Updated report: Governor Clarifies Essential Services Not Impacted By Staffing Levels
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ALBANY – Governor Cuomo imposing restrictions on New Yorkers as coronavirus continues to spread in New York, and across the country. He is introducing PAUSE, which stands for Policies that Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone. The policies will take effect Sunday.
He has mandated that all non-essential businesses decrease their internal workforce by 100%.
On Friday morning there were 7,102 cases in the state, up 2,950 cases from Thursday. Officials conducted 10,000 tests Thursday night and now testing per capita in New York exceeds per capita testing in China and South Korea.
For vulnerable people and those over 70, he is enacting what he calls Matilda’s Law, named for his mother.
- Remain indoors
- Go outside for solitary exercise
- Prescreen all visitors and aides
- Do not visit homes with multiple people
- Wear a mask
- Everyone around you should wear a mask
- Keep six feet away from people
- Do not take public transit
For non-vulnerable adults the policy will be:
- No non-essential gatherings
- Practice social distancing
- Solitary outdoor recreation only
- Essential businesses must practice social distancing
- Sick individuals should stay home
- Young people need to practice social distancing
- Use alcohol wipes
The Governor says these provisions will be strictly enforced and civil fines and mandatory closures.
The Governor said if you look at the trend of people getting sick as of Friday morning they will soon see a need of more than double the number of hospital beds available and the need for ICU beds with ventilators would triple the number of available beds. That was one of the main reasons he implemented these policies. The Army Corps of Engineers is helping the state identify possibly impromptu medical facilities.
The Governor will also cancel all non-critical elective surgery, helping to free up needed hospital beds. He said he will develop a plan for that next week.
The Governor is also asking closed offices, like dentists, send their unused medical supplies to the state, things like masks and gloves. He is also offering financial help to any companies willing to shift manufacturing to medical supplies like gloves, masks and gowns. If you own a company interested in helping please contact Eric Gertler with Empire State Development at (212) 803-3100.
The Governor is also putting a hold on all residential and commercial evictions for the next 90 days.
The tax deadline for the state will also move with the Federal tax deadline.
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