Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Saturday announced that the Mid-Hudson Valley is on track to meet all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan starting Tuesday, May 26th, joining the Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions.
"The numbers are going down every day and we're making real progress to stop the spread of this virus, and now we're focusing on reopening," Cuomo said. "Reopening has been different in different regions all across the state, but each region has to meet the same criteria to reopen and we are keeping New Yorkers informed with where each region stands. We don't want a region to reopen before its ready, and the Mid-Hudson Valley Region has now met all the criteria necessary to begin reopening on Tuesday. This has been a tough situation, but New Yorkers are tough and we've shown how tough we really are here."
The Mid-Hudson Valley has now identified enough contact tracers to meet the state's guidelines, and the tracers are being trained in preparation for the Mid-Hudson Valley entering phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing
“The news from Governor Andrew Cuomo about the Mid-Hudson Region being eligible for Phase 1 re-opening on Tuesday is very encouraging,” said Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan. “We have been preparing for this moment for several weeks now, and I am confident that if we all work together we can and will re-open safely. We have held four Small Business Virtual Town Halls with hundreds of Ulster County businesses and our Department of Economic Development has been working non-stop to help our business owners by providing them the tools needed to open their doors in a safe and prudent manner. While this is welcome news from New York State, it is now even more important that we all do our part to wear masks, maintain social distancing, and wash our hands. Every single resident has a role to play in making sure we re-open responsibly and safely.”
Many state parks and beaches are open as of Memorial Day Weekend but all have restrictions. Lake Minnewaska and Sam's Point are experiencing extensive congestion on good-weather days and both sites are subject to intermittent closures as parking lots reach capacity. Please respect our neighbors and surrounding communities: DO NOT park on adjacent roadway shoulders. For alternative destinations search parks.ny.gov and and dec.ny.gov.
There are currently 1,656 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 72 fatalities in Ulster County.