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Cuomo Says It's "Probable" Indoor Dining Will Shut Down In NYC As Soon As Next Monday
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 7, 2020
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 7, 2020
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Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday morning that indoor dining will be shut down in New York City "as early as Monday" if the hospitalization rates don't stabilize before then. Indoor dining will also decrease from 50% to 25% in other parts of the state if those regions also don't get hospitalization rates under control.
"Do I believe between now and five days we'll see a stabilization rate in New York City? I would be pleasantly surprised. I don't think it is probable, but it is possible," Cuomo said during the press conference in Midtown on Monday. "Do I think we hit hospitalization criticality and have to close down? I pray no, I hope no, I hope New Yorkers get it before we get there."
According to the state's data, 20% of hospital beds and 27% of ICU beds in NYC are currently available, based on a seven-day rolling average. There are currently 1,406 patients hospitalized in the city, and 4,602 hospitalized in the entire state. NYC and Long Island currently have a COVID hospitalization rate of .02% of its population, lower than other regions in the state.
If the hospital capacity rate hits 90%—in other words, if NYC regional bed availability shrinks by another 10% on the seven day rolling average—the city could face even more strict shutdown orders similar to the PAUSE plan in the spring, the same restrictions as those of a red zone.
Cuomo said the update to the state's strategy came after the CDC released new guidance last Friday about indoor dining restrictions. This new emphasis on hospitalization rates, which specifically targets indoor dining and is broken down by 10 regions in the state, will supersede—but not replace—the state's strategy of targeting regions by yellow/orange/red zones.
"When you're looking at hospitalizations, it's important to look at it regionally, because for example in NYC, if you live in Brooklyn, you could go to a Manhattan hospital, so the hospital system acts more together regionally," Cuomo's aide Melissa DeRosa explained. "So what the governor is saying is we're looking at this region by region, and if the hospitalization rates in each region don't stabilize, if you're a region outside of NYC you go from 50 to 25%, they have less crowding and density, and in NYC [it goes] from 25% to closure."
Cuomo emphasized that the priority right now is making sure that hospitals around the entire state don't get overwhelmed, and talked about his concerns over that because of the increase in traveling and celebrations happening during the holiday season. He guessed that numbers would increase on all fronts—including infection and hospitalization rates—through at least mid-January.
Asked about how he defines of "stabilized," Cuomo didn't offer a specific number or percentage on what that would mean, saying "stabilization is stabilization."
"If your [COVID-19] hospitalization rate now is, let's say 4%, instead of going from 4 to 5%, you'd have to stay at 4% and stabilize instead of increasing," Cuomo said. "If it doesn't stabilize and continues to increase, which it has been doing, which I expect it to continue to do...then you would have it close down in NYC."
Cuomo added that he is unsure when or how they would bring back indoor dining after it was paused. "When would you undo restrictions? You'd have to see a stabilization or reduction," Cuomo added. "Frankly, we're looking at the opposite situation. We're looking at continued increases from now through mid-January."
In NYC, where indoor dining has been set at 25% capacity since the start of October, restaurants have been bracing for closures since mid-November. This comes even as many places continue to winterize their outdoor dining setups, with some even building curbside structures to increase indoor dining capacity.
Although there have been renewed talks of a new stimulus bill being passed before next week's deadline, the stopgap bill being discussed does not include the RESTAURANTS Act or HEROES Act, which means it will likely not include a bailout to the beleaguered restaurant industry.
Andrew Rigie, the head of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said in a tweet, "NYC restaurants desperately need financial support. Another shut down will result in countless more restaurants and jobs lost. Who is going to help these small business owners and workers???"
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Governor Andrew Cuomo
pandemic
coronavirus
indoor dining
restaurants
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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