Mohawk Valley one of three regions to begin phase one COVID reopening By Luke Perry
The Mohawk Valley is one of three New York regions that met all seven metrics and will begin phase one reopening on Friday. The Southern Tier and Finger Lakers are the other two.
Central New York and the North County have met 6 out of 7 criteria. COVID testing capacity remains the sticking point. Central New York needs a testing capacity of 775 people, and as of today, was at 647. The North Country has a capacity of 400 and needs 419. These thresholds could be met by the end of the week.
Four other regions have met 5 out of 7 metrics: Capital Region, Mid-Hudson, Western New York and Long Island. These four were the only regions to fall short of the 14-day decline in hospital deaths or fewer than 5 deaths (3 day average).
Hospitalization rates are also a challenge. The Capital Region and Western New York lack the needed decline in hospitalization, while Mid-Hudson and Long Island have experienced unacceptable hospitalization increases.
Phase one of the New York Forward Reopening Plan involves reopening of construction and manufacturing businesses, retail stores for curbside pickup, as well as agriculture, forestry and fishing.
Select “low-risk business and recreational activities” will resume statewide on May 15th. These include landscaping, gardening, tennis, and drive-in movie theaters.
Photo from Executive Picente’s Office
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente expressed optimism about the sitaution. “This is the best news that I’ve been able to report in a long, long time,” Picente said on Monday. Picente thanked Mohawk Valley Residents “for all they have done over this time” and “adhering to the restrictions.”
Picente made clear this “doesn’t mean that Friday the 15th we can open shop.” Additional questions will also need to be addressed by the Governor, including when employees at phase-one companies should return to work, Friday or Monday.
As phase one begins, Picente emphasized the continued importance of social distancing, mask wearing, and hygiene. If the region begins to lag in any metric, phase one reopening will be paused.
Photo from New York State
"We are starting a new chapter in the fight against this virus,” Governor Cuomo said. “We've worked together as a state to flatten the curve and the decline has finally reached a point where it is just about where we started this journey, so now we can turn to reopening,"
Regional control rooms, consisting of government officials, healthcare professionals, and academics, will “watch the situation in each region,” and “increase or decrease the activity and speed of reopening based on the metrics and guidelines.”
Luke Perry (@PolSciLukePerry) is Professor of Government at Utica College
