New York is largely lifting corona restrictions
– Governor Cuomo in front of the New York skyline © © 2021 AFP
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In view of the progress in the vaccination campaign, the US state of New York is largely lifting the existing corona restrictions.
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In view of the progress in the vaccination campaign, the US state of New York is largely lifting the existing corona restrictions. As Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday, 70 percent of all adults in the state have now received at least one dose of corona vaccine. “That is the national goal and we achieved it earlier than planned,” said Cuomo. “That means we can now go back to the life we know.”
Among other things, capacity restrictions in restaurants, cinemas, shops, companies and sports facilities are no longer applicable. However, the requirements of the federal authorities for public transport, hospitals and schools remain in place.
The achievement of the 70 percent mark in the state should be celebrated with fireworks on Tuesday evening, including at the port of the metropolis of New York City and at Niagara Falls. Famous buildings such as the Empire State Building should also be illuminated in the national colors of blue and gold.
New York was the epicenter of the corona pandemic in the United States last spring. In the state, more than 42,000 people died as a result of the infection, 33,000 of them in New York City. In the past few months, the strict corona restrictions were gradually relaxed in view of the falling number of cases, as is happening in many other US states. The corona restrictions were largely lifted in California on Tuesday.
US President Joe Biden has set a goal that 70 percent of adults in the country will have received at least one dose of vaccine by July 4th, Independence Day. A number of states have already achieved this goal.
Nationwide, however, the share is currently 64.5 percent. In view of the high number of vaccination skeptics and vaccination opponents, it is unclear whether Biden’s goal can be achieved.
The number of new corona infections and deaths has decreased significantly in the USA. However, hundreds of patients continue to die of an infection every day. On Tuesday, the symbolic threshold of 600,000 corona deaths since the beginning of the pandemic was exceeded.
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