As schools in New York City close, a debate grows over tighter restrictions statewide.
A playground in Queens on Wednesday, when New York City announced that its public school system would stop in-person instruction.
A playground in Queens on Wednesday, when New York City announced that its public school system would stop in-person instruction.Credit…Anna Watts for The New York Times

As record numbers of virus cases emerge across the United States, cities and states are implementing tough new restrictions. But in New York State, once the center of the pandemic, the response to a second wave has been far more measured, with officials banking on a variety of less disruptive, targeted actions, often reliant on voluntary compliance.

Ominous signs are everywhere: In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio closed in-person classes at the city’s schools starting Thursday when the seven-day average rate of positive test results rose above 3 percent on Wednesday. Thousands of new cases are emerging every day statewide, and hospitalizations have more than quintupled since early September, topping 2,200 on Wednesday.

The numbers are also spiking in some areas that were spared the worst in the spring: Western New York has seen about 3,700 new cases in the past week alone, with positivity rates running above 5 percent.

All told, 12 counties around the state are seeing significant outbreaks, from Brooklyn to Buffalo.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo says his response to the pandemic continues to be aggressive and highlights his state’s achievements: New York is still seeing much lower positivity rates than most states. And the number of daily deaths and hospitalizations pales in comparison to the spring, when thousands died for several weeks running, and tens of thousands were sickened.

On Thursday, Mr. Cuomo said the state was adding to the zones that are subject to restrictions on schools, businesses and gatherings. Many of the new areas are in the mid-Hudson Valley area that includes suburbs north of New York City.

The new zones include a new “yellow zone,” the lowest level of limits, in Westchester County that includes parts of New Rochelle, which had the state’s earliest detected cluster of the virus in March, and Yonkers, which is directly north of the Bronx.

The state will also add a yellow zone in Orange County and expand an existing yellow zone in Rockland County, where clusters of the virus emerged last month.
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‘Just a Matter of Time,’ de Blasio Says of Limiting Indoor Activity
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York warned of further restrictions on indoor activity as the city approaches the Orange Zone.

I want to say at the outset to all the families, to all the parents, to all the kids, that it’s a tough day. It was a tough decision yesterday. It was not something anyone could possibly be happy about. And I do want to say how much I feel and understand the frustration of parents that they want — so many of them want their kids to be in school. And that’s what I fought for in opening our schools back in September against all odds. We will bring our schools back. This is the most important point, we will bring our schools back, but we’re going have to reset the equation. Just a matter of time before indoor dining will close and other types of things — gyms, other things. Anyone who heard those words Orange Zone yesterday, the Orange Zone rules are clear, and New York City will before long be in that Orange Zone status. So for everyone who honestly might feel somehow a little better if they knew that indoor dining was going to be closed or gyms were going to be closed, I’m sorry to tell you that for the sake of those business owners and everyone who loves those gyms and loves indoor dining, it’s just a matter of time.

1:22‘Just a Matter of Time,’ de Blasio Says of Limiting Indoor Activity
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York warned of further restrictions on indoor activity as the city approaches the Orange Zone.

Still, some public health experts and officials worry that without a broader shutdown, the state might not be able to limit the virus’s spread, particularly as residents tire of restrictions and the holidays near.

“The odds are against us at this stage in terms of keeping it under control,” said Dr. Isaac Weisfuse, a former New York City deputy health commissioner.

Mr. Cuomo has also said that he would put New York City under new limits if state data showed that the citywide seven-day average positivity rate rose above 3 percent. Those restrictions would include closing gyms and indoor dining, both of which remain open, a decision that has upset parents and frustrated public health experts.

On Thursday, Mr. de Blasio said that he thought it was “just a matter of time” before the city hit the state’s threshold, adding that it was a “matter of when, not if.” The closing of gyms and indoor dining was “very likely to be in the next week or two,” he said.
As the Virus Surges, How Much Longer Can New York Avoid a Full Shutdown?
The state is banking on a variety of less disruptive mandates, even as public health experts and other officials warn that such measures may not be enough.
Nov. 19, 2020

The mayor also advised the city’s business owners to prepare for another wave of capacity limits and further shutdowns, given Mr. Cuomo’s remarks. “Know that this is a very strong likelihood,” he said.

The city’s health department reported on Thursday a seven-day average positivity rate of 3.01 percent. Dave A. Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, said cases had been rising citywide.

The state, which uses different data, reported the citywide figure at 2.5 percent.

— Jesse McKinley, Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Michael Gold The New York Times