NYC Clears Final Hurdle to Enter Phase 3 on Monday, Indoor Dining Postponed

New York - New York City was cleared to enter Phase 3 of reopening on Monday, though the allowance of indoor dining will be postponed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo cited the fact that the city is a “crowded, dense urban area” that until recently was the global epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis.

“Out of an abundance of caution and after seeing other states' experiences with indoor dining,” he said, “we will wait to reopen it as the city moves to Phase 3 tomorrow.”

New York City saw 239 new cases in the past 24 hours, and a Covid positive rate of less than 1 percent. The entire state had eight deaths, a far cry from the nearly 1,000 three months ago.

States that are in the process of reopening have been taking extra precautions recently because of the skyrocketing illnesses in other states.

Photo by: Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)