A fitness instructor teaches a fitness class through Zoom, Saturday, April 25, 2020, in New York. | Frank Franklin II / AP Photo
Museums, bowling alleys and fitness centers in New York that have been closed for months will soon be reopened, said Good Andrew Cuomo Friday, marking a significant turning point for a state that was at the center of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to allow the return of cultural institutions and other activities within will come with severe restrictions, including sharp restrictions on capacity. But Cuomo said the state’s continued ability to keep new Covid-19 cases under control made it possible to enter a new phase nearly five months after he put the state on lockdown.
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“Given the results we have and the progress we have made, we will make some changes and adjustments,” Cuomo said at a news conference Friday.
The state of New York has recorded more than 25,000 deaths from Covid-19 and more than 423,000 positive test results for the virus. The state and city of New York have kept the distribution level low, even though some companies were allowed to resume limited operations. Less than 1 percent of all tests conducted in the past week came back positive, Cuomo said, even if the state completed an “enormous” number of tests.
Cuomo said the statistics make it safe for bowling alleys to reopen with 50 percent of their normal capacity and at least one empty lane between groups, among other restrictions. Guidance for gyms and fitness centers will be released Monday and comes after 1,500 gym owners filed a lawsuit against the state challenging their ongoing shutdown.
Museums, aquariums and other indoor cultural centers in New York City, overhauled when the state enters the fourth phase of its reopening plans in July, will allow Aug. 24 to reopen – participating in upstate institutions that have been operating for weeks. Capacity on these facilities will be limited to 25 percent and timed ticketing will be required, with pre-set, staggered entry and face coverage maintained.
The institutions were even held when each part of the state entered the least restrictive phase of New York’s reopening plan, prompting shouts from business owners and patrons that they were being unfairly denounced and threatening their existence.
New York City is still banned from dining indoors, the only part of the state under such restrictions. Restaurants elsewhere are allowed cartridges to sit inside in a reduced capacity.
