New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that all the state’s COVID-19 mandates are to be lifted, effective immediately.
Cuomo said, “The state mandates that have proven right and correction, and brought us through this pandemic, are relaxed as of today.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 70 percent of adults in New York State have received at least one injection of COVID-19 vaccine.
Cuomo had promised to lift “nearly all” the state health mandates once 70 percent of the adult population had been vaccinated, with at least one shot.
Among the mandates were the limits on the size of gatherings and the requirements for certain types of businesses to follow cleaning protocols, measure temperatures of those who enter and/or other screenings for recent COVID-19 symptoms.
Businesses no longer are required to follow social distancing rules, or limit how many people they can allow indoors based on the six-foot (2 meter) rule.
However: some of the mandates are to remain.
The central requirement is that which mandates New Yorkers to wear masks in schools, subways, large venues, homeless shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, jails and prisons.
The lowest rate of vaccinations in the state was Monsey, with only 17.8 percent of its residents vaccinated.
The seven other zip codes with the lowest rate of vaccinations in the state were found to be in neighborhoods populated primarily by Orthodox Jews, Cuomo said Monday. They were:
Williamsburg, Brooklyn: 32.7 percent
Ocean Hill, Queens: 33.4 percent
Far Rockaway, Queens: 33.4 percent
Canarsie, Brooklyn: 34.3 percent
Crown Heights, Brooklyn: 35.3 percent
Brownsville, Brooklyn: 35.8 percent
Borough Park, Brooklyn: 35.8 percent
In NYC, a ‘Hometown Heroes’ Tickertape Parade
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday there will be a ‘Hometown Heroes,’ ticker tape parade celebrating the Summer of New York City and thanking the essential workers who uplifted New Yorkers through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade, which will take place at 11:00 am on July 7, 2021, will begin by Manhattan’s Battery Park, travel along the Canyon of Heroes, and end with a ceremony in City Hall Park.
“We can never thank our essential workers enough for all they’ve done for this city. But we can celebrate their heroism in our streets – and put on a safe, dynamic, unforgettable parade to show our appreciation,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Thanks to these essential workers, we’ve fought back COVID-19 and we’re on our way to building a recovery for all of us. I can’t wait to march alongside them.”
The parade will feature a variety of different floats, each of which representing a group of essential workers who served this city heroically throughout the pandemic, said the Office of the Mayor.
“During one of the city’s darkest moments, our essential workers sacrificed their own health and time with family to serve all New Yorkers. Now that our city has reopened, it’s fitting to honor these heroes with a New York-style celebration. Our city is on the path to recovery because of their work and it’s time to clap for them in-person as they march the Canyon of Heroes,” said Speaker Corey Johnson.