NY is on Pause!

Governor Cuomo will sign an Executive Order mandating that 100% of the workforce must stay home, excluding essential services. Exemptions from the order will include shipping, media, warehousing, grocery and food production, pharmacies, healthcare providers, utilities, banks and related financial institutions.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday ordered nonessential businesses to keep 100% of their workforce at home, and he put in place stringent new restrictions on New Yorkers starting Sunday as the state grapples with the worst coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.

“When I talk about the most drastic action we can take, this is the most drastic action we can take,” Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany. Cases across the state surged by 2,950 overnight to 7,102, he said. “This is not life as usual. Accept it. Realize it and deal with it.”

Cuomo acknowledged that the restrictions will force businesses to close and people to lose their jobs, adding that he’s suspending evictions across the state for 90 days.

“We’re all in quarantine now. We’re all in various levels of quarantine and it’s hard,” he said.

Food delivery qualifies as an essential service, he said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has been pushing Cuomo to issue a shelter-in-place order for New York City, where cases skyrocketed by more than 1,000 in a matter of hours on Thursday. More than half of the state’s cases are concentrated within the five boroughs.

Cuomo didn’t call the new restrictions a “shelter-in-place” order, although many of them mirror what’s in place elsewhere in the country where officials have put such an order in place.

“It is not a shelter-in-place order,” Cuomo said, adding that he doesn’t want to scare residents. “Shelter in place is used currently for an active shooter or a school shooter.”

Governor Cuomo has directed all non-essential workers to work from home, & everyone is required to maintain a 6-foot distance.

• Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered nonessential businesses to keep 100% of their workforce at home.
• He also put in place stringent new restrictions on New Yorkers starting Sunday as the state grapples with the worst coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.
• Cuomo said food delivery qualifies as an essential service.

When in public, individuals must practice social distancing of at least 6 feet.

Businesses that provide essential services, like grocery stores, pharmacies and banks, must implement rules that ensure employees and customers maintain at least 6 feet of space between each other, according to a slide presented at the press conference. 

Individuals should also limit use of public transit only if it’s absolutely necessary. Individuals will also need to limit outdoor activities, avoiding ones where they come into close contact with other people.

“Outdoor recreation is a solitary recreational exercise. It’s running. It’s hiking,” Cuomo said. “It’s not playing basketball with five other people.”

Sick people shouldn’t leave their home unless they need to go to the doctor or hospital, he said. Young people should also practice social distancing and avoid contact with vulnerable populations, he said.

“These provisions will be enforced. These are not helpful hints. This is not if you really want to be a great citizen. These are legal provisions,” Cuomo said, adding that businesses will be fined for noncompliance but individuals won’t be sanctioned.

Cuomo put out a call to businesses to start making masks, gloves and other medical gear. The state is scrambling to increase its hospital capacity to meet an onslaught of COVID-19 cases expected over the next 45 days, he said.

The order follows days of dispute between the governor and Mayor Bill de Blasio over how exactly to word their next guidance to the public about containing the spread of the virus.

Mayor Bill De Blasio said Thursday there’s been “an explosion of cases here in New York City,” including an inmate at Rikers Island. Cases in the city jumped by 1,939 overnight to 4,408, Cuomo said Friday. The number of cases is surging as the state ramps up its testing capability and detects previously unknown infections. “This number is, nonetheless, very, very painful,” de Blasio said Thursday when the case count was significantly lower.

What You Need to Know

• New York State on PAUSE: In New York we know that Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone
• Governor Cuomo will sign an Executive Order mandating that 100% of the workforce must stay home, excluding essential services. Exemptions from the order will include shipping, media, warehousing, grocery and food production, pharmacies, healthcare providers, utilities, banks and related financial institutions.
• Enacting Matilda’s Law to protect New Yorkers age 70+ and those with compromised immune systems 
  • Remain indoors
  • Can go outside for solitary exercise
  • Pre-screen all visitors by taking their temperature
  • Wear a mask in the company of others
  • Stay at least 6 feet from others
  • Do not take public transportation unless urgent and absolutely necessary
• All barbershops, hair salons, tattoo or piercing salons, nail salons, hair removal services and related personal care services will be closed to the public effective Saturday, March 21 at 8:00PM.
• New York will implement a 90-day moratorium on evictions for residential and commercial tenants.
• Casinos, gyms, theaters, retail shopping malls, amusement parks and bowling alleys are closed until further notice. Bars and restaurants are closed, but takeout can be ordered during the period of closure.
• Testing is free for all eligible New Yorkers as ordered by a health care provider.
• Your local health department is your community contact for COVID-19 concerns.