NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo imposed new COVID-19 restrictions Wednesday. All restaurants, bars, and gyms will have to close at 10 p.m. across New York state in the latest effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Only carry-out service will be allowed after 10 p.m.
“We’re seeing a national and global COVID surge, and New York is a ship on the COVID tide,” the governor told reporters.
The new measures, which take effect on Friday, came a day after California and several states across the Midwest tightened restrictions on residents to try to slow the rapid spread of the virus.
The governor said residents can’t host private gatherings with more than 10 people. Cuomo said the restrictions are necessary because new coronavirus infections have been traced to those types of activities.
In parts of neighboring New Jersey, the infection rate is higher and the measures to fight the virus much more extreme. The Garden State reported nearly 4,000 new cases Tuesday and more than 3,000 Wednesday, the first time it’s seen numbers that high on consecutive days since the end of April.
“To be clear,” said Gov. Phil Murphy, “the last thing I want to do or any of us want to do is shut our economy back down; and thankfully we are not at that point.”
Workers are being deployed to high-traffic areas armed with free masks and information.
Cuomo said 1,628 people were hospitalized across the state for COVID-19 on Tuesday and 21 people died.