full economic activity for retail, professional services, administrative support, real estate and rental & leasing. Again, this could happen, according to Latimer by June 1.

Phase 3

Phase 3 is the opening of restaurants and food services – currently forecast for June 15.

Phase 4

The final phase of New York’s reopening plan would bring all arts, entertainment, recreation and education online. Latimer offered no guidance on when Phase 4 of New York’s re-opening plan would occur. (That means schools, theatre and summer camps. UGH!)

Have a great Memorial Day weekend.