What to know
- A state Supreme Court judge has ruled in favor of a number of Erie County restaurants that have sued the state over their orange bunches designation; the judge granted a preliminary injunction
- Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, governor, says the state is reviewing the ruling with which he strongly disagrees; meanwhile, it allows orange zone restaurants to operate under the rules of the yellow zone
- Since Cuomo’s latest update exists, there are seven orange cluster areas in the state, including parts of Westchester County and NYC, where indoor dining is prohibited, independent of the bunch rules.
New York has temporarily approved indoor eateries in orange cluster zones following a ruling by the state Supreme Court this week in favor of some restaurants in Erie County that have sued due to the restriction, legal advice from government Andrew Cuomo said yesterday.
This means that parts of Westchester County that have been below the mid-level restrictions since mid-December could start indoors again – at least temporarily. Areas of Staten Island have been under orange zone rules ever since, but Cuomo has banned indoor dining throughout New York City, regardless of its cluster zone program. It is not clear how the state ruling will affect it.
Up to four people per table can now eat indoors in seven so-called ‘orange zones’ located in provinces, with a few COVID-19 cases or hospitalizations in the state, including Monroe County in the Finger Lakes.
A number of restaurants across the state, including many in New York, have sued over the ban on indoor dining, but Judge Henry Nowak, the state Supreme Court, on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction to enforce it in the Erie -case.
Under the rules of Cuomo’s cluster zone, orange zones – the second most restricted in group three – completely ban indoor dining and limit it to four people per table. Schools also move outside unless they test it; high-risk essential businesses close and events are a maximum of 10 people.
In his decision, Nowak ruled that the Erie County restaurants that were in areas with orange zones could return to the indoor eating rules that apply to yellow zones, making it possible to eat but only with four people per table.
Nowak said he could not ‘find evidence that the state has a rational basis for designating parts of Erie province as an orange zone’ and that the restaurants would suffer ‘irreparable damage’ without the mandate.
According to Cuomo’s latest guidelines, which were updated last mid-December, orange zone restrictions apply to areas that have a positive percentage of 4 percent or higher for ten consecutive days. and the area reached 85 percent hospital capacity or the Department of Health determines that the area has an unacceptable number of admissions to the hospital.
Erie County has a positive rate of 6.3 percent as of Thursday. The governor’s website does not divide hospitalization data by province, but state data shows that no region in the state had 85 percent of the hospital’s capacity. This will cause more aggressive closure measures. As of Thursday, Western New York, Erie County, has 32 percent and 36 percent of hospital beds and ICU beds available, respectively, based on a seven-day moving average.
Daily percentage of positive tests by region New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo breaks up the state into ten regions for testing purposes and monitors positivity rates to identify potential hotspots. Here is the latest tracking data by region and for the five districts. Click here for the latest rural results across the country
It was not immediately clear whether the Department of Health had imposed the restrictions on the orange zone. Erie County has confirmed nearly 50,000 total COVID cases to date, more than 69 percent of the 71,273 confirmed cases within the five counties that make up the Western New York region since March.
Cuomo’s office says it is reviewing the ruling. The parties will have to go to court again to determine whether the order will become permanent.
Meanwhile, Gibson said the state would allow all orange zone restaurants to operate according to the yellow zone rules “to ensure uniformity and fairness.”
“We do not agree with the court’s ruling and its impact on public health, as federal CDC data clearly show that indoor meals increase the spread of COVID-19,” Gibson said. “From the beginning of this pandemic, the state has acted on the basis of facts and the advice of public health experts, and we will continue with that approach.”
With Cuomo’s latest update, there are seven orange cluster zones in the state, including the Erie County area. Parts of Staten Island, Westchester County, Monroe County, Chemung County, Onondaga County and Niagara County (also in the Western New York area) are classified as orange zones.
The NYC Hospitality Alliance, which represents the city’s restaurants, among other things, blasted Cuomo for the continued indoor eating ban in light of the ruling.
The court’s preliminary ruling and the governor’s action to lift restrictions on indoor dining in all ‘orange zones’ make the status of the ban on indoor dining in New York City all the more scandalous and destructive for thousands of restaurants in the five districts, especially when our infection and hospitalization rates are lower than most counties in the state where indoor meals can be allowed with 50 percent occupancy, “executive director Andrew Rigie and attorney Robert Bookman said in a joint statement Thursday. statement said.
“The continuation of the indoor dining ban in New York City is not one of the data and criteria set by the state and should be terminated now,” they said.