NYC Enters Phase 3 Of Coronavirus Recovery: What It Means

NEW YORK, NY — New York City is set to enter phase three of its economic recovery on Monday, July 6 after shutting down in March to combat the city's devastating outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The city has managed to meet all state guidelines for reopening since beginning phase one in early June.

"New Yorkers have shown incredible resilience during this crisis, and it’s because of their hard work that we are on track for Phase 3 on July 6," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. "We are offering businesses across the City assistance so they can re-open safely and get New Yorkers back to work."

New York City shut down all nonessential business in March when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo enacted the "NY on PAUSE" executive order that shut down schools and all nonessential businesses. With more than 210,000 confirmed cases of the virus, 18,497 confirmed deaths and another 4,607 probable deaths as of July 1, New York City suffered the worst outbreak in the state.

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New York City's "new normal" — as Cuomo likes to put it — still means a lot of residents are staying at home, but economic activities are gradually being reopened. Construction sites and retail stores returned to action throughout the city for phase one, bringing hundreds of thousands of workers out into the city. Restaurants were cleared for outdoor dining as part of phase two, bringing the city's streets back to life. Phase three will signal the return of many personal care business, but industries and activities that encourage the formation of crowds won't be allowed.

Have questions about what phase three means for New York City? Patch has you covered:

Why is New York moving to phase three?

Despite more New Yorkers going to work and filling the streets, the rate of new coronavirus infections has continued to meet state requirements to advance the city's reopening.

New York state established a set of seven benchmarks that regions must meet consistently to advance through its multi-phase reopening plan. These benchmarks include metrics such as coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths over a two-week period, testing and contact tracing capacity and available hospital beds.

On top of the state's guidelines, de Blasio established three unique "thresholds" for New York City — new daily hospitalizations, public hospital ICU capacity and the rate of positive coronavirus tests.

Which industries will reopen?

Personal care services will be allowed to reopen when New York City enters phase three. This includes businesses such as: spas, tattoo parlors, piercing parlors, massage therapy practices, cosmetology salons, nail salons, tanning salons and waxing salons.

Hair salons and barbershops were allowed to open during phase two.

Personal care services will be required to follow regulations that will ensure the safety of employees and customers. These businesses must limit capacity to 50 percent, test employees for the coronavirus every 14 days, disinfect workstations for every new customer, require customers and employees to wear face coverings at all times, closing waiting rooms to discourage congregating and ensure customers can maintain a six-foot distance at all times.

City and state officials announced this week that indoor dining will not return to New York City during phase three. After studying troubling patterns linking indoor dining with virus outbreaks in other parts of the country both de Blasio and Cuomo decided to axe the proposal.

"We are going to postpone phase three indoor dining for New York City until the facts change and it is prudent to open. At this point, it isn't prudent. This is a New York City-only modification because frankly it's a problem that is most pronounced in New York City," Cuomo said Wednesday.

New York City's subway system will remain closed overnight from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. in order to disinfect trains for New Yorkers returning to work.

How will the city make sure the virus doesn't surge?

New York City will employ a test and trace program with the goal of limiting the spread of coronavirus as people head back to work and may be forced into situations where social distancing becomes difficult.

De Blasio has said the city would like to see the number of daily tests rise to an average of 50,000. All New York City residents are eligible for free testing, de Blasio said before the city reopened for phase one.

Find a testing site in the city here.

The city will employ a force of thousands of contact tracers to interview people who test positive for the coronavirus, determine who else needs to be tested based on those interviews and order people to be isolated as needed.

What about phase four?

New York City has not missed a benchmark since beginning its reopening in early June. If that trend holds, the city may be cleared for phase four in mid-July.

New York City will need to keep meeting the state's benchmarks for up to two weeks to qualify for phase four. Industries included in phase four include "low risk" congregant activities such as zoos, museums, botanical gardens, pro sports without fans. The fourth phase also includes the return of schools.

Businesses that pose significant safety concerns such as movie theaters and gyms are not included in the state's four-phase reopening plan. The state will study these activities and determine when they can reopen safely.

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