NY State Senator James L. Seward

By NY State Senator James L. Seward

In light of what I have been through, contracting Coronavirus and now recovering from the insidious disease, I want to urge everyone to continue to observe recommended health guidelines to prevent further spread. I have heard of those who are not taking health recommendations seriously, and I can tell you from my experience – that is a crucial mistake.

New York State will recover from this pandemic and we need to be preparing a blueprint to reopen businesses and get people back to work. However, now is not the time to relax our vigilance. Following safety guidelines has put us in position to start looking ahead, and I urge everyone to keep up the fight.

Among the most recently implemented state requirements, any individual who is over age two is required to cover their nose and mouth with a mask or cloth face-covering when in a public place and unable to maintain, or when not maintaining, social distance. A full list of recommended guidelines, along with other key updates are available on the New York State Health Department website at https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home. The website is a clearinghouse of information that includes links to all of the governor’s executive orders issued during the pandemic, information regarding price gouging, and a directory for county health departments.

As we continue to follow recommended health and safety guidelines, it is also time to start developing a commonsense approach to reopen our state. A number of local governments and business officials are working on proposals and the state needs to closely examine and consider their work.

I have joined with members of the Senate Republican Conference in calling on Governor Cuomo to provide data on which of the state’s economic regions meet the CDC’s Phase 1 standards to restart business. These assessments must be released to the public so that parts of the state can begin to recover from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in a safe way. Governor Cuomo must include the state Department of Health, local departments of health, local officials, local businesses, and industry leaders in this process.

The impact of the Coronavirus has varied widely across the state. Only 7 percent of statewide Coronavirus hospitalizations are within areas outside of New York City and its suburbs. The governor’s regional assessments should consider cities separately from less dense populations within economic regions.

A commonsense regional approach, carefully considering health statistics, should be utilized as we turn the corner and begin to re-open our economy. Again, let me stress, public health needs to be the top priority as New York makes informed decisions during this crucial transition period.

I am pleased to hear the governor discussing a phased in reopening plan that takes into consideration different types of businesses and follows a regional blueprint. I look forward to partnering with him to implement a strategy that works. I also believe our local business owners, elected officials, first responders, and healthcare experts need to be included in the process. These local leaders have been on the frontline throughout the pandemic and they bring firsthand knowledge and an important perspective to the table.

Additional testing is another key factor. While the state’s plans for testing are still being modified and updated on an ongoing basis — and while there are still a number of unanswered questions about the implementation of testing across the state — the Department of Health does have information on their website that might be helpful.

If you want to know more about testing, would like to take an online assessment to see if you should ask to be tested, or to contact officials to find a nearby testing location, I encourage you to visit https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-testing.

By staying informed, and continuing to work together, I know that we will overcome the major challenges we face.