Cuomo keeps 'non-essential' businesses, schools closed to May 15

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has extended New York on PAUSE, a 10-point plan that shuts down “non-essential” businesses and schools and requires social distancing, through May 15. The announcement came during his daily briefing Thursday, when he also continued to lay out his vision to reopen the economy — and the challenges doing so will present.

Previously, New York on PAUSE was to end April 30.

“New York PAUSE has worked,” Cuomo said, but he noted, “we’re not there yet,” referring to the reduction in the Covid-19 infection rate needed to allow all people to return to work and ease social distancing requirements.

The governor said the state does not yet fully know what the infection rate is. To date, 500,000 people have been tested in New York, more than California, Florida and Michigan combined, Cuomo said. That figure, however, represents a fraction of the state’s population — 19 million people live here, and 9 million of them are workers.

New York on PAUSE — Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone — has kept the infection and hospitalization rates to manageable levels, the governor indicated. “We slowed the infection rate by our actions, and that’s why we’re in a better position today,” he said.

Widespread testing, including antibody blood sampling, is needed to better track the infection rate and assure people that they are safe when returning to their workplaces.

On Wednesday, Cuomo said he would like to see the economy reopen in phases, in close coordination with six other states — Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

He asked on Thursday that employers begin to consider whether their workers can continue to telecommute when their workplaces reopen, as well as think about the configuration of their workspaces. How far apart  might desks be spread apart, for example?