Restaurants in New York City, which until now were only allowed to serve meals on terraces and patios, will be able to start serving customers inside on September 30, but with a maximum capacity of 25% of their capacity.
The governor of the state of New York, Andrew Cuomo, announced this Wednesday the measure, which comes after weeks of pressure from restaurateurs, who are concerned about the end of the summer season and the good temperatures, which will influence the influx of customers to the terraces.
Cuomo also detailed the new regulations that the owners of these establishments will have to comply with, such as the obligation to take the temperature of customers, collect data from at least one of the diners in each group or the prohibition to serve at the bar.
In addition to the usual measures of maintaining a distance of two meters between tables and the obligation to wear a mask when the customer is not sitting at the table, the regulations will not allow food or drinks to be served after midnight and will require the establishments that enforce “ventilation, purification and filtration standards” of the air.
New York City had denied restaurants to open their interiors to customers, unlike other parts of the state, for fear of an eventual spike in the COVID-19 pandemic.
This weekend, the state marked a milestone with 31 consecutive days keeping the infection rate below 1%.
New York, which became the global focus of the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 30,000 people in the state, has been characterized by favoring a staggered reopening and public life in the open air.
The authorities only allowed until very recently the opening of gyms and museums, but also on the condition of drastically reducing capacity and maintaining careful hygiene measures.
–
