NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New Jersey set a date for the resumption of indoor dining on Monday, but New York City isn't yet ready to follow suit, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
In a teleconference Monday afternoon, Cuomo said the state must weigh several factors before it allows indoor dining to resume in New York City, including the possible COVID-19 uptick that school reopenings may bring, as well as the upcoming flu season.
"I understand that, especially for southern New York (and) the New York City area, you will now have restaurants right across the river in New Jersey that are open for indoor dining, and restaurants in New York City that are not open for indoor dining," he said. "I'm aware of that competitive disadvantage for New York City restaurants."
"I want as much economic activity as quickly as possible. We also want to make sure the transmission state stays under control," he added. "And we're trying to find a balance, and we're calibrating every day. But I understand this argument from New Jersey will exacerbate the discussion."
New York state reported one new COVID-19 fatality on Monday, the lowest daily death toll the state has seen since the pandemic began, Cuomo said.
Of the 66,241 COVID-19 test results that came back on Sunday, 656, or 0.99 percent, were positive, he said. As of Sunday, 418 people in the state were hospitalized with COVID-19, 109 of whom were in intensive care units and 51 of whom were on ventilators.
"There was a time when we were going through this when we literally had hundreds of people dying every day. I'm sure you all remember," Cuomo said. "New Yorkers have saved tens of thousands of lives."
"If New Yorkers did not do what they did, tens of thousands of more people would have passed away. That is a fact from the projections," he added. "So God bless the people of New York, because they saved lives."
