Update: May 3, 2021
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has revealed reopening plans for New York.
After Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that New York City will be “fully” open on July 1, Cuomo provided further guidance for the state and city on Monday.
Cuomo explained in a series of updates that beginning on May 15, gyms, fitness centers outside of New York City can increase capacity from 33% to 50%. That same day, offices can increase capacity from 50% to 75%. Additionally, casinos and gaming facilities will be allowed to increase capacity limits from 25% to 50%.
On May 19, large-scale outdoor event venues can increase capacity from 20% to 33%.
While COVID-19 restrictions are lifting, Cuomo, however, asserted that wearing masks and practicing social distancing is still crucial in the fight to slow the spread of the virus.
“We are increasing the capacity limits throughout several industries, including gyms outside of New York City, casinos, offices and large-scale outdoor event venues. This is all great news, but we are not out of the woods yet. Washing hands, wearing masks and staying socially distanced are critical tools each of us can use to slow the spread as we continue our efforts to defeat COVID once and for all,” Cuomo explained.
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What We Originally Reported on April 29, 2021
New York City is back in business.
Thursday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the bustling city will be “fully” open on July 1. “We are ready for stores to open, for businesses to open, offices, theaters…” de Blasio explained.
De Blasio shared that the decision comes as 6.3 million vaccinations have been administered in New York City. He then explained that On July 1, shops, retailers, small businesses, restaurants, hair salons, gyms, arenas, museums and music halls will be able to reopen at full capacity.
As New York City prepares to embark on a new exciting chapter since the outbreak, de Blasio urged viewers to “be smart” by wearing masks and continuing to practice cleanliness such as: sanitizing and washing hands.
“What we can say with assurance now is we’re giving COVID-19 no room to run in New York City now… vaccinations are winning this race,” de Blasio continued. “COVID-19 is plummeting. We now have the confidence that we can pull all these pieces together and get life back in many ways to where it was where people can enjoy an amazing summer. This is going to be the summer of New York City.”
Keep reading below to learn about other cities reopening this summer.
Los Angeles
California is aiming to fully reopen its economy June 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed on April 6.
Currently, California is determining its reopening with the use of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy — a system put in place in August to reduce the virus in the state. Under the system, each California county is assigned a tier that is based on its “positivity rate, adjusted case rate and health equity metric.”
The County of Los Angeles Public Health announced on April 27 that Los Angeles County has “begun to meet the qualifications for the least restrictive yellow tier.”
In the yellow tier, businesses (including: shopping centers, boutiques and restaurants) and events can increase capacity limits. As of April 2, retailers were permitted to operate at 75% of their maximum occupancy.
If the County is able to maintain a decline in cases, officials state that “it is possible” to move to the yellow tier as early as May 5.
“With more than 20 million vaccines administered across the state, it is time to turn the page on our tier system and begin looking to fully reopen California’s economy,” Gov. Newsom said. “We can now begin planning for our lives post-pandemic. We will need to remain vigilant, and continue the practices that got us here — wearing masks and getting vaccinated — but the light at the end of this tunnel has never been brighter.”
London
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new plan to end England’s lockdown by June 21.
As of April 12, shops, hairdressers, gyms and outdoor businesses were allowed to reopen. The shift came after Johnson ordered new shutdown rules for the UK in January.
Staring on May 17, six people or two households can meet indoors and hotels are allowed to resume services.
Paris
Also on Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron said that outdoor terraces and cafes in France will be allowed to reopen on May 19. Non-essential shops, cultural sites and sports facilities will be allowed to reopen with occupancy limits of 800 people indoors and 1,000 people outdoors.
Additionally, museums, cinemas, theaters and concert halls will also be allowed reopen with certain restrictions.
Foreign tourists will be allowed back in France on June 9 with proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or a negative PCR test. That same day, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to resume service until 11 p.m. The curfew will end on June 30, but nightclubs will remain closed.
Milan
This month, Italy began its second phase of reopening. At this time, some stores, restaurants, bars, museums and cinemas have reopened to the public. Many retail operations have also resumed throughout the country. The reopening comes after most of Italy’s cities were still on lock down last month.
