Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the reopening of the New York economy will happen in phases, with the first phase beginning as early as next month.
At his briefing Sunday, Cuomo said that 367 more people died from the coronavirus in New York, bringing the state's death toll to nearly 17,000.
The death toll in the state is now 16,966. There are currently 282,143 cases statewide.
Sunday was the first time in weeks that the daily death toll dropped below 400. The number of deaths reported Saturday was 437.
Cuomo said hospitalizations, intubations and other key indicators continue to decline, but there were still more than 1,000 hospitalizations for COVID-19 reported since Saturday, he said, calling it "not good."
Phase I will include construction and manufacturing with a low risk of spreading the virus.
Phase II will include a "matrix" of more essential, lower-risk businesses. It will be determined how essential each business is and how risky it is for that business to reopen.
"We need businesses to do that analysis," Cuomo said. "Think about how they're going to reopen in this new normal."
The governor said there will be two weeks between the phases to monitor hospitals.
Cuomo suggested Phase I could begin Upstate around May 15, when the current New York Pause order expires.
Construction and manufacturing jobs that represent low risks for workers will be among the first to resume once New York state begins reopening after the coronavirus shutdown, the state's governor said Sunday.
Retail jobs and workers in the hospitality and hotel industry may be among the last to return, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his news conference.
And sports such as baseball probably will have to figure out if the economics work without fans in the stands, he said.
"Everybody has to think outside the box because there is no box," he said.
"I don't want to just reopen. We learned a lot of lessons here, painfully," he said. "How do we take the lessons we learned and say when we reopen, we're going to be the better for it? It's not about a return to yesterday. There is no return to yesterday in life."
He compared New York's upstate communities to the Midwest, saying some areas might be ready to reopen sooner than other areas. But he said he had to consider the possibility that residents of areas that are still closed might flood toward any place that opens.
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THE SANITY EQUATION
The reopening of New York state will be vital in the summer, particularly in crowded cities, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.
"You can't tell people in a dense urban environmental all through the summer months: 'We don't have anything for you to do, stay in your apartment with the three kids,'" Cuomo said at his daily news conference.
"You know, that doesn't work. There's a sanity equation here also that we have to take into consideration," he said.
He said people have reason to feel better, saying "the worst should be over" as long as social distancing and other policies remain in place.
"People need to know that there's an opening, there's a future, there's hope, that somebody's doing something. And then you need a relief valve just on a day-to-day basis so people have some relief in their lives, some vent," he said.
Cuomo said trends indicate that the incidence of domestic violence, alcoholism and drug use and mental health issues were on the rise.
"Do not underestimate the stress that this situation has created, the abnormal circumstances that it has created," he said, adding that a toxic mix of bad circumstances was pushing some people to the edge.
"People need to know that there's an opening, there's a future, there's hope, that somebody's doing something. And then you need a relief valve just on a day-to-day basis so people have some relief in their lives, some vent," he said.
