Governor Cuomo Announces New York City Cleared by Global Health Experts to Enter Phase Four of Reopening Monday, July 20th

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the team of global health experts advising New York State's reopening strategy has thoroughly reviewed the data for New York City and has cleared it to enter Phase Four of reopening without any additional indoor activity, such as malls and cultural institutions, beginning Monday, July 20th. Every region of New York State will now be in Phase Four of reopening. New York Forward guidance for Phase Four reopening can be found here.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

How are we doing? Andrew Cuomo, thank you very much for being with us. I'm joined by Robert Mujica, budget director, Commissioner Howard Zucker and Dr. Jim Malatras. We want to give you a briefing as to where we are today.

Today is day 139. New York conducted 78,239 tests yesterday. 776 were positive. That is lower than 1 percent were positive, so that is very good news. 10 New Yorkers passed away yesterday. Cause of death, COVID. They're in our thoughts and prayers. 765 New Yorkers hospitalized, that's down 48, so that's very good news. It's the lowest daily total of hospitalizations since March 18. So that is very good news.

We had the full team go through the data. As you know, we accumulate more data than any state that's now testing. We then have that data reviewed by two teams of experts, really. We have an in-house team, Department of Health, et cetera, and then we have global experts that have looked at this data all across the world, and we ask them to look at the data to make sure there's nothing that they see that is troubling. And they've done that.

And New York City will enter Phase Four on Monday. That is a hallmark for us. Every region of the state will now be in Phase Four. There are no more phases. Then Phase Four, so we are all in the final phase of reopening. And that's great. Every region has made it through the four phases without having to close. And the numbers are consistent through all phases of reopening. And this is what we said from day one, reopen smart, and if you reopen smart and you reopen in phases, and you follow the data, it's actually a better way for the economy to reopen because if you rush the reopening then you risk the probability of a viral increase. If you have a viral increase, you're going to have to go back and close again.

So that whole question of well, if you reopen quickly that's better for the economy. No, wrong. Not only is it worse for public health where you actually lose more people to COVID, but it's not even good for the economy because then you go back and you're going to have to close, and that's exactly what we're seeing all across the nation. There are no theories left here, my friends. We don't have to guess, it's not about opinion. we tested the theories. We have the data and the results on the theories. You don't have to guess, he's right, he's wrong. Just look at the numbers and look at the facts.

Look at the states that opened quickly, and look at New York where we had a phased reopening. And let any objective person look at the numbers and tell me what they see. So we're feeling very good about what we've done and I applaud all New Yorkers, because the New Yorkers did it. Government did nothing here. It's what people did. All we did was explain the facts to New Yorkers and then New Yorkers rose to the occasion. So I'm very proud to be a New Yorker.

The Phase Four allows schools to reopen pursuant to the State guidance. It allows low-risk outdoor activities and entertainment at 33 percent capacity. It allows outdoor professional sports without fans and that is happening as you know. It allows media production.

In New York City as I announced yesterday we're not going to have any indoor activity in malls or cultural institutions and we'll continue to monitor that situation and when the facts change we will let o know.

What we're really looking at now is the potential of a second wave - not the second wave that we originally discussed. The second wave that we originally feared was from the theory of the 1918 pandemic where there was Phase One and then the virus mutated and came back in Phase Two. That's not what we're looking at here.

This second wave would be man-made, not made by Mother Nature. It would not be mutation of the virus. It would be a wave that comes from the West and the South, a southwesterly wave that comes back to New York from the increase in the other states. We are painfully aware now that an outbreak anywhere is an outbreak everywhere. That's the lesson this nation should have learned last December when there was an outbreak in China and this past January when there was an outbreak in China they should have realized an outbreak anywhere is an outbreak everywhere, that if the virus is in China it's a matter of days before the virus gets on an airplane and is in the United States or is in Europe and that's exactly what happened. The virus was in China. The virus got on a plane, flew to Europe, the virus stayed in Europe a little bit, then got on a plane and flew to New York, and that's where the spread came from.

Now, the second wave it is understanding that lesson, the virus is in Arizona and is in Texas and is increasing in states all across the country and the virus will get on a plane in one of those states and will come to New York, or the virus will get in a car and will drive to New York, or the virus will get on a train and come into Penn Station in New York and that is almost inevitable.

The question is, can we control the viral spread coming into New York, but I feel like we're standing on a beach and we're looking out at the sea and we see the second wave building in the distance, so I want all New Yorkers to be on high alert. The virus is spreading. It's all across the country. It's getting worse and it will have an effect on New York. How bad we don't know, but we cannot stop the virus at our borders. We're trying everything we can, we've quarantined, we have done a very good job at all the airports with police and the quarantine forms, but the virus will still get through the border, the only question is to what percent. And that's what we're looking at - the inevitability of a second wave, the only question is how hard this hits.

And the second wave is being created by the negligence of our government. We knew what needed to be done to stop the virus. New Yorkers did it. We have a president and a federal government that still lives in the state of denial. The White House said yesterday, we're going to reopen schools, the president wants to reopen schools, and quote, "The science should not stand in the way," closed quote. "The science should not stand in the way." No, the science governs. The science wins. That's what we learned about the economic reopening. The science wins. The science defeats your political theories. They are continuing in the misguided path they have taken from day one. They've denied the virus, the virus won. They denied science, science won. They denied to take the necessary precautions recommended by every health official, and the virus won. So they continue on a losing strategy and the people of this country pay the price.