Governor Cuomo Announces Three Regions of New York State Ready to Begin Reopening May 15th

Finger Lakes, Southern Tier & Mohawk Valley Regions Have Met the 7 Metrics Required to Begin Phase 1 of Reopening Plan, Which Includes Construction, Manufacturing, Retail for Curbside Pickup, & Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

The North Country and Central NY Close to Meeting All Metrics

Governor Cuomo Releases the "NY Forward Reopening" Plan, Available Here

Certain Low-Risk Business and Recreational Activities --including Landscaping, Gardening, Tennis & Drive-In-Movie Theaters -- Will Reopen Statewide on May 15th

Launches Regional Monitoring Dashboard -- Available Here

Announces Members of Regional Control Rooms to Monitor Regional Metrics During Reopening Process

Governor Cuomo: "This is the next big step in this historic journey. First phase was to figure out what we were dealing with because we had no idea. Scramble, frankly, to deal with the situation that dropped from another planet. Stabilize, ramp up the healthcare system, inform people, get people to understand what we were dealing with and control the damage. That's the mountain to me. We're now on the other side of the mountain. Next step, how do we reopen, how do we reopen intelligently and how do we reopen without taking a step back? What we have done thus far is really amazing. And it was because we were smart and because we were unified, and because we did that, we averted tragedy."

Cuomo: "We start with businesses that are more essential and pose a lower risk because once you say we're going to reopen they say, well what first? Well really everybody says, me first. After me first what businesses first? Those that are most essential and those that pose a lower risk because you can socially distance, et cetera. That's the matrix to make the decision and then businesses have to do their part also. It's not a one-sided affair."

  Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that as of today, the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions have met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan when NYS on PAUSE orders expire on May 15th. If the trend continues, starting on May 15th, these three regions can begin opening businesses for phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. The North Country and Central NY regions have met 6 of the 7 metrics and could be ready at the end of the week. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The Governor also launched the state's regional monitoring dashboard, which is available here.

The Governor also announced that certain low-risk business and recreational activities will be ready to reopen statewide on May 15th, including landscaping and gardening; outdoor, low-risk recreational activities such as tennis; and drive-in movie theaters.