New York Governor Andrew Cuomo corked on the reopening of the state coronavirus on Thursday, announcing new restrictions targeting bars and restaurants.
“We need to remember that our success in fighting this virus is a function of our own actions,” he said. “The use of masks, social distancing and handwashing, as basic as they may seem, are critical to controlling the spread of this virus.”
In New York City, a new “three strikes and you’re closed” policy will shut down companies that have repeatedly violated state guidelines on masks and social alienation, Cuomo said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo briefs the media during a coronavirus press conference at his New York office in May. (AP / New York Post).
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“Any establishment that receives three violations will be closed for business,” Cuomo said. “Atrocious violations can still result in an immediate loss of a liquor license, but three violations and you’re closed.”
Republican State Representative Will Barclay, the minority leader of the New York State Assembly, opposed the three-strike rule.
“We need to ensure that public health is protected, but threatening closings are not helpful,” he told Fox News. “This is the time to work with companies, not against them.”
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Cuomo also announced that throughout the rest of the state, reopened restaurants and bars can now only serve alcohol to customers who are ordering and eating food.
He said groups that go to a restaurant and sit together are limiting their exposure only within their group.
“That is if you are eating, if you are not eating, and you are just drinking, then it is just an open-air bar and people mix and are not isolated,” he said. “And that is what we are seeing”
Additionally, the top bar space can now be used only for seated customers, who must be six feet apart socially or separated by physical dividers.
Barclay also removed alcohol restrictions, noting that “thousands of workers have lost their jobs” in the industry amid coronavirus closings.
“COVID and the economic shutdown have pushed restaurants and bars to the brink of collapse,” he said. “The governor’s latest universal order will harm and disrupt companies that are still struggling for survival, many of which have had no problems or violations of any kind.”
Cuomo also said he would make a decision on whether New York City can move to phase 4 of its reopening before 4 p.m. Friday. If you authorize the move, you said there would still be new additional restrictions imposed on certain interior spaces.
State authorities had attributed more than 25,000 deaths to the coronavirus as of Thursday from more than 400,000 confirmed cases.
On Twitter, the governor shared a chart showing a long decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations in recent months, to just 813 currently from a height of nearly 20,000.
As the state recovers, Cuomo has been promoting shipments of supplies to other parts of the country that are still facing outbreaks of their own.
This week, it announced shipments of tests, personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer to Atlanta and Houston, and a supply of emergency medications to Florida.
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“We are grateful for what the people of the United States did for New York,” he tweeted. “We will never forget it and we will pay for it in advance.”
