NYC Mayor Won't Name Reopening Date As Coronavirus Abates

NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio refuses to name a date or give advance warning for the first phase of New York reopening which could happen as soon as next week.

"We're not going to tell people the day in advance," de Blasio said. "I think I've given people plenty of warning."

The New York mayor said it's been "abundantly clear" that three tracking indicators — which he suddenly changed last week — will dictate when the city gives up to 400,000 workers permission to return to their jobs.

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Reopening cannot occur until New York City meets three COVID-19 benchmarks, two of which were met Thursday.

The city was well below the 200 count for new COVID-19 hospitalizations at 59 and the percentage of people testing positive stood at 6 percent, seven points lower than the 15 percent maximum, de Blasio said. But Intensive Care Unit admittances remained above the 375 goal with 421 patients.

Between 200,000 and 400,000 workers in construction, manufacturing and retail businesses restricted to curbside and quick in-store pickups will be allowed to return to their jobs, de Blasio said.

How those workers will get to work remains uncertain, as de Blasio still hasn't explained how the city and the MTA will prevent crowding on public transportation.

CEO and Chairman Pat Foye has said he would consider reserved seating, but de Blasio, scheduled to meet with the MTA chief later today, said he didn't want to speculate on tactics.

"It's their railroad," de Blasio said. "We need something that will limit the number of people in each car... the conversation today is what will work and what will make sense."

The city does not yet know how many people can safely take public transportation, de Blasio admitted.

"Those conversations are happening right now," de Blasio said. "I have confidence it's going to work out."

Businesses allowed to reopen will be required to conduct constant cleaning and employee health screenings with workers submitting to temperature checks and filling out symptom questionnaires, de Blasio said.

The Mayor's office next week will publish reopening guides for specific industries and launch a hotline will be launched for business owners to get their questions answered and problems solved, according to de Blasio.

"What you do at a clothing store is different than what you do at a construction site," the mayor explained. "It's all about limiting contact."

New York City is the last of state regions to reopen, struggling to control the spread in a city that's been the nation's epicenter of the pandemic.

As of May 27, New York had seen 16,610 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 4,752 likely deaths, 51,380 hospitalizations and 197,351 cases, city data show.

The mayor applauded New Yorkers for their social distance efforts which he credited with slowing the spread of the virus, but appeared ruffled when a reporter suggested they deserved advanced warning of when the reopening would begin.

"We do not have a specific date," said the mayor. "I don't think it's too much to ask for people to wait and not to jump the gun."

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