Coronavirus Yellow Zones — Except Newburgh — Lifted In Orange
NEWBURGH, NY — With coronavirus positivity rates continuing to decline, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that restrictions would be lifted in all orange zones and most yellow zones across New York State.
The only yellow zone to remain in the Hudson Valley is in Newburgh.
The other areas where yellow zones still exist are the Bronx, Washington Heights and Queens, Cuomo said. Restrictions in Port Chester (orange and yellow), Tarrytown, Yonkers, Peekskill, Ossining and New Rochelle were lifted by the governor Wednesday.
In a yellow zone, houses of worship could only operate at 50 percent capacity; mass gatherings could include only 25 people or more indoors and outdoors; indoor and outdoor dining allowed only four people per table; and schools remained open, with weekly testing of 20 percent of students and teachers/staff for in-person settings.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said he was pleased that Middletown and Highlands yellow zones were lifted by Cuomo.
"We hope that the governor will be in a position to lift yellow zone status in the remaining yellow zones across the state," he said. "The fastest way to make that happen is to follow social distancing guidelines, continue to wash hands and wear face coverings."
Cuomo said with the predicted holiday surge over, facts and science indicated that it was safe to begin lifting restrictions and loosening the valves to allow for increased economic activity. When asked about the unknowns posed by new variants, Cuomo said the vaccine was the only answer and that data could change in the future. He also added that hospital capacity remains the most critical issue, as does vaccination of hospital staff.
According to the New York State COVID-19 Tracker, Orange County has 31,137 positive tests to date, as of Tuesday. The total number of people tested is 464,051, yielding a 6.7 percent positivity rate.
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This article originally appeared on the Mid Hudson Valley Patch
