New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced late Tuesday afternoon that no more than 10 people will be allowed per synagogue located in any area designated as a “hotspot” beginning on Wednesday (Oct. 7).
“A (COVID) cluster problem is serious,” the governor said, “because a cluster problem can grow. The virus spreads in mass gatherings. We know that outbreaks — when it spreads out of control — are born in group settings; especially indoors.
“We’ve seen it in colleges… we’ve seen it in factory settings… we’ve seen it in a single restaurant – which can also be a mass gathering,” he said. “We’ve seen it in the Rose Garden,” he pointed out. “We’ve seen it in places of worship,” he then said.
“We had the first hotspot cluster in the United States of America – New Rochelle – a superspreader who attended a temple service and then attended a wedding and that was it; we were off to the races,” Cuomo said. “So it’s to be taken very seriously. Mass gatherings cause infections which can cause a cluster. Clusters cause community spread. That is the natural evolution of things unless we intervene and we stop the cycle.”
Cuomo said there are clusters in colleges upstate, in Binghamton, Orange, Rockland, Queens, Brooklyn and in Nassau, and said that is where the “Cluster Action Initiative” will be applied. “What’s our strategy? Crush the cluster and stop the spread.”
It’s a three-tiered system – red, orange and yellow – similar to the “traffic light” system designed by Israel’s Coronavirus Commissioner Professor Roni Gamzu, to grade the severity of rules and restrictions by color, depending on the number of COVID-19 cases diagnosed in that sector.
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In New York, red stands for the cluster center; orange for the immediately surrounding area, and yellow for the ring surrounding them both, an area of extra precaution.
The rules include shutting down public and private schools, which moved Tuesday to all-remote learning, shutting down non-essential businesses in some of the areas, and returning restaurants to “takeout and delivery only” status for a 14-day period, after which the state will re-evaluate.
Cuomo also emphasized that the cluster is identified by the actual number of cases in that area, and not by the zip codes or the census tracking, unlike the means used by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who targeted areas by using zip codes.
Here’s a quick list that breaks it all down:
Rules for Red Area:
Houses of worship: 25 percent capacity, max. 10 people
Mass gatherings prohibited
Non-essential businesses closed
Schools closed
Restaurants allowed to serve takeout / delivery only
Rules for Orange Area:
Houses of worship: 33 percent capacity, max. 25 people
Mass gatherings 10 people max indoor / outdoor
High risk non-essential businesses closed (ie: gyms, personal care)
Schools – only remote learning permitted
Restaurants allowed to offer outdoor dining only, 4 max per table
Rules for Yellow Area:
Houses of worship: 50 percent capacity
Mass gatherings 25 people max indoor / outdoor
Businesses open
Schools – in-person classes allowed, only with mandatory weekly testing of students / teachers / staff (Testing to begin next week)
In addition, Cuomo announced a hike in the fine for violations of mass gathering regulations: the fine is now $15,000.