Cuomo Loosens Some Restrictive Zones

Several neighborhoods have seen coronavirus rates decline and therefore will see statuses downgraded, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday, as the state begins easing recently enacted restrictions on areas seeing a COVID uptick.

Areas in New York dealing with coronavirus outbreaks are ranked according to a three-tiered color zone system, with red for most cases and restrictions, orange for moderate number of cases, and yellow

There has been a decline in positivity rates since the last week of September, especially in areas that had been labeled red zones.

In areas that go from red status to yellow status, schools can reopen.

In Brooklyn, red zones will stay red and restrictions will continue, orange zones will be reset as yellow zones, and yellow zones will remain the same.

In Central Queens and Far Rockaway, all red, orange and yellow zones go to yellow.

In Orange County, red zones and yellow zones remain the same.

In Rockland County, red zones and yellow zones will remain the same, and community testing has increased.

In order to exit the status of red zone, the area must maintain a less than 3% positivity rate over a course of ten days. In order to the exit the status of orange zone, the positivity rate must be below 2%. To exit a yellow zone, the overall positivity rate must be under 1.5%.

The health guidelines have caused tension with the Orthodox Jewish community, who at times felt the restrictions were targeted towards them.

Unlike Mayor Bill de Blasio, who apologized for previous remarks singling out the Jewish community at his press conference on Tuesday, when a reporter pressed Cuomo if he would walk back his own comments, the governor said “No. I am sorry that they feel the disruption…I’m  sorry they are disrupted, their religious ceremonies are disrupted. How many people they can have in a synagogue…wedding…their schools is disrupted. I am sorry for that….to all New Yorkers, I’m sorry that we are going through this.”