Cuomo says indoor dining is delayed in New York City and storm clouds are "on the horizon"
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that indoor dining won't be allowed to resume when New York City reaches Phase 3 of reopening next week. It will be delayed "until the facts change and it is prudent to open," he said.
"This is a New York City-only modification because frankly, it's a problem that is most pronounced in New York City," he said.
He said New York state is "doing great" in terms of coronavirus numbers. The number or COVID-19 hospitalizations has stayed below 900 for four consecutive days.
But Cuomo said he feels "there are storm clouds on the horizon."
New York City, once the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, has new problems, he said. Citizen compliance with measures to protect against COVID-19 – like wearing masks – are slipping. And local government is not enforcing compliance "to a sufficient basis," he said.
"If you have citizen compliance dropping and you don't have local governments enforcing, then you're going to see the virus go up. Period," he said.
Meanwhile, cases are rising in states across the country and travelers from those states could come to New York, leading to a local rise in cases. People traveling to New York from sixteen states are now "required" to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
Cuomo spoke after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced earlier Wednesday that indoor dining won't be allowed to resume next week.
"We particularly see problems revolving around people going back to bars and restaurants indoors. Indoors is the problem more and more. The science is showing it more and more," he said Wednesday, CBS New York reports. "So I want to make very clear: We cannot go ahead at this point in time with indoor dining in New York City."