New York City – the epicenter of the US pandemic – prepares to reopen today.
An easing of lockdown measures after nearly 17,000 deaths in the City and 22,000 across New York state will come as welcome relief to residents as they try and return to normality.
Latest figures from the John Hopkins University reveal a staggering 110,514 people across the US have been killed by the bug as of 8 June.
A total 1,942,363 confirmed cases of the virus have also been recorded, with both rates higher than any other country in the world.
But the city will reopen today as the state’s final region to enter Phase One amid an easing of lockdown restrictions.
The country’s total daily death toll has reached 110,514
Retail shops can reopen for delivery and pick up service, though customers are not allowed to go inside yet.
Construction, manufacturing, wholesalers, and other ‘nonessential’ industries can also begin trading from today.
The reopening will come as welcome relief for workers, after 885,000 jobs were lost during the outbreak, the New York Times said.
‘It’s a big day for New York City,’ New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday, adding that it had ‘met all the [health] metrics needed to reopen’.
Gov Andrew Cuomo said in a press conference on 6 June that: ‘When you go back to work, it doesn’t mean we are going back to the way we were. It’s about going forward in finding a new normal with new behavior and new patterns in the workplace.’
One such metric is the number of new infections which dropped to 781 cases, or around 1 per cent of those tested on Saturday.
That is the lowest rate recorded since March 16, the New York Post recorded.
Other metrics needed before reopening was granted include at least 30 contract tracer for every 100,00 residents and the capacity to perform 30 diagnostic tests for every 1,000 residents.
Thirty per cent of hospital beds and ICU beds must be available and wards must have a 90-day stockpile of PPE.
Officials said the city’s subways should be operating at around 95 per cent of their pre-pandemic service by Monday to help facilitate New Yorkers’ return to work, officials said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio estimated that up to 400,000 people would be returning to work today under Phase One of the reopening scheme.
On Sunday he emphasized that Monday’s reopening was ‘a moment that every New Yorker should celebrated’, ABC News reported.
It is mandatory for masks to be warn in a bid to reduce the chance of catching the virus, and the MTA has said it will test ‘real time’ air filtration systems on trains.
A source told the NY Post: ‘It complements the disinfecting and cleaning that is happening multiple times a day in every car, and the requirement that everybody wears a mask’.
Workers will also distribute masks at kiosks as well as other locations to help keep New Yorkers safe
Normal, pre-pandemic service levels will resume by Tuesday, Interim Transit President Sara Feinberg told 1010 WINS.
Last week the MTA called for a wave of volunteers to help hand out the masks as well as hand sanitizer.
A letter sent to to the mayor and city leaders said: ‘The vast majority of our workforce will of course be operating and maintaining the system itself.
‘The MTA has requested the city provide 3,000 volunteers to support this customer facing effort.’
The city’s reopening today comes after thousands of people marched through streets to protest racism and police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
A deserted 42nd Street is pictured in midtown New York on April 19 amid the coronavirus epidemic
Mayor Bill de Blasio lifted New York City’s 8pm curfew yesterday, a day early, ahead of today’s reopening. The curfew was put into effect to stop George Floyd protesters from looting and destroying businesses
De Blasio announced an early end to the 8PM curfew that was set to remain at least through early Monday, with officials planning to lift it at the same time the city was to begin reopening after shutdowns because of the coronavirus.
He said he was ‘cautious’ about moving to Phase Two , which would allow a surge of workers to return to offices, restaurants and bars to offer outdoor seated services and retail shops to allow people in store.
Hair salons will also be allowed to reopen at 50 per cent capacity in this stage.
While state guideline say Phase Two could be implemented in two weeks’ time on 22 June under state guidelines, Blasio told New Yorkers to ‘think about the beginning of July as the target’.
He said New York City has was ‘not like other regions’ of the state and said the reopening process could be either slowed down or sped up depending on its success.