It turns out New York state’s Phase Four of reopening from its coronavirus closure is not the light at the end of the tunnel, as…
It turns out New York state’s Phase Four of reopening from its coronavirus closure is not the light at the end of the tunnel, as gyms, shopping malls and movie theaters won’t be permitted to reopen in what was believed to be the final stage.
The Cuomo administration broke the news to local officials across the state in a conference call Tuesday evening.
Other venues and businesses barred from reopening in Phase Four include: casinos, amusement parks and facial and other skin care services.
“We are continuing to study malls, movie theaters and gyms,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters during a press briefing in Manhattan Wednesday.
“We’re looking at what happened in other states,” Cuomo said. “There are some reports that malls, bars, certain social clubs with air conditioning — that air conditioning may not be cleansing the air of the virus and just recirculating the virus.”
He added, “As soon as we get some more information we will make an informed decision.”
Cuomo senior advisor Rich Azzopardi told later The Post: “There are some things that don’t fit neatly into a phase that are going to require further study and we’re going through that right now. This includes evaluating what’s going on in other states to avoid going backwards.”
Sources told The Post all of the industry’s without a reopening time frame in their sights will be authorized to reopen by a blanket date sometime in the future.
Under Phase Four — the final phase of the state’s economic reopening plan — higher education institutions, “low-risk” outdoor and indoor arts and entertainment businesses and media production can reopen.
