On December 11th Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced new metrics by which micro-cluster focus zones will be determined to help control COVID-19 spread and protect hospital capacity. Additionally, the Governor announced new directives to further grow hospital capacity, as well as updated calibrations to business guidelines based on recent CDC guidance, advice of public health experts, and data from state's contact tracing program. Under these calibrated business guidelines, indoor dining in New York City will be suspended on Monday, December 14, and gyms and salons will now be allowed to remain open with restrictions in Orange Zones.
"We have been setting rules that make sense for everyone, and it is basically all common sense. We invested very heavily in doing COVID testing, and we do more testing than any state in the nation. That gives us actual facts that we can base our actions upon," Cuomo said. "This is not high science we're applying here—these are common-sense rules. Where the virus is highest, you have to take action. We're changing rules for the hospitals in the state. We've already announced that all hospitals have to do a 25 percent increase in staffed beds. Hospitals must remain under 85 percent, either by adding up to 25 percent of beds, reducing or eliminating elective surgeries, or both. We're also calibrating the risk level of the economic activity to ensure we are respecting public health, while limiting economic disruption to the extent possible. This pandemic has required us to stay nimble from the very beginning and we will continue to follow the data to make smart, informed decisions."