New York State lifted the latest restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic after vaccinating more than 70% of adults with at least one dose, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.
“We reached 70% vaccination. It is the national goal, and we reached it early. This means that we can return to life as we knew it,” Cuomo said at a press conference.
New York is the first major state to cross this threshold that President Joe Biden wants to reach nationally before American Independence Day, July 4.
“It’s an important milestone and we are going to keep pushing to do more,” Cuomo said at a news conference, adding that the state would continue to encourage more New Yorkers to get vaccinated.
Some small states already have vaccination rates even higher than New York, such as Vermont, in the northeast of the country, which has managed to vaccinate more than 80% of adults with one dose and also lifts the restrictions since Tuesday.
The end of restrictions
Restrictions in commercial and social settings will be lifted immediately, but Cuomo said that some limitations stemming from the decisions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will remain in effect, with mitigation measures still required in public transportation. and healthcare settings.
“Businesses can open, because state orders are no longer in effect, nor capacity or capacity restrictions, nor is it necessary to measure temperature, nor is it necessary to continue extraordinary cleaning and disinfection protocols,” Cuomo added.
Cuomo, whose state, in the early phases of last year’s pandemic, was at the center of the COVID-19 public health crisis in the United States, also said that individuals and businesses could continue to choose to take some precautions.
The state of more than 20 million people was the national epicenter of the pandemic, registering more than 42,000 deaths since March 2020, more than 33,000 of them in New York City, the largest in the country.
Celebrations for the end of the pandemic
Both the city and the state adopted draconic measures to slow the spread of the virus, including curfews, total closures of restaurants and other businesses, and completely online classes for students, which were gradually lifted.
The governor pointed out that to celebrate this moment and pay tribute to frontline workers, fireworks will be launched tonight in different parts of the state. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday a grand parade to honor essential workers on July 7 on Broadway.
“New Yorkers have always been strong, but this past year they have proven themselves. Congratulations New Yorkers for all that their hard work has accomplished,” Cuomo said in a statement.
He also announced that the COVID-19 positivity rate has fallen to 0.4%, the lowest figure in the country, according to Cuomo, and compared it to last spring, when New York became the global epicenter of the pandemic. .
In a passionate intervention, he also called for rebuilding and developing the state.
“Life is not about going back to where you were. Life goes on. We have learned a lot over the past year, we have accomplished a lot over the past year, our challenge has to be to reimagine New York and say that we are going to make a New York that is better than ever. We have to capitalize on this moment, take advantage of this moment of transformation to remake New York, “he stressed.
With information from AFP and EFE
