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Coronavirus Updates: After De Blasio Says NYC Will Enter Phase 2 On Monday, Cuomo Says He Will Decide Friday

By

Elizabeth Kim

Published Jun 18, 2020

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The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, with its huge glass cube, is open, June 17, 2020

 

CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock

By

Elizabeth Kim

Published Jun 18, 2020

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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Thursday, June 18th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 1 of reopening now. Here's a look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

12:30 a.m. Less than two hours after Mayor Bill de Blasio officially announced that New York City would enter phase 2 of its reopening on Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that he would make the call on Friday after global experts had reviewed the city's public heath data.

“All the indications are good," he said during a press briefing in Manhattan. "You’ll get a final announcement tomorrow.”

The moment represented yet another example of the ongoing power struggle between de Blasio and Cuomo, a state of affairs that has created unnecessary confusion for New Yorkers during the pandemic.

Jane Meyer, a mayoral spokesperson, denied that there was any disagreement between two men.

“We are aligned," she said. "Both the Mayor and Governor have said that phase 2 looks set to start on Monday, but of course they will be monitoring indicators over the next couple of days and adjust course if they see anything concerning.”

(On Wednesday, Cuomo said the city was "on track" to move to the next phase. The mayor on Thursday sounded more unequivocal, saying, “We will start phase 2 on Monday.”)

Despite his caveat, Cuomo did say that businesses should begin preparing to reopen on Monday. As many as 300,000 additional workers could reenter the economy, according to de Blasio.

Monday will mark 14 days since construction, manufacturing, wholesale and some retail businesses resumed operating.

The next phase marks a major step forward in the three months since the economy came to a halt due to the pandemic. It will include outdoor dining, offices, in-store retail and hair salons and barbershops. All businesses must comply with state health and safety guidelines. In retail stores, for example, occupancy will be reduced to 50 percent capacity. The same goes for offices.

As expected, restaurants will be allowed to use curbside parking space as well as sidewalks. Beginning in July, they can also expand onto open streets, where cars have been prohibited to provide more public space. In an effort to streamline the city approval process, businesses will be allowed to self-certify themselves using an online application that will be made available on Friday.

But in a stern warning to bars and restaurants, Cuomo said he would sign an executive order that would give the state authority to revoke liquor licenses and issue shut down orders for businesses found in violation of the rules. The governor said that he would sign a second executive order making bar and restaurant owners responsible for the sidewalks in front of their establishments. Over the weekend, the state received 25,000 complaints about social distancing violations. Cuomo said he personally fielded texts and photos of patrons crowded in front of bars and restaurants in New York City.

"I want to makes sure we don’t slide back," he said. "I want to make sure we don't get careless."

In a message that appeared directed at New York City officials, he added: "I need local government to do their part."

In another major development, the mayor also announced that city playgrounds, whose ongoing closure had become a source of tension in some Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn, will reopen on Monday.

Loss Of Taste, Smell May Be A Long-Term Effect Of COVID-19

In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added loss of taste and smell to the list of official symptoms for coronavirus at the urging of doctors and global researchers. One large peer-reviewed study in the U.S. and Britain found that two-thirds of people who said they had coronavirus reported a loss of taste or smell.

Many assumed that the effects would resolve as the virus cleared the system. But now scientists are learning that the loss of smell and taste may endure for months if not permanently.

One European study that found that out of 417 patients who suffered mild to moderate forms of coronavirus, 88% and 86% reported taste and smell dysfunctions, respectively. Although follow-up research is needed, most of them did not regain their taste or smell function even after the other symptoms had disappeared.

On one of the most prominent cases, Prince Charles on Tuesday told hospital workers that he had since not regained his sense of smell and taste after getting infected in March.

NBC has reported the lingering problems with smell and taste among children infected with COVID-19.

Aviva Epstein, an 11-year-old self-professed foodie, said that two months after recovering from a mild case of coronavirus, her taste buds suddenly became defective.

“I couldn’t eat anything. I would run to the garbage, gag, and spit out anything I would eat,” Aviva told NBC New York. “I would eat pasta. I love it. It tasted gross, like rotten beef or rotten pork.”

A recent Wall Street Journal story reported on how the loss of taste and smell has complicated people's recovery from the disease, "altering survivors’ relationships with people, food and the environment, complicating the path to recovery." Some people have reported weight loss as a side-effect of losing their olfactory senses.

The options for recovery are limited. Patients can undergo "smell training" to try to regain their senses, although it does not work for everyone.

In general, doctors are increasingly seeing patients who remain sick with coronavirus for weeks and even months, according to the Washington Post.

As with many aspects of the disease, experts do not know the exact reasons for the longterm effects, whether it is because traces of the virus remain in the body or that these are post-viral immune system or inflammatory reactions.

“The bottom line is we just don’t know,” Adam Lauring, an infectious- diseases physician at the University of Michigan, told the Post.

Tagged

COVID-19

covid-19 updates

coronavirus

Elizabeth Kim

Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]

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