Coronavirus: New York to rethink next phase of reopening as cases spike nationwide

Broadway shows will not be returning to New York City this year

New York officials will rethink the next phase of reopening in New York City, which would include indoor dining, as coronavirus cases surge across the country.

The announcement was made by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday where he addressed the climbing cases in states like Texas, Arizona, Florida, and California.

Texas and Los Angeles, California, have now rolled back some of their reopening phases as cases climb, and Mr Cuomo said he wanted to prevent New York from having to similarly move backwards in its reopening plan. At least 12 states were pausing phases of reopening amid an increase in cases.

There were two reasons that led state officials to reconsider New York City’s reopening plan: a failure in compliance of social distancing guidelines by citizens and the rise in cases across the US.

“Lack of compliance in New York City. You can see it in pictures ... It is undeniable,” Mr Cuomo said.

“It is not just indoor dining. It is indoor dining in New York City where you already have issues with high congregations. You already have issues with people clearly violating social distancing," he later added, stating an increase in viral spread across the nation increased the concern because those people could be travelling to New York.

“It is that combination of facts that is precarious.”

The final decision about the next phase for New York City would be determined on Wednesday, Mr Cuomo said, after he consulted business owners and other officials. Indoor dining was the area of largest concern that would be addressed.

"If that spread comes to New York, we could have to do this all over again," he added. "We are not going backwards, we are going forwards."

This decision comes as it was announced Broadway performances would not return to New York City until next year, the Broadway League announced in a press release. Shows were halted indefinitely in March when Covid-19 cases peaked with no set date to return. It was decided this week that a return date would not happen until 2021.

New York was one of the few states reporting a continued decrease in new cases, hospitalisations, and Covid-19 deaths. At least 853 people are currently hospitalised in the state from the novel virus, the lowest hospitalisation rate the state has seen since the start of the pandemic, the governor said.

The federal government was a huge source of criticism from the New York governor for failing to respond to the virus in a way that would've stopped an increase in coronavirus cases across the US.

"It is time to wake up America. The White House has been in denial on coronavirus from the get-go and the federal response has just been wrong. That's not a political statement. If you look at the facts, that's exactly what it says," Mr Cuomo said. “The denial by the federal government of the severity of this virus was followed by the federal government's abandonment of responsibility."

A push to reopen the country was an effort to boost the economy. But Mr Cuomo said it has done the opposite because the markets react to increased cases.

"When that virus spikes, the market goes down, not up," he said. "This was not a smart policy to rush reopening. It did not help the economy. It's the exact opposite."

He implored President Donald Trump to do two things that could help mitigate the spread of the virus: sign an executive order asking all residents to wear masks when outside, and wear a mask himself to show leadership.

"Let the president lead by example and let the president put a mask on it," the governor said.