Governor Cuomo Announces Adjustments to COVID-19 Cluster Strategy Restrictions
On October 21st, Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced adjustments to the State’s efforts to address COVID-19 clusters through local restrictions. Cluster zone designations will be adjusted as follows:
- Areas will exit a red zone if they have an infection rate under 3 percent after 10 days (4 percent in less populated areas)
- Areas will exit an orange zone if they have an infection rate under 2 percent after 10 days (3 percent in less populated areas)
- Areas will exit a yellow zone if they have an infection rate under 1.5 percent after 10 days (2 percent in less populated areas)
Additionally, the State may consider other factors to adjust restrictions on a case-by-case basis, such as if new hospitalizations are trending downward, if new cases are coming from a new source (i.e. congregate facility), and if the local government undertakes increased and effective enforcement actions.
The Governor reported that the infection rates across red zone focus areas have decreased in the past seven days as compared to the last week of September. Based on the current data and the adjusted metrics above, several focus areas of Brooklyn and Queens have either been added to or removed from certain zone designations. Rockland, Broome, and Orange county zone designations remain. The State is also tracking recent upticks in counties along the Pennsylvania border.
The Governor’s press release is available here and additional details on the cluster strategy are available here.
On October 20th, the Governor announced that Maryland and Arizona were added to the State’s travel advisory, bringing the total number of states on the list to 43. The Governor stated that New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania have also passed the State’s thresholds but are not being placed on the list due to difficulty of implementing the quarantine for neighboring states. As almost all states are now included, and with improved capabilities, the State is considering a more tailored system using rapid testing to replace the current 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers from the states on the list.
The Governor’s press release is available here.
Governor Cuomo Signs Executive Order 202.70
On October 20th, Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.70 (available here), which extends several provisions related to the COVID-19 emergency through November 19th. This includes a provision that permits a practitioner to establish a patient relationship using only a questionnaire for the purpose of ordering a clinical laboratory test, which may be administered through an asynchronous electronic interface such as email. The Order also extends a previous directive prohibiting the eviction of a commercial tenant for nonpayment of rent or a foreclosure of any commercial mortgage for nonpayment through January 1, 2021 and modifies previous directives to allow for the opening of movie theaters under certain circumstances.
Provider Relief Fund Phase 3 General Distribution Webinar
On November 2nd at 3pm, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will host another webinar to review the CARES Act Phase 3 General Distribution funding and application process. Registration for the webinar is available here. Applications for funding are due on November 6th.
Updated Guidance Documents
The following New York State guidance documents have been recently released: