November 11, 2020
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Wednesday that there will be new restrictions as COVID-19 cases surge in the state, especially in the area around New York City, and across the nation as a whole.
Cuomo made the announcement in a Wednesday phone call with reporters. He also announced the news in a tweet. The state will limit the size of indoor gatherings in private residences to 10 people and will take effect on Friday at 10 p.m.
“New York follows the science,” he wrote in a tweet. “We know indoor gatherings and parties are a major source of COVID spread. To slow the spread, NYS will limit indoor gatherings at private residences to 10 people. This limit takes effect Friday at 10pm.”
On top of the 10 person limitation in homes, restaurants, bars, and gyms will have to close shop at 10 pm. One caveat, though, is that restaurants can still sell takeout food after 10 pm but not alcoholic beverages. This will also come into effect at the same time on Friday.
Cuomo also said on Wednesday that, if these measures aren’t enough, he might further tighten the restrictions.
“If these measures aren’t sufficient to reduce the spread — we’ll turn the value more and part of that would be reducing the number of people indoor dining,” he said.
He then added, “If that doesn’t work, if these numbers keep going crazy … you will go back to a closedown,” of gyms and indoor dining.
This all comes as Thanksgiving nears and worries rise that the family-centric holiday may cause the number of cases to continue spiraling upward. Cuomo, according to Anna Gronewald at Politico, justified the move because similar restrictions have already been implemented in neighboring states.
The United States this week just surpassed 10 million COVID-19 cases, which has caused some states to bring back certain restrictions in order to curb the spread. So far, the virus has taken the lives of 240,000 Americans and of over 1.2 million people around the globe, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
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