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Less than a week after state officials announced that restaurants could expand to 75 percent indoor capacity this month, a full indoor dining comeback is now on the horizon. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that restaurants, bars, and other businesses can reopen at full capacity starting on May 19.
It’s far from a return to normal for restaurant and bar owners. Even at 100 percent capacity, other coronavirus precautions will remain in place for the time being, including mask wearing and social distancing. Operators must either seat diners at least six feet apart, in adherence to federal guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or tables must be separated by physical barriers.
“If the CDC changes their guidance, then we’ll change our guidance,” Cuomo said in a press conference on Monday. However, if a restaurant requires its customers to be fully vaccinated, or show a negative COVID-19 test, then it does not need to follow the social distancing requirements for patrons, Cuomo said.
Twenty-four-hour subway service, a sticking point for some restaurant and bar owners operating after-hours, will return on May 17 ahead of the full reopening, Cuomo said.
Cuomo announced the decision in tandem with Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut. Restaurants and bars in those states can also reopen at full capacity starting on May 19. “With our COVID-19 numbers, particularly hospitalizations, trending decisively in the right direction and our vaccination goals within reach, now is the time to take major steps to reopen our economy and loosen both indoor and outdoor gathering and capacity restrictions,” Murphy said in a statement.
RandyMarsh
Article URL : https://ny.eater.com/2021/5/3/22417412/return-full-capacity-indoor-dining-may-nyc