BREAKING NEWS: NYC public schools will CLOSE tomorrow as infection rate hits 2.5% and Cuomo warns he will close gyms and indoor dining if it keeps going up
Gov. Cuomo on Wednesday warned New York City will shut down if the infection rate reaches 3%
Governor Cuomo has warned he will close gyms, schools and indoor dining in New York City if the infection rate increases by 0.5 percent.
The COVID rate in New York City is currently 2.5 percent.
If it hits 3 percent, Cuomo will label it an ‘orange zone’ which means non-essential businesses and schools will close.
Indoor dining, which is currently at 25 percent capacity, will stop and outdoor dining will be limited to four people at a table.
Houses of worship will still be allowed to operate, however, at a 33 percent capacity.
Cuomo warned that there will be a ‘tremendous spike’ after Thanksgiving due to people ignoring rules to come together.
The rules now are that no more than 10 people can gather together.
Cuomo said the rising infection rates were all ‘self-imposed’ and compared it to a person ‘eating cheesecake and having a weight problem.’
‘Don’t be the turkey on Thanksgiving,’ he warned.
Cuomo became frustrated on Wednesday as journalists questioned him on whether or not schools would be open tomorrow, and whether the decision was down to him or Mayor Bill de Blasio.
This is the statewide trend of hospitalizations in New York since the start of the pandemic
He called the first reporter who asked him about it ‘obnoxious’ and said they hadn’t been paying attention.
He then bit back at the second reporter who asked if schools would be open tomorrow, then snapped at a third who asked if it was him or de Blaso who made the rules.
‘You don’t know?’ he asked repeatedly.
Ultimately, the state overrules the city on shutdowns. However, Cuomo gave de Blasio the power to close schools until the infection rate was lower than 3 percent in his ‘orange zones’.
Across the board, if it hits 3 percent it enters an orange zone and schools close.
Since the start of the pandemic, parents in New York City have found the conflicting remarks and rules confusing.
‘You will see a tremendous spike after Thanksgiving,’ Cuomo warned on Wednesday, saying: ‘Thanksgiving is a holiday and people come together.
‘If you don’t have a real fear about COVID, you’re going to come together.’
He said he has told his own mother that they cannot spend Thanksgiving with his family.
‘Your family sounds safe, doesn’t it? No. You won’t be safe. It’s an illusion. My sister loves me, my sister could infect me.
‘Not maliciously, but accidentally,’ he said.