NYC enters Phase Three reopening without indoor dining
NEW YORK - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that New York City will enter Phase Three of reopening on Monday, but indoor dining will remain closed.
Phase Three of reopening will include various personal care businesses, including tattoo and piercing facilities, massage therapy, spas, cosmetology, nail and tanning salons, waxing, and more. All businesses must have coronavirus safeguards in place, like social distancing, limiting the workforce, and customer presence to 50% of maximum occupancy and face coverings.
The rest of New York state has already moved into Phase Three of reopening, with much of upstate New York now in Phase Four.
The news of no indoor dining will come as a disappointment to restaurant owners in New York City who have said that even with the city’s Open Streets plan to create more outdoor seating for them to use, it is difficult to make ends meet without indoor seating being allowed.
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Mayor delays resumption of indoor dining in New York City
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that he was delaying the planned resumption of indoor dining at restaurants in the city out of fear it would cause a spike in coronavirus infections.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there were more than 530 new confirmed cases of the virus reported around the state on Saturday and eight deaths. At the height of New York's virus outbreak, new infections reached daily totals of more than 10,000 and deaths topped 700.
Even with reopening, some services are still prohibited at personal service businesses. State regulations prohibit any service that requires a customer to remove a face mask are prohibited, like nose piercings or facials.
Employees will be required to get diagnostic tests for the coronavirus every 14 days, and there must be a mandatory screening, like a questionnaire or a checking of temperatures.
With the Associated Press.