Earlier in the week, we talked about the plans for reopening New York City by the start of July. In that article, we briefly touched on the fact that there were going to be plans to reopen the entire state of New York. Well that is what we have for you today.
While the guidelines for New York City were focused on July 1, the state is going to be taking steps much earlier on. First off, the limit for outdoor gatherings in the state of New York will be increasing to 500 people on My 10. Along with that, the limit for indoor social gatherings will increase to 250 people on the 19th of this month.
In the case of residential gatherings, there will be a change for those limitations as well. Firstly, the limit for indoor gatherings will increase to 50 people. On the other hand, the limitation for people at outdoor residential gatherings will be removed entirely, and it will instead follow the same limit as the outdoor social gatherings. This means that the limit for outdoor residential gatherings will be 500 people. Both of these changes will happen on the 19th of this month.
There is one more level to these limitations, and that comes in the form of the large-scale venue capacities. On May 19, large-scale indoor venues will be allowed to increase their capacity to 30%. On that same day, large-scale outdoor venues will be able to increase their capacity to 33%. For these types of venues, you will still be required to show that you have been vaccinated, or show proof of a recent negative Covid-19 test.
On a similar note, most of the businesses that have been limited by capacity percentages will have that restriction lifted on May 19. This means that the only thing that will limit the number of patrons in their buildings will be spacing which allows for proper social distancing of 6 feet. This applies to places like retail businesses, gyms, food services, barber shops, and many others.
Beyond these steps to reopen the state, there will also be some changes to the restrictions that have been placed specifically on New York City businesses and venues. Beginning on May 7, indoor dining will expand to 75% capacity. Hair salons and other personal care services will also expand to 75% capacity on May 7. On May 15, gyms and fitness centers located in the city will be allowed to expand to 50% capacity. We can also expect to see an end to the curfew for food and beverage services and catered events sometime this month.
When talking about these upcoming changes, governor of New York Andrew Cuomo said, “The tide is turning against COVID-19 in New York, and thanks to our increasing vaccination rates, as well as our successful, data-based regional approach, we’re able to take more steps to reopen our economy, help businesses and workers, and keep moving towards returning to normal.”
The states of New Jersey and Connecticut are taking similar steps. These three states have worked very closely with one another since the start of the pandemic to try and keep things as under control as possible.
This situation is one that is ever-changing, and you can certainly expect to see updates from us when more information does come out.
