New York - COVID-19 Covered

New York

Total Cases: 493,832 (October 25)
Fatalities: 33,418 (October 25)
Testing:
  • Information on COVID-19 testing locations in New York can be found here.  

 

ECONOMIC RESPONSE

Essential Service Designations:

  • A comprehensive list of essential service designations in New York can be found here.  
  • Essential service industries in New York include pharmacies, media, banks and related financial institutions, shipping industry, warehouses, grocery, and food production, and businesses essential to the supply chain. (March 18)  

Labor & Workforce Guidance, Standards and Regulations:

  • New York released official reopening guidance for businesses based on sector. Details for each sector can be found here.  
  • Governor Cuomo signed legislation forbidding health care employers from penalizing employees who make complaints regarding employer violations. (June 17) 
  • New York’s Department of Labor launched a new application for residents to apply for traditional Unemployment Insurance or COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. This streamlines the process to allow New Yorkers to fill out a singular form. (April 20)  
  • Governor Cuomo announced the state would extend unemployment benefits to 39 weeks and add an additional $600 per week payment for those on unemployment befits. (April 8) 

Economic Stimulus & Relief:

  • Governor Cuomo signed an executive order extending the state of emergency and declaration of disaster relief through November 5. (October 6) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced the State’s Tenant Safe Harbor Act will be expanded until January 1, 2021 to protect additional residential tenants from eviction if they are suffering financial hardship during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Executive Order extends the protections of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act to eviction warrants that existed prior to the start of the pandemic. (September 28) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that the Special Enrollment Period for uninsured New Yorkers will be extended through December 31 as the state continues to provide supportive services during the COVID-19 public health crisis. New Yorkers can apply for coverage through NY State of Health, New York State’s health insurance marketplace, or directly through insurers. (September 16) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced $88.6 million in federal CARES Act funding would be made available to assist childcare providers through NY Forward grants as they adjust their programs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. (September 10) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced $2.3 million in federal CARES Act funding for four organizations to provide critical services to small and mid-sized manufacturers as they adapt to changing market conditions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. (September 10) 
  • Governor Cuomo said there will be “no evictions as long as we are in the middle of the epidemic,” as he signed a 30-day extension of the eviction moratorium amid the coronavirus pandemic. (August 6) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced $1.5 million in funding for “Feeding New York State” to support its network of 10 regional food banks, as well as local farms, to help provide milk and produce to food insecure New Yorkers. (July 17) 
  • The state passed legislation suspending the forfeiture of unemployment benefits amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. (June 13) 
  • Governor Cuomo signed legislation that outlaws price gouging of personal protective equipment. (June 6) 
  • The state launched the Nourish New York Initiative to buy food and products from Upstate farms and give those goods to food banks across the state. (April 27) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that the largest student loan servicers in New York will provide relief for student loan borrowers who are having financial struggles. (April 7) 

Business Support & Resources:

  • Governor Cuomo signed an executive order extending the state’s moratorium on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures through January 1. This measure extends protections already in place for commercial tenants and mortgagors in recognition of the financial toll the pandemic has taken on business owners, including retail establishments and restaurants. (October 20) 
  • Governor Cuomo signed an executive order extending the state’s moratorium on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures an additional month, until September 20. (August 20) 
  • The state is offering loans with a focus on “minority and women-owned businesses & very small businesses” through its New York Forward Loan Fund. (May 22) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that $3 million in grants are accessible to businesses to produce emergency medical supplies and equipment. (May 14) 
  • The New York City Council introduced a relief package that will offer protections for tenants, workers, and small businesses. (April 21) 

SOCIAL RESTRICTIONS

Reopening:

  • Governor Cuomo announced that Arizona and Maryland have been added to New York’s COVID-19 travel advisory. No areas have been removed. The advisory requires individuals who have traveled to New York from areas with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days. (October 20)  
  • Governor Cuomo announced that ski resorts can reopen with 50 percent indoor capacity and with strict health and safety protocols under state-issued guidance starting November 6. (October 18)
  • Governor Cuomo announced that movie theaters outside of New York City can reopen at 25 percent capacity under state guidance starting October 23. No more than 50 people are allowed in front of each screen in each movie theater at once. Theaters can only open outside of New York City in counties that have COVID-19 positivity rates of less than 2 percent on a 14-day average and do not have any cluster zones. (October 17) 
  • Governor Cuomo is issuing fines up to $10,000 per day for local governments that fail to adhere to order and enforce public health regulations. (October 2) 
  • Governor Cuomo is rolling out COVID Alert NY, a new contact tracing app developed with support from Tech: NYC, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Google, Apple, and others. The app alerts users who have been near someone who reports testing positive for COVID-19 and offers instructions for what to do next to stop the spread. (October 1) 
  • Governor Cuomo signed an executive order reminding international travelers entering New York from Level 2 and 3 countries to quarantine and fill out the NYS Department of Health traveler health form to further prevent the spread of COVID-19 as countries across the globe experience alarming second waves of the virus. (September 28) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that six states—California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, and Ohio—have been removed from New York State’s COVID-19 travel advisory. Puerto Rico has been added. (September 15) 
  • Governor Cuomo issued an executive order directing the MTA to develop a plan to bolster mask compliance across public transportation system’s subways, buses, and railroads. (September 10) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced indoor dining in New York City will be allowed to resume beginning September 30 with a 25 percent occupancy limit. All restaurants that choose to reopen will be subject to strict safety protocols, including temperature checks, contact information for tracing, face coverings when not seated and other safety protocols. Bar service will not be permitted, and restaurants will close at midnight. Guidelines will be reassessed based on the data by November 1. (September 9) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that malls in New York City at 50 percent capacity, and casinos statewide at 25 percent capacity, will be able to reopen with limitations and subject to strict safety protocols. (September 3) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that gyms across the state could resume indoor operations with new precautions after being closed for approximately five months. (August 17) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that low-risk indoor cultural activities, including museums, aquariums and other cultural arts in New York City would be permitted to reopen on August 24. (August 14) 
  • New York City set up quarantine checkpoints at “key entry points” along main bridges and tunnels to screen travelers coming from more than 30 states with substantial coronavirus outbreaks. (August 5) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that New York City would enter Phase 4 of reopening without any additional indoor activity, such as malls and cultural institutions, on July 20. (July 17) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced travel enforcement operation will commence on July 14 at airports across the state to help ensure travelers are following the state’s quarantine restrictions, and to help contain the rates of COVID-19 transmission in New York State. (July 13) 
  • The Governor announced that New York State would make industry recommendations on the use of air filtration technology to potentially eliminate the spread of COVID-19 through air conditioning systems. (July 6) 
  • Governor Cuomo issued an executive order expanding state enforcement during the phased reopening. Violating businesses could immediately lose their liquor license and be given a shutdown order. (June 18)  
  • Governor Cuomo issued an executive order permitting “low-risk, outdoor recreational activities” and business offering those activities to reopen in areas that have entered phase one of reopening. (June 2) 
  • Governor Cuomo will sign an executive order permitting businesses to deny entry to anyone not wearing a mask or face covering. (May 28) 
  • Upon reopening, businesses will be required to implement new safety precautions including adjusting workplace hours, enacting social distancing protocols, restricting non-essential travel, and establishing a “continuous health screening process for individuals to enter the workplace,” among others. (May 4) 

SCHOOL PLANNING

K-12:

  • Governor Cuomo announced that New York State will withhold funds for localities and schools in COVID-19 cluster zones that fail to enforce public health laws. The New York State Department of Health will send a letter warning local governments in cluster zones that they will lose state funding if they fail to enforce state limits on gatherings and the closure of schools. The letter will be sent to New York City, Orange County, Rockland County, the Town of Ramapo and the Village of Spring Valley. (October 14) 
  • New York City schools in neighborhoods seeing surges in Covid-19 cases will close Tuesday, Governor Cuomo said, adding that state officials will supervise the enforcement of social distancing rules in the city and local municipalities around the state to stop the spread of the disease. (October 5) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced the launch of “The COVID-19 Report Card,” an online dashboard that tracks real-time COVID-19 infections and testing operations of every New York school and school district. (September 8) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that New York school districts would be required to provide the Department of Health with daily data on the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in each school. (September 4) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced lower-risk, school-sponsored sports in all regions may begin to practice and play beginning September 21. However, travel for practice or play will be prohibited outside of the school’s region or contiguous regions or counties until October 19. (August 24) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced that based on each region’s infection rate, schools across the state would be permitted to open this fall. (August 7) 
  • Governor Cuomo announced the approval of 148 Smart Schools Investment Plans aimed at improving school security and reimagining teaching and learning for the 21st century. The approved plans, totaling $94 million, are part of the $2 billion Smart Schools Bond Act — a sweeping education technology initiative first proposed by the Governor and overwhelmingly approved by voters. (July 30) 

State Higher Education:

  • A list of New York universities and colleges planning to reopen in the fall can be found here. 
  • Governor Cuomo issued guidance for infection rates on college campuses and mitigation actions that schools must take when the infection rate rises above certain levels. Schools must return to remote learning with limited on-campus activity when that threshold is reached for a two-week period. If after two weeks, the local health department finds the college has demonstrated that it cannot contain the number of cases, then they could continue to require remote learning or impose other measures in consultation with the State Department of Health. During that time, athletic activities and other extracurricular activities must be suspended, and dining hall options must move to take-out only. (August 27) 

Giving Opportunities

April 20, 2020

Requesting gloves, masks, and gowns. The state is willing to provide funding to any company to obtain the proper equipment and personnel.

Produced by Marathon Strategies, an independent PR firm that delivers intelligent communications and research solutions. For information, email Phil Singer at COVID-19@marathonstrategies.com