NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that professional sports leagues in New York can begin training camps as the state continues "preparing for a new chapter in this saga" and envisions what life will look like in the wake of the pandemic.
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"Starting today New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps in the state while following appropriate health protocols," Cuomo said.
That includes the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and WNBA, Cuomo said.
"We want you up, we want people to be able to watch sports to the extent people are still staying home," Cuomo said. "It gives people something to do. It's a return to normalcy. So we are working and encouraging all sports teams to start their training camps as soon as possible."
Cuomo also announced that veterinary practices will be able to open in all regions beginning Tuesday.
He said state beaches are now open and that campgrounds are reopening Monday.
The governor said the Mid-Hudson region is still on track to reopen Tuesday and Long Island is on pace to reopen Wednesday.
Cuomo said Long Island is preparing its transportation system for the reopening. The Long Island Rail Road is taking steps to protect customers, with the MTA cleaning and disinfecting trains every day.
The governor said the LIRR is also ready to add more cars to trains to help assist with social distancing as Long Island and other Downstate regions reopen. He said masks are mandatory on public transportation.
Cuomo said as New York begins reopening, the state must "build back better" and that "we are turning the page and starting a new chapter in this crisis management."
"We are writing history in New York, we're writing history in America," he said.
The governor said the state has moved from chapter one, "stabilizing the health crisis," to chapter two, "reopening smartly."
"Chapter three, which we're going to begin preparing for soon, is rebuilding and recreating the economy," Cuomo said. "I don't believe this economy just bounces back. I don't believe it's going to be enough to just go back to where the economy was. Too many small businesses have closed. You'll see many of these corporations have used this as an opportunity to lay off workers."
He said the state is going to need to help stimulate the economy "and lead the way to these new economic opportunities."
"That's what the next chapter is going to be about, it's going to be about government working with the private sector, working with businesses, to jumpstart the economy, to stimulate it, to get some big projects going," the governor said.
Cuomo said Eric Schmidt, the former CEO at Google, will chair a 15-member blue-ribbon commission focused on improving tele-health and broadband access using new innovative technologies.
He said Schmidt will "look at this situation and say, 'How do we learn from this and how do we prepare going forward?'"
Cuomo also announced that the daily death toll from the coronavirus rose to 109 Saturday after dropping to 84 on Friday. He said it was "terrible news, but the overall line is still good."
The state's death toll is now 23,391 with at least 361,515 cases reported since the outbreak began.
The governor said new hospitalizations for COVID-19 were also up. The three-day rolling average was 229 Sunday, up 21 from 208 previously.
"The new cases are up a little bit on the rolling average, but all part of the decline," Cuomo said.
However, total hospitalizations declined by 249 and intubations dropped by 76, the governor said.
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