The state of New York lift most of the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus as 70 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, authorities reported Tuesday.
“What does it mean that 70 percent of the population is vaccinated? It means that we can return to the life we knew”Announced Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Speaking with a few guests at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the governor added that the state will celebrate with a fireworks display.
The rules on limits to the number of people in a single place, and those that required businesses to perform deep cleanings or take the temperature of their customers, are immediately lifted, he added.
Rules on physical distancing, or those that required businesses to limit their clientele and keep people at least six feet apart, are also suspended.
Some regulations are still in force, for example that of putting the face mask in schools, subways, large theaters, homeless shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons.
It was unclear whether the state has achieved a herd immunity, that is, an immunity so generalized that it is difficult for the virus to spread.
Some experts believe that in the case of the coronavirus, that figure must be at least 70 percent of the population. Just over half of New York State’s 20 million residents are fully vaccinated, according to federal data as of Monday.
In the past seven days in New York state, the number of new coronavirus cases averaged 450 per day, the lowest level since the start of the pandemic.
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