In yesterday’s press briefing, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo mapped out, via a detailed graphic, the three regions in New York State that would be ready for their phased reopening to begin, following the expiration of the mandatory lockdown order this Friday, May 15. Those regions include the Finger Lakes, which consists of cities such as Ithaca, Canandaigua and Watkins Glen; the Southern Tier, which includes Binghamton, Corning and Elmira; and the Mohawk Valley, which includes Cooperstown, Gloversville and Amsterdam.
The next two regions in line for reopening appear to be Central New York (Syracuse, Little Falls) and the North Country (Plattsburgh, Watertown), which have met six out of the seven criteria. As a refresher, those seven criteria are: a 14-day decline in hospitalizations (or a three-day average of less than 15 new hospitalizations); a 14-day decline in hospitalized deaths (or a three-day average of under five new ones); a three-day rolling average of under two new hospitalizations for every 100,000 residents; the share of total hospital beds available is under the 30 percent threshold; the share of total ICU beds available is under the 30 percent threshold; 30 residents per 1,000 that are being tested monthly (seven-day average of new tests per day); and 30 contact tracers per 100,000 resident (or to meet the current infection rate).
The Capital Region didn’t get the go-ahead, but isn’t that far off either, having completed five of the necessary seven criteria each region in New York State needs to begin the reopening process.
The state has since launched the interactive map of regions, which it will update every 24 hours with new data. To take a look at the map and review the criteria for reopening, click here.