GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING/Saturday, June 6

Cuomo: Churches Can

Open At 25% Capacity

NYC Deaths At 35, Down From 800 Peak

ALBANY – Governor Cuomo today announced churches and others places of worship may reopen with 25 percent occupancy with all social distancing protocols in place during Phase Two of reopening.

That includes Otsego County’s Mohawk Valley Region and six other of the state’s regions.

The governor also announced:

• the state has reached the lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with just 35 people passing away since his report yesterday, down from the record of 800 eight weeks ago.  Hospitalizations were down yesterday to 2,603 from a record-high of 18,825.

• he will issue an Executive Order allowing commercial buildings to conduct temperature checks for anyone entering the building as office workers begin to return to the workplace.

• that New York City remains on track to enter Phase One on Monday, with positive COVID tests per day dropping from a high of 57 percent per day to 2 percent per day. New York Forward guidance for phase one reopening can be found here.

• in anticipation of New York City’s reopening, the state is deploying over one million masks, as well as 25,000 gallons and 500,000 2-ounce bottles of sanitizer to the MTA.