NYC Indoor Dining To Close; Decision Coming For Rest Of State

NEW YORK, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced drastic new restrictions for restaurants and bars in New York City, ordering establishments to shut down indoor dining Monday. Bars and restaurants will still be allowed to continue outdoor dining and takeout, he said.

Outside New York City and in orange zones at a lower risk for coronavirus spread, Cuomo said health experts will review data and make a decision next week on whether to further restrict indoor dining.

The governor said while gym and salons restrictions are working — "they are not the problem they were" — they will have to reduce capacity from 33 percent to 25 percent and test weekly instead of biweekly if located in orange zones.

Further, New York will once again extend the commercial eviction moratorium and any new zones will be announced Monday.

"If you are a yellow zone and if you are an orange zone, what it’s saying is if you’re in the community you have a problem," Cuomo said.

Indoor dining will close in New York City starting Monday.

Hospitalizations have not stabilized, and with a rising infection rate and NYC’s density, this means that indoor dining is too high of a risk.

Takeout, delivery and outdoor dining will continue.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 11, 2020

Cuomo also announced new rules for hospitals. The state previously said hospitals must increase staffed beds by 25 percent. They now must remain under 85 percent occupancy by either adding 25 percent capacity, reducing elective surgeries or both.

Cuomo said data showed 74 percent of new coronavirus cases are due to spread within a household.

The news comes as the state expects to receive 346,000 doses of Moderna's vaccine this month, in addition to the initial 170,000 doses of Pfizer's vaccine, which is expected to come this weekend. The state's Clinical Advisory Task Force unanimously approved the Food and Drug Administration's decision to approve the Pfizer vaccine, he said.

New York reported 87 more coronavirus deaths Thursday and more than 5,300 hospitalizations.