The governors of New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island announced a multi-state council to come up with a regional plan to reopen transportation, non-essential business and schools.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says “the worst is over” as the state continues to flatten the curve — even though New York has surpassed 10,000 virus-related deaths.
New York has more than 195,000 confirmed cases. On Long Island, there are over 46,000 cases. Westchester County has over 19,700.
Cuomo said New Yorkers must continue to stay at home, as officials come up with a plan to reopen business and schools.
“This is going to be no epiphany, there is going to be no morning where the headline says hallelujah it’s over," Cuomo said. "That’s not going to happen."
Connecticut has more than 13,380 cases — most are in Fairfield County and New Haven County. 602 people have died.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said the multi-state council will create a framework to ease social isolation without triggering renewed spread, including testing, contact tracing, treatment and social distancing.
“This virus does not stop at the border of any county, state, or country, but the impact is the same when it comes to our respective economies and healthcare systems," Lamont said. "
Lamont emphasized that Connectiut’s plan will be different than the other states in the collaboration.
“There's no one size fits all, even within the state of Connecticut," Lamont said. "In New York, for example everybody there has generally higher infection rates than we do. So they’ll have a different set of criteria.”
Cuomo said the reopening would be put on hold, if and when the infection rate increases.
COVID-19 testing at mobile drive-thru sites in Connecticut and on Long Island are expected to reopen Tuesday after they were suspended today due to thunderstorms and high winds.
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