(AP) - After two months of strict limits on business and social distancing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo welcomed the first loosening of restrictions in many parts of the state Friday and announced that beaches would be allowed to open in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

State and municipal beaches throughout the state will be allowed to open the Friday before the holiday, but with limits, the Democrat said.

Capacity will be limited to no more than 50 percent of normal, with parking limited to trim crowds. Group activities will not be allowed. Picnic areas and playgrounds will stay closed. Employees need to wear masks.

It will be up to local governments, Cuomo said, to decide whether to allow municipal beaches to reopen. If they do, they must follow the state’s rules.

MORE: LIVE BLOG - Coronavirus updates from the tri-state area and beyond 
TRACKER: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut coronavirus cases and deaths 

“If there is a problem, and the locals do not enforce those regulations, we will close those beaches,” Cuomo said.

Beaches in New Jersey and Connecticut will also be open for the holiday weekend, and Cuomo said part of the rationale for reopening was to prevent New Yorkers from flocking to those states as the weather warms.

Starting Friday, construction and manufacturing businesses will reopen in many rural parts of New York and some upstate cities. Retail businesses can open, too, but only for goods to be picked up quickly, not for in-store shopping.

Cuomo cautioned, though, that employers need to protect workers by supplying masks and limiting congregation of workers. And he said the limited steps the state is taking to reopen would be reversed immediately if infection rates start to rise.

“Watch what happens to the infection rate, testing rate, hospitalization rate. If those numbers start to move, slow down on the activity level.”

The coronavirus killed 132 New Yorkers on Thursday, Cuomo said.

 

 PHOTOS: Countries around the world cope with COVID-19