The city of New York It will fully reopen activities closed by the pandemic on July 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday, while Governor Andrew Cuomo said it could even be earlier, if the situation continues to improve.
“It is time to set a goal for the total reopening of the city of New York. And that goal is July 1, “the mayor said at a press conference.
The measure, according to the mayor’s explanations and posters published by his team, involves returning to a 100% capacity in restaurants and bars, theaters and concert halls, museums, stadiums, gyms, small shops, hairdressers and offices.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel (…) This will be the summer of the city of New York. We are all going to enjoy the city again and people from all over the country will return here in droves to be a part of this incredible moment in New York, “said the Mayor.
But “we have to keep getting vaccinated,” he said.
The mayor did not explain how he will achieve the total reopening of the activities nor did he say if other restrictions will remain in place. In reality, the lifting of most of the restrictions corresponds to the state government.
Governor Cuomo, an archrival of De Blasio despite the fact that both are Democrats, warned that the pandemic is not over and that it is “irresponsible” to set a reopening date. But he also said that if the situation continues to improve, he expects that to happen even before July 1.
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“No one would open the city faster than me, but I can’t predict the future … I hope to get there before July 1,” he said.
“We are making great progress but people are dying every day from covid. You have to weigh the two facts,” he said.
Cuomo recently increased the maximum capacity allowed in restaurants, cinemas or stadiums to a third, but the reopening of Broadway theaters is only scheduled for September.
The coronavirus has left a balance of more than 32 thousand deaths in New York since March 2020.
But the rate of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths has improved considerably in recent weeks, while vaccination of the population over 16 years of age has progressed. In the last month, the weekly average of the three indicators fell by more than a third.
Almost 30% of the population of the city of New York -2.5 million people- are fully vaccinated against the virus. De Blasio aims for five million inhabitants to be fully vaccinated by the end of June.
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