People practice social distancing in white circles at Domino Park in Williamsburg during the coronavirus pandemic on May 17, 2020 in New York City.
Noam Galai | fake pictures
New York City is slated to begin its phase three reopening beginning July 6, which would reopen restaurants for indoor service and additional reduced-capacity personal care businesses, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. .
The reopening of phase three would allow various recreational areas to operate across the city, including basketball, tennis and volleyball courts, De Blasio said at his daily press conference.
In accordance with New York State reopening guidelines, additional personal care businesses such as nail salons, spas, massage parlors, and tattoo and piercing facilities would be allowed to return.
New York City began its phase two reopening on Monday, allowing shopping at retail stores, visits to beauty salons and hair salons, and outdoor restaurants with reduced health and capacity modifications. On Tuesday, de Blasio announced on Twitter that the city’s beaches could return on July 1.
The city and state have reported a steady decline in hospitalizations and Covid-19 positive cases for weeks. On Tuesday, about 2% of tests conducted across the city tested positive, De Blasio said. On Thursday, de Blasio announced that the city would begin offering free antibody tests to residents of 11 health centers and hospitals throughout the area.
“Now we have work to do to get there. Let’s move on,” he said.
New York state reported fewer than 1,000 hospitalizations Thursday, the first time since the outbreak began, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office. There were 996 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in the state as of Wednesday, below a peak of approximately 18,825 hospitalizations on April 12, according to Cuomo’s office.
As New York City slowly begins to reopen businesses after months of closing orders that have closed, visitors to some states with increasing cases have been ordered to quarantine upon arrival.
On Wednesday, Cuomo, along with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, ordered travelers from eight states with Covid-19 infection rates to shoot up to a 14-day quarantine at his arrival. He said the fines for violating the order will be $ 2,000 for the first violation, $ 5,000 for the second, and up to $ 10,000 if they cause harm.
“We work very hard to reduce the rate of viral transmission. We don’t want to see it increase because a lot of people come to this region and they can literally bring the infection with them,” Cuomo said at a press conference.
The economic cost of the Covid-19 outbreak has been evident in New York City, once considered the epicenter of the nation. On Wednesday, de Blasio said the city may have to fire or suspend 22,000 municipal employees this fall to plug holes in the city’s budget.
“We are going to have to do these layoffs,” de Blasio said. “It is a last resort.”
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