US: Some New York regions begin phased reopenings

WASHINGTON

Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended Friday his stay-at-home order for parts of new York until the end of the month as half of the state's regions begin their phased reopenings.

Cuomo last week shifted the state's shutdown to a regional approach, assigning key metrics for regions to hit before they can begin to reopen.

The Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier regions have been approved to begin phase one of their reopenings after hitting the series of benchmarks the governor established to allow the process to begin.

But other regions, including hard-hit New York City and Staten Island will have the New York on PAUSE order extended through at least May 28. But should any of them qualify to reopen before then they can reopen immediately, Cuomo said.

Cuomo noted that the number of daily virus-related deaths in New York continues to fall, but said the figure "is still painful" as 132 people were killed by the virus in the state on Thursday.

Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and New York have all agreed to open their state beaches with restrictions May 22, Cuomo said.

They are being allowed to operate at under 50% capacity, and so long as group activities are being prohibited, he said. Masks will be required when social distancing is not possible, and staff working at the beaches will be tasked with enforcing compliance.