Most NY restaurants can go up to 75% of their capacity by mid-March, says Cuomo

Syracuse, NY – Restaurants outside New York City could start at 75% from March 19, government Andrew Cuomo said today.

“This is all good news,” Cuomo said today. “Seventy-five percent are ready for the consumer.”

The date is the same day that Connecticut opens its restaurants to 100%, Cuomo said. Restaurants in Massachusetts rose to 100% on March 1, he said.

Cuomo said if Covid-19 cases increase, he could possibly adjust the New York expansion date again.

The change in restaurant capacity will follow the new, more limited powers for the governor, which the Legislature implemented late last week. Cuomo said he intends to sign the legislation today.

Under the new rules, changes like these must be announced publicly and legislators must be given five days to comment on the changes. If the legislators ultimately do not like the changes, the legislature can tune the amended executive order.

Today’s announcement comes as the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations dropped to its lowest levels in about three months. Currently, 999 people are in intensive care, the lowest number since December 9th.

The state also reported 59 deaths in the past day, the lowest number since Dec. 6.

In the past week, New York has administered more than 1 million doses of vaccine, according to state data.

So far, New York has vaccinated nearly 2 million people, Cuomo said.

This week, the state expects the administrator to take another 850,000 doses of vaccines.

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