Bars and restaurants with liquor licenses will be required to close at 10 p.m., along with gyms, and all indoor gatherings at private residences will be capped at ten people, under new statewide coronavirus restrictions announced on Wednesday by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Staten Island will also face additional lockdown measures, the governor said.
"Bars, restaurants, gyms, house parties — that's where it's coming from, primarily," Cuomo told reporters. "If these measures aren't sufficient to slow the spread, we will turn the valve more," he added, referring to additional restrictions.
The new orders come as COVID cases and hospitalizations across the country have skyrocketed to levels not seen since spring. Earlier on Wednesday, New York City reported its highest number of daily infections since May.
The statewide positive test rate was 2.9 percent, and 1,628 people were in the hospital with the virus as of Wednesday. "What were are seeing is what they predicted for months," the governor said.
Two ZIP codes on Staten Island have exceeded 5 percent positive test rates in the last week, prompting Cuomo to declare parts of the borough a "yellow zone" on Wednesday. (Cuomo did not specify which areas in Staten Island would fall under the yellow zone designation.) While businesses and schools can remain open in yellow zones, students and teachers attending class will undergo mandatory testing. Attendance at houses of worship cannot exceed 50 percent.
Some in the conservative-leaning borough have bristled at the prospect of COVID restrictions. On Wednesday, Councilman Joe Borelli, a Republican who represents the borough, told Gothamist he saw no evidence that "harmful" micro-targeting of clusters worked to stop the spread of the virus.
City and state health officials have noted progress in parts of South Brooklyn and Queens that experienced alarming upticks in recent weeks, even as they acknowledge there's more work to be done.
The curfew on bars and restaurants follows similar measure implemented in New Jersey last week. Previously, all New York City outdoor dining was required to close at 11 p.m. — though many restaurants defied the regulation.
During his press conference, Cuomo once again castigated the city for not sufficiently enforcing pandemic restrictions. "I need the NYPD to do it in New York City," he said. "One hundred fifty sheriffs is not enough, it's just not enough."
Restaurants will still be allowed to sell food for curbside pickup after 10 p.m., Cuomo said. The new restrictions take effect at 10 p.m. on Friday.
