NY Could Ease Coronavirus Social Distancing In June: Analysis

NEW YORK — New York might be able to safely ease its novel coronavirus stay-in-place policies in June, new projections show.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut could relax social distancing on June 1 should the spread of COVID-19 continue to abate, analysts from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation say.

"Relaxing social distancing may be possible with containment strategies that include testing, contact tracing, isolation, and limiting gathering size," the analysis reads.

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IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray linked declining numbers to the success of social distancing and warned timing the return to work would have to be carefully controlled.

"The challenge – as well as opportunity – is for states to figure out how to reopen the US economy and allow people to get back to work without sacrificing that progress," Murray said in a statement.

"Relaxing social distancing too soon carries great risks of a resurgence of new infections. No one wants to see this vicious cycle repeating itself.”

Regardless of what happens in May, June will not be a bustling month in New York City, as Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled public events — including the 50th Annual Pride Parade — on Monday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed such projections during his daily press briefing Monday and noted different studies showed it could take weeks or more than a month before it was safe to relax his social distancing measures.

Easing social distancing would also rely on the state's ability to conduct mass testing, a subject that has Cuomo and President Trump spatting on live television and Twitter, with both men casting responsibility on the other.

"The projections are nice, but I wouldn't bet the farm on them," Cuomo said Monday. "And I don't even have a farm."

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