Gov Andrew Cuomo warns New Yorkers not to flout social distancing as hundreds of revelers fill Manhattan sidewalks with to-go drinks on the first weekend after lockdown and the state records 32 deaths in a day – the lowest since the pandemic began
- The streets of Manhattan’s East Village were thronging with drinkers on the first Friday night after lockdown was lifted in the city on Monday
- People were seemingly ignoring social distancing rules and failing to wear masks as they partied
- Gov Andrew Cuomo shared footage of people crowding on the street and warned ‘don’t make me come down there’
- Cuomo warned earlier in the week that if cases start to rise again then he will crackdown
- Friday saw 32 deaths in the state – the lowest since the pandemic began – and down from a record-high of 800 just nine weeks ago
- The infection rate in the state is now at the lowest in the country with the R rate at 0.77
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
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Gov Andrew Cuomo warned ‘don’t make me come down there’ as New Yorkers ignored social distancing and partied in the streets on the first Friday night after lockdown was lifted in the city.
After almost three months of lockdown revelers were seen enjoying a festival-like atmosphere in St Mark’s Place in Manhattan’s East Village.
Cuomo announced on Saturday that Friday saw 32 deaths in the state – the lowest since the pandemic began – and down from a record-high of 800 just nine weeks ago.
The total number of hospitalizations from coronavirus was also down yesterday to 1,734 – the lowest level since March 20.
The total number of deaths in the state stands at 24,527 with 381,714 cases.
This includes 17,388 confirmed deaths in New York City and a further 4,688 probable deaths. There are more than 206,000 confirmed cases in the city.
The infection rate in the state is now at the lowest in the country with the R rate at 0.77. The R value equates to the number of people likely to become infected from a person who has tested positive. If the R rate is one the each infected person will on average pass COVID-19 on to one other. If the R rate is above one, the number of coronavirus cases will increase exponentially.
After almost three months of lockdown revelers were seen enjoying a festival-like atmosphere in St Mark’s Place in Manhattan’s East Village
A video shared to Twitter has been viewed more than one million times and shows there was live music at bars in the East Village and many people were not wearing masks
Gov Andrew Cuomo shared the video Saturday and warned ‘don’t make me come down there’
Cuomo said at his daily briefing: ‘Western New York is expected to move to Phase 3 this Tuesday and the Capital Region should move to Phase 3 on Wednesday. But as usual, we have to stay smart and continue proceeding with caution. Look around the nation and look at the spikes other states are experiencing – we’re not in a vacuum.
‘In just about half the states, infection rates are climbing up. New York is the anomaly – we reopened and our rates continue to come down, but only because we continue to remain smart and vigilant in this fight against the COVID virus.’
Phase 3 allows for dining in at restaurants.
The state previously had the highest rate in the whole country at the height of the pandemic.
States like Arizona, Washington, Arkansas and Vermont have seen their rates creep up after reopening. Washington now has the highest R rate at 1.15.
Cuomo warned earlier in the week that if cases start to rise again then he will crackdown. On Saturday he took to Twitter and shared a video of people partying in St Mark’s Place and wrote ‘don’t make me come down there’.
Earlier in the week he said: ‘If New Yorkers get sloppy and the number of coronavirus cases start going back up, the state will clamp down again.
‘We’re going to keep a special eye on New York City to see what happens.’
Out of the 70,840 tests conducted in New York State yesterday, only 916, or 1.29 percent, were positive.
On Monday, phase one of the Big Apple’s grand reopening got underway.
The reopening allowed for building on construction sites to resume, manufacturing, wholesale trade and agriculture work. Curbside pickup at shops is also now allowed.
Restaurants and bars are still barred from allowing patrons inside but more have reopened and are offering to-go drinks and cocktails.
The streets of Manhattan’s East Village and in Murray Hill were thronging with drinkers on Friday night
A relaxation in lockdown rules has seen many bars offering drinks on the street – a temptation hard to resist
Friday evening saw the streets filled with hundreds of people after leaving their apartments desperate for a June drink
New York currently has the lowest spread of the coronavirus disease among any state in the country
People are seen waiting outside restaurants on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. Outdoor dining has officially begun everywhere in the state except New York City and indoor service is confined to venues upstate for the moment
Although customers are not allowed inside the individual venues, drinkers are allowed to consumer their beverages outside