Ryan McMahon: We need to be smart, careful as reopening begins - syracuse.com

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Syracuse, N.Y. -- Central New York has been given the green light to reopen the economy Friday after the coronavirus shutdown, but it’s not full speed ahead, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said.

“We need to be smart,” McMahon said today, just hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo swept into town and confirmed that the region had met the last of seven criteria to reopen at midnight.

“We’re going to be a little more together now and there’s going to be more contact, so let’s not take the success we have had as community for granted,” MaMahon said.

McMahon announced that the county had performed more than 1,500 coronavirus tests since Wednesday in a last-ditch -- and successful -- effort to meet state guidelines on testing. The state’s reopening metrics require regions to maintain a monthly testing rate of 30 tests for every 1,000 residents, based on a seven-day average of new tests. In Central New York, that means an average of 775 tests a day.

The region is now hitting 1,048 tests per day on a seven-day average, McMahon said.

McMahon also announced that two more county residents had died of Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus. That brings the death toll since March 24 to 84.

“As we certainly have a new chapter in front of us, at the same time the grim reality is that the virus is here and still impacting us today,” he said.

The region, which includes Onondaga, Cayuga, Madison, Oswego and Cortland counties, joins the North Country, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier as ready to reopen. The restart will proceed in phases, with businesses in industries such as construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade and others going first.

Businesses will need to tell the state, using an online form, they’re practicing safety guidelines as they reopen. That document will have to be on the premises so county inspectors can see if the business is approved, McMahon said.

Not everybody who can open on Friday will be reopening, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said.

“Just because businesses can reopen doesn’t mean they should,” Walsh said. “For businesses that do fall into phase one, you have to use common sense to do what’s best for you and your business, and reopen in a way that works for you and most importantly that is done safely.”

While phase one won’t include in-store shopping or reopening bars, it will mean a broad spectrum of the economy will come to life again: home building and remodeling, distribution chains, manufacturing, McMahon said.

“This is all going to begin tomorrow," he said. “Thousands if not tens of thousands of employees will be getting back and starting to earn a wage. That’s going to generate economic activity, but there is risk with this. We have to balance it.”

Central New Yorkers will have to be vigilant to avoid large gatherings and continue social distancing, McMahon said.

“Even though we’re coming back together, we’re smart enough to come back together in a way that mitigates the risk,” he said.

McMahon also gave an update on the numbers:

-- Confirmed Covid-19 cases are up to 1,523, an increase of 35 from the day before.

-- 21,828 tests have been done; results have come back on 20,694. With 1,523 positive tests, that’s a positive rate of 7.4%.

-- Active cases rose by 21 to 785. The number of people in isolation and quarantine was 1,688, about 400 more than a week ago. McMahon said that number will continue to grow because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines that keep people in isolation longer.

-- Current hospitalizations remained at 56. Of those, 16 are in critical condition; one more than Wednesday.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Small businesses: Here are 3 steps you need to take to reopen under NY’s new rules

We made it: Central New York can start to reopen Friday, Cuomo says

CNY just had its deadliest week of coronavirus. The region could reopen for business anyway

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Ryan McMahon: We need to be smart, careful as reopening begins - syracuse.com
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