New York City got more positive news in its COVID-19 pandemic recovery effort Friday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that indoor dining and personal care services in the city can expand to 75 percent capacity, beginning on Friday, May 7. Personal care services include spas, hair salons and barber shops.
Gyms and fitness centers can expand to 50 percent capacity, beginning on May 15.
Cuomo added that he will rescind his micro-cluster zone strategy order from last fall, which was employed to curb COVID spread on a hyperlocal level.
The governor's announcement comes a day after NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio stated that the city is on track for a "full strength" reopening by July 1, as New Yorkers have been vaccinated in "extraordinary numbers."
Cuomo said that while he is hopeful that New York can fully reopen — meaning "literally, everything back to normal" — within the next two months, he again preached caution and said that the goal rests on New Yorkers doing "what we have to do," i.e. getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
He again urged people ages 16 - 25 to get the COVID vaccine, calling on high schools and colleges to encourage students to get their shots.
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