Governor Cuomo sets new rules to trigger COVID-19 color zones

Coronavirus update for NYC

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Friday, December 11, 2020

Governor Cuomo explained the new rules for the coronavirus color zones.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Governor Andrew Cuomo announced new rules to trigger the various coronavirus restrictions and color zones in New York State.

A "Red zone" with NY Pause will go into effect if a region is 21 days from 90% hospital capacity.

An "Orange zone" will be determined if a region is over 4% positivity over the past 10 days, or 85% hospital capacity or DOH determines an unacceptably high rate of growth in hospital admissions.

A "Yellow zone" is when there is 3% positivity over the past 10 days and a cluster is topping 10% for hospital admissions per capita over the past week, and there is week over week growth in daily admissions.

While indoor dining will be shut down in New York City starting Monday, the governor said they are still examining data for the rest of the state.

"We are calculating the data of this week and this weekend, and by those metrics, any new zones we will announce on Monday," Cuomo said.

The governor said gyms and salons can continue to operate in orange zones, with increased testing and regulations.

In an orange zone, gyms capacities will decrease from 33% capacity to 25%, and bi-weekly testing will go to weekly testing.

Gyms have been found to be responsible for .06% of the spread. Hair and personal care are responsible for .14%.

Restaurants were higher at 1.43%, and indoor gatherings in private homes were found to account for 74% of COVID-19 spread.

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