Several states and cities across the country have begun re-opening after COVID-19 forced them to shut down. New York is one of the latest states to announce its reopening plan starting (tentatively) after the May 15, 2020 expiration of the New York State Executive “PAUSE” Order. As part of New York’s strategy for re-opening (the “Re-Opening Plan”), Governor Andrew Cuomo has imposed several new obligations on businesses. Businesses must begin developing a strategy for complying with these new requirements soon to ensure compliance.

The Re-Opening Plan -

The first step in the Re-Opening Plan is determining which regions within the state are “ready” to re-open. To make that determination, New York will assess the following four core factors in each region:

1. New Infections: Regions must have at least 14 days of decline in total net hospitalizations and deaths on a 3-day rolling average. In regions with few COVID cases, the region cannot exceed 15 net new total hospitalizations or 5 new deaths on a 3-day rolling average. In order to monitor the potential spread of infection in a region, a region must have fewer than two new COVID patients admitted per 100,000 residents per day.