New York Says 'I Do' To Wedding Receptions, Allowed Back In March

NEW YORK — Couples who've been waiting months for the chance to say "I do" will get the chance — wedding receptions will be allowed again as of March 15, with restrictions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

Cuomo also announced that indoor dining in New York City can resume at 25 percent, beginning on Valentine's Day.

With the statewide positivity rate falling to 4.65 percent Friday, Cuomo said the holiday spike was over and as long as the current trajectory continues, receptions will be allowed, under strict state guidance: All events must be approved by the local health department. There will be a 50 percent capacity limit and no more than 150 people can attend the event. And, he said, all patrons must be tested prior to the event.

"New York says 'I do,'" Cuomo said, adding that it might be a nice idea for prospective grooms to propose at a newly opened restaurant on Valentine's Day. But, he added, "No pressure."

New York State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, who has advocated for the hospitality industry hit hard by the pandemic, applauded the news.

"I've heard from many catering facilities, brides, grooms, parents and ancillary businesses that have long awaited this decision from the governor," she said. "I know these business owners are responsible with tremendous care for their employees and guest."

Giglio thanked Cuomo "for recognizing the importance of this industry to our economy on the East End of Long Island and all of New York State."

The loosening of restrictions is based on facts and numbers, Cuomo said, reminding that all could change again, especially with the new "variants of interest," or strains of the coronavirus emerging in the UK, South Africa, Brazil and California, for example.

Cuomo speaks out on nursing home report

Cuomo spoke about a report by Attorney General Letitia James that said nursing home deaths were undercounted by 50 percent and that nursing homes were understaffed with a lack of sufficient personal protective equipment.

On Thursday, New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker provided new data and also fired back a response, stating that the health department has always publicly reported the number of COVID-19 fatalities in hospitals irrespective of the residence of the patient, and separately reported the number of fatalities within nursing home facilities — and has been clear about it.

"The word "undercount" implies there are more total fatalities than have been reported; this is factually wrong," he said in a statement. "In fact, the OAG report itself repudiates the suggestion that there was any "undercount" of the total death number."

The AG's report acknowledges in a footnote on page 71 that DOH was always clear that the data on its website pertains to in-facility deaths only, not residents' deaths outside of their nursing homes.

At Cuomo's press briefing Friday, Zucker said the state had always been transparent about the number of nursing home deaths in facilities. The state was compiling data on hospital deaths and had planning to release the information but after the AG's report, "we decided that we needed to finish that up quickly and get the number up in real time," he said. However, he emphasized, "The total number of deaths does not change."

The statement that the deaths were underreported is "factually inaccurate," Cuomo said.

In fact, Cuomo added, the AG's report confirmed what state officials have long maintained: New York State was following federal guidance, and not-for-profit nursing homes were "not forced to take anyone," he said.

Nursing homes that took recovering COVID-19 patients who had no symptoms — patients they were not able to adequately care for — were in violation of the law, another point the report confirms, he said.

When asked about the number of individuals transferred from the hospital back to nursing homes, state officials said the number is reliant upon the reporting of individual nursing homes and often incorrect.

"Everyone did the best they could," Cuomo said. "It's not about pointing fingers or blame. This became a political football. Whether someone died in the hospital or in a nursing home, people died."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the New York State Department of Health, "gave the best guidance they had," Cuomo said. "That didn't mean people didn't die, that they won't die today, and that they won't die tomorrow. That is the curse of COVID."

Cuomo said he understood the pain of losing a loved one; he suffered grief at the loss of his father.

"I understand the pain and the search for answers. . . I wish I'd had someone to blame," he said. "Maybe that would have made me feel better."

Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, said despite the time that has passed, the same percentage of COVID-19 fatalities are taking place in nursing homes.

"The same people are dying today," she said. "96 percent of people who die are older people with co-morbidities. It's continuing today even with all the testing that we are doing."

She added that New York State has a lower percentage of deaths in nursing homes than other states which, at 28 percent, is lower than the national average. In addition, she said, 13 states give no data on nursing homes at all.

And, DeRosa said, data indicates that between March and June, 37,500 staff members in nursing homes had the coronavirus.

Today, even with twice-weekly testing statewide, 40 percent of new cases are reported in nursing homes and 35 percent of the nation's 430,000 deaths are nursing home deaths, she said.

Cuomo said part of the problem was in the beginning, federal guidance did not point to the dangers of asymptomatic spread; staff and visitors brought the virus into the nursing homes before anyone knew it had come to New York from Europe, he said.

The coronavirus, Cuomo said, "was cruel and terrible — and still is."

When asked if he wished things had been done differently, Cuomo said: "I wish this never happened. I wish none of it happened. I wish there was no COVID."

Patch editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.