Governor Andrew Cuomo announced New York state-mandated COVID restrictions on commercial and social settings will be lifted effective immediately — and to celebrate, there were fireworks across the state Tuesday night.
“We have hit 70% vaccination,” a triumphant Cuomo said Tuesday, meaning the state can “now return to life as we know it.”
Any federal guidelines involving schools, health care and mass transit remain.
Cuomo said social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, social distancing, health screening, cleaning and disinfection protocols contact information for tracking have been eliminated.
Those considered commercial and social settings include the following:
– sports and recreation
– construction
– manufacturing
– trade
– child care
– camps
– food services
– offices
– real estate
– buildings
– agriculture
– fishing
– forestry
– amusement and family entertainment
– personal care services
– gyms
– retail
– malls movie theaters
During remarks at One World Trade Center, in front of an obliging audience, Cuomo recalled darker days of frequent death and overwhelming caseload.
“What New York has done is extraordinary,” the governor said.
He noted nurse Sandra Lindsey at Northwell Health on Long Island was the first American to get a shot of authorized COVID-19 vaccine six months ago.
“Congratulations to New Yorkers because they’re the ones who did it,” Cuomo said. “We’re no longer in our homes disinfecting everything we can see.”
New York state has crossed the 70% threshold for at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccinations.
