New York to join neighbor states in opening beaches for Memorial Day:
governor
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[May 16, 2020]
By Nathan Layne and Rajesh Kumar Singh
(Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
said on Friday the state would join New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware
in reopening beaches for the Memorial Day weekend, aiming to prevent
people from crossing state borders for a respite from the coronavirus
lockdown.
The move is part of a broader loosening of restrictions in New York,
which gave the green light on Friday to five of 10 regions outside urban
areas to start reopening their economies, starting with construction and
manufacturing work.
Cuomo was following his counterpart in New Jersey, Phil Murphy, who on
Thursday announced he would open his state's beaches for the traditional
May 23-25 start of summer, news that was welcomed by many beach goers
eyeing the Jersey shore.
"If we don't open our beaches people will go to New Jersey beaches, I
promise you that," Cuomo said, adding with exaggeration that he wanted
to prevent "4 million New Yorkers" from heading to New Jersey or
Connecticut to get some sun.
Even while relaxing restrictions, Cuomo stressed that New York would
continue to pursue a science-based approach that was "all about the
numbers and the facts," warning that moving too quickly could spark a
new wave of cases.
Cuomo said 132 additional New Yorkers died on Thursday from COVID-19,
the respiratory illness caused by the virus, down from 157 a day
earlier. He said hospitalizations and intubations remained on a downward
trend.
Restrictions on an array of construction and manufacturing work were
lifted on Friday in five regions in central and upstate New York, while
a broader pause on activity in New York City and elsewhere was extended
until at least May 28.
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at his daily briefing at New
York Medical College during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) in Valhalla, New York, U.S., May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mike
Segar
Cuomo said he was increasingly concerned about a rare inflammatory
syndrome reported in 103 children across the state who have also
tested positive for COVID-19 or its antibodies. To date, at least
three of the cases have ended in death.
He said the syndrome reflected the ever-changing understanding of
the virus. He noted the case of a young person he said had died from
a stroke that appeared to have been triggered by COVID-19.
"Apparently the virus can affect the heart and the liver and other
organs besides the lungs and we didn’t know that," Cuomo said. "The
facts here have been changing and the facts have only been getting
more negative."
Cuomo urged adherence to social distancing guidelines, arguing that
voluntary actions were key to suppressing a virus that has killed
more than 27,000 New Yorkers, accounting for more than a quarter of
the 85,427 total U.S. fatalities.
"When they write the history books they are going to write about how
New York turned that curve," Cuomo said, adding that there was no
way for him to enforce guidelines like wearing masks across a state
of 19 million people.
"That's not government action. That's social action. Those are
people who choose to do the responsible thing."
(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut and Rajesh Kumar
Singh in Chicago; Editing by Chris Reese and Dan Grebler)
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