Governor Cuomo Says New York Will Start Phase 3 Opening Monday July 6

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed Sunday that New York City will enter Phase 3 of its reopening on Monday.

“NYC will enter Phase 3 of reopening tomorrow,” Cuomo tweeted, urging people to wear a mask, social distance and “be smart.”

The governor added, “Indoor dining will remain closed.”

Last week, Cuomo said indoor dining would be omitted from Phase 3 in the city because the return of indoor dining at bars and restaurants in other states led to a spike in cases there. Other regions of the state are allowed to have indoor dining under Phase 3.

“Everything else is going to continue, everything else is continuing all across the state," Cuomo said Wednesday. "This is a New York City-only modification because frankly it is a problem that is most pronounced in New York City.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that outdoor dining at restaurants, which started about two weeks ago, can continue. He said 6,600 restaurants in the city have applied for permits to serve patrons outdoors and he expects more to follow suit.

Phase 3 includes personal care services like nail salons, massage parlors and spas, as well as tanning, tattooing, piercing and waxing businesses. It also allows for the reopening of outdoor recreational areas, including basketball, tennis, volleyball, dog runs, handball and bocce.

Personal care facilities are limited to 50 percent capacity inside under Phase 3, with customers required to stay six feet apart. And any procedure that requires customers to remove their face coverings is prohibited. Waiting rooms must also stay closed—customers are encouraged to book in advance.

Under the current rules, large gatherings of people are still banned in New York City, but retail stores have been allowed to welcome customers back inside and offices have reopened to workers with some social distancing rules in place.

A couple of weeks ago, the city entered Phase 2, which allowed the reopening of offices, in-store retail and outdoor dining, as well as barbers and beauty parlors, among other businesses. Manufacturing and construction started under Phase 1 last month.

Cuomo said Sunday that there were 533 new coronavirus cases statewide, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 397,131. That's a drop from the 726 new cases reported Saturday and the 918 new cases reported Friday.

There were eight new deaths reported Sunday, Cuomo said. The state’s death toll is now 24,904.

The governor said 63,415 tests were conducted in New York state on Saturday and that the 533 positives represented a 0.84 percent positivity rate.

New Jersey is also taking some steps forward on Monday.

Outdoor graduation ceremonies can begin after Gov. Phil Murphy raised the capacity limit on outdoor gatherings from 250 to 500 people.

Youth day camps can also start up, provided they follow social distancing and other guidelines.

And for the first time since mid-march, New Jersey Transit plans to run a full schedule on its train and light-rail lines.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.