Businesses Expected to Adhere to State Guidelines Upon Reopening
Tuesday’s Phase I reopening of the local economy comes with a hefty list of responsibilities for business owners in order to prevent an uptick in COVID-19 infections and a delay in the gradual expansion of commerce.
The reopening’s first phase for Westchester and Putnam counties, part of the seven-county Mid-Hudson region, includes construction, manufacturing and curbside retail.
On Tuesday, Westchester’s Director of Economic Development Bridget Gibbons detailed the state’s guidelines for merchants that is meant to protect employees and the public and provide documentation to public health authorities in case there are a rash of infections.
“It’s really very important that the businesses take a very close look,” said Gibbons during the briefing with County Executive George Latimer. “It’s a little daunting. It’s something like 10 or 11 pages long, the guidance, but it’s really, really helpful and it will make sure that if something does happen in your location, you have backup documentation, you show that you’re following the rules that the state put forth and you’ve done everything you can.”
Businesses must provide face coverings to their employees at no cost; maintain social distancing protocols of at least six feet in the workplace; prohibit non-essential visitors from entering the premises; limit sharing of tools and objects; keep a daily log of everyone who enters the place of business so in case any of those individuals test positive for COVID-19 contact tracers can notify the people who may have been exposed; and keep a daily log of employees potential exposure to the virus, whether they’ve tested positive or are symptomatic.
Each business owner must read and affirm the guidelines by visiting https://forward.ny.gov/industries-reopening-phase.
Gibbons said the county’s Economic Development Department is establishing a mentoring program to help business owners who need assistance. Later this week, the county will also be establishing a Business Reopening Task Force, she said.
Latimer said while the reopening guidelines may be cumbersome for businesses, he believes the vast majority will comply.
“I think most of the businesses have been out of business for such a long time that they want to get the revenue to come in and they are willing to do these things,” he said.
The county executive also expressed confidence that the county and the region will do well in navigating Phase I, which will last at least two weeks. A regional control board will conduct daily monitoring of the seven metrics for the state’s 10 regions, tracking hospitalizations, deaths, hospital bed and ICU bed availability and testing to make sure each area isn’t experiencing a spike.
Provided the region does well the next two weeks, the bigger test would be in Phase II, Latimer said. That includes a full reopening of retail and professional offices, such as financial institutions and real estate, attorney and accountants’ offices.
“I believe we’re going to go through Phase I pretty effectively,” Latimer said. “I think that the construction and manufacturing organizations will be able to manage their workforce in a way to keep them safe and we don’t see contagion spread. That’s the mission here.”
Phase III comprises restaurants and hotels while the fourth phase takes in recreation, education and arts and entertainment.
On Monday, the state reported 73 COVID-19-related deaths, the lowest total since mid-March, and just 201 new virus-related hospitalizations.
On Wednesday, Long Island is slated to become the ninth region to reopen. New York City still needs to have the requisite number of contact tracers to be trained, which is based on population, and to see its hospital bed vacancy reach 30 percent in order to open. On Tuesday, that number stood at 28 percent.
Beaches to Remain Open This Weekend
Latimer said Tuesday that the county plans to once again open Croton Point Park and Playland beaches this Saturday and Sunday after a mainly uneventful weekend at the two sites.
While the weather was poor Saturday and Sunday and Monday were not optimum beach days, the two sites appeared to adequately handle the visitors, he said. Under the state’s guidelines, crowds are being capped at 50 percent, face masks must be worn by visitors and employees and there are no activities or concession sales at the beaches.
In the coming weeks, decisions are looming about the county’s five public pools and Playland amusement park, Latimer said. The county will keep Playland closed through July 20 and will eventually decide on the fate of the rest of the season.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/