Cuomo: New York’s Reopening Can Be Stopped
Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed a region's reopening will be shut down if there's a spike in the virus that can't be managed.
It's been over 100 days since the first confirmed COVID-19 test in New York. When Cuomo shut down New York, it was mainly based on confirmed infections of COVID-19, as well as hospitalizations and deaths from the virus. Now, he says it's time to look at different data as the state continues to reopen.
“How many tests did we do yesterday in the region and what percent is positive of those tests? That’s the number to focus on," Cuomo said on Tuesday.
Live Updates: Coronavirus in the Hudson Valley
During his COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, Cuomo said the reopening process will be slowed or stopped in a region only if there is a spike in infections in a region that can't be managed by contract tracers.
“Can we trace them to one employer or one gathering?” Cuomo said. “If you cannot find a specific cause for that increase and you see it continuing over time, that would be a spike.”
Cuomo said even if there is an increase in positive cases, a region will continue the reopening process as long as the contact tracers can figure out how the person got infected and who they may have infected. According to the Cuomo, if a contract tracer can do that it will stop future "hot spots."
On Wednesday, New York officials released new COVID-19 dashboards they recommend checking daily to see how your region is doing in terms of speeding up or slowing down the reopening process.
The "Percentage Positive Results By Region Dashboard" shows test results from each region the day prior, the number of people who tested positive in that region and the percent positive, while the "Percentage Positive Results By County Dashboard" shows test results from each county from the day before, the number of people who tested positive in that region and the percent positive.