Cuomo: More of Hudson Valley on Track to Face COVID Restrictions
A number of businesses in the Hudson Valley are on the verge of being shut down. Again.
Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo placed Newburgh, New Windsor, Middletown and Highland Falls in a Yellow Zone. Cuomo calls a Yellow Zone a "wake up call," to areas of the state with rising COVID numbers. Cuomo also added restrictions for parts of Rockland and Westchester counties.
On Sunday, Cuomo said "several communities" across New York are tracking to enter a micro-cluster zone this week or expand on an area's existing zone. On Monday, he announced what parts of New York State he was talking about, and many are in the Mid-Hudson Region.
In Orange County, Newburgh and New Windsor, which is currently in a Yellow Zone, is on track to move to an Orange Zone, according to Cuomo. In Putnam County, Brewster is on the verge of becoming a Yellow Zone; while in Westchester County Yonkers, Port Chester, Ossining, New Rochelle, Tarrytown, and Peekskill are nearing an Orange or Red Zone, Cuomo warned.
"We need a reality check because these are dangerous times that we're in. We are in a place now where there is a bad synergy -- a sense of COVID fatigue," Cuomo said. "It's the infection rate in your community that matters, and that's why we talk about micro-clusters. Influence your family's behavior and your community's behavior and be a COVID change agent in your community. We're social beings and it's also the high season of social activity. That is a bad combination, and it is always the combination of events that creates the major issues. This year, let's think of Thanksgiving as a time to yes, really give thanks to the people who really did phenomenal things this year, and continue to thank them by doing our part and wearing masks, staying socially distant, and practicing safe behaviors."
A Yellow Zone is considered a precautionary zone under Cuomo's cluster action initiative. The following restrictions are put in place in a Yellow Zone:
- Houses of Worship: 50 percent capacity
- Mass Gatherings: 25 people maximum, indoor and outdoor
- Residental Gatherings: 10 people maximum, indoor and outdoor
- Businesses: Open
- Dining: Indoor and outdoor dining, 4 person maximum per table
- Schools: Open: Surveillance testing required
After a Yellow Zone, there are Orange and Red zones, which come with more restrictions.
Orange Zone — Warning Zone
- Houses of Worship: 33 percent capacity, 25 people maximum
- Mass Gatherings: 10 people maximum, indoor and outdoor
- Residental Gatherings: 10 people maximum, indoor and outdoor
- Businesses: Closing high-risk non-essential businesses, such as gyms and personal care
- Dining: Outdoor dining only, 4 person maximum per table. Takeout or delivery is allowed
- Schools: Closed, remote only
Red Zone
- Houses of Worship: 25 percent capacity, 10 people maximum
- Mass Gatherings: Prohibited
- Residental Gatherings: Prohibited
- Businesses: Only essential businesses open
- Dining: Takeout or delivery only
- Schools: Closed, remote only