New York entered the fourth phase of lifting quarantine: however, not everything works

On Monday, July 20, New York City joined nine other counties in the state to begin the fourth phase of the waiver. However, as a precautionary measure, the Governor of the state, Andrew Cuomo, made several key changes affecting the metropolis. Writes about it NBC New York.

On Friday July 17th, Cuomo announced this at a conference, giving New York the green light to enter the final opening phase, but without the much-anticipated opening of malls and museums.

The restaurant openings, which were postponed a few weeks ago due to concerns that the rise in coronavirus cases at the national level was due in part to opening too quickly, like other indoor activities, has also been delayed.

“I feel like we are standing on the beach, looking out to sea and seeing a second wave in the distance, so I want all New Yorkers to be on high alert,” Cuomo said.

Phase IV involves the opening of low-risk sites, such as zoos and botanical gardens, with severe capacity restrictions (only one third of the standard capacity) and mandatory precautions. Media and TV production could also resume, just like professional sports.

While the Liberty Island Museum is set to partially reopen on Monday, July 20, Ellis Island itself will remain closed. MET said the museum would not open until the end of August.

It was unclear whether the revised Phase IV plan for the city would allow the city to increase its limit on social activities from 25 to 50, as was the case in other regions.

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Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city's popular Open Dining Initiative will be extended until Halloween, with 40 more outdoor dining venues slated to open in the coming weeks.

The timeline for Phase IV is critical to New York City. This is directly related to the fate of schools. Regions must be in stage four and maintain daily infection rates of 5% or below for a 14-day period for Cuomo to consider plans to open school districts, all likely to include a combination of face-to-face and distance learning. The governor said he will make a decision on New York City schools in the first week of August.

Social media posts about parties in the city. Day after day, New Yorkers linger outside bars and restaurants, many standing close to each other, and some without masks for extended periods of time.

"It's wrong, it's dangerous, it's selfish, it's unacceptable, it's also illegal," Cuomo said of the ongoing violations. “If we don't follow the safety rules, the virus will spread. It's that simple. "

A similar violation took place over the weekend in Astoria, Queens.

A crowd of people without masks and in clear violation of social distancing rules filled Steinway Street on Friday night, July 17, suppressing police attempts to pacify them and leaving a mess in their wake.

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Video footage of a late night party shows people filling the street from sidewalk to sidewalk. The New York police officers who arrived at the scene were overwhelmed and unable to take security measures.

The crowd caught the attention of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who pledged to strengthen law enforcement in Astoria. The next night, the CCTV camera also captured the people gathered in Steinway Street, but the crowd was much smaller. However, many who gathered in the late hours of the night decided not to wear a mask.

As of Sunday, July 19, the number of people hospitalized per day in New York State dropped to 722, and another 13 people died. State data show that the infection rate in New York is 1,08% of all tests performed.

Over the weekend, July 18-19, New Jersey saw significant progress. The state reported the lowest number of hospitalizations in three months.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy released the latest figures on Sunday, confirming 144 additional new cases and 11 virus-related deaths.