New York | Relaxed restrictions and reopening of the metro 24 hours a day from mid-May

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France Media Agency

“From May 19, most capacity restrictions will end”, especially in “shops, cinemas, restaurants, museums”, which today oscillate between 33% and 75%, announced Monday the governor of the State during a press briefing.

Their reception capacity will however remain limited by the available space, since the federal social distancing directive of six feet (approximately 2 meters) will continue to apply. He did not say how the state would check if it was being followed.

“All arrows point in the right direction,” said the governor, pointing to the progress of vaccination, and the decline in COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations in the state, to the lowest since last November.

Outdoor gatherings will now be able to reach 500 people, against 200 previously, and 250 people indoors against 100 previously, according to a press release.

The stadiums will still have a capacity limited to 33%, except for spectators who can provide proof of vaccination or recent negative PCR test, said the governor.

As for the metro, the trains will start running 24 hours a day from the metro on May 17.

In early May 2020, when New York City was at the epicenter of the pandemic, it was forced, for the first time since 1904, to institute an overnight break – first from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., then reduced. from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. – to allow the oars to be disinfected.

“The economic revitalization of the city depends on strong public transport – and its 24-hour operation is an essential part of it,” said Patrick Foye, president of the New York transport authority MTA, noting that wearing the mask and rigorous disinfection would remain in effect.

The announcement of these measures, in coordination with the neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut, comes as some 80,000 municipal employees in the American metropolis were to resume face-to-face work on Monday, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

If New York now seems to be on track to fully reopen by the 1^is July – target set by the mayor – the main uncertainty concerns the return of “white collar workers” to the business districts of Midtown and Wall Street.

Most continue to work primarily from home, and many employers have not set a mandatory return date.

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