Gov. Cuomo: Changes to NY's red zones expected this week

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signaled Monday that changes to New York's red zones are expected to be announced this week, based on the latest data about the virus.

News 12 Staff

Oct 19, 2020, 4:27 PM

Updated 1,506 days ago

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Gov. Cuomo: Changes to NY's red zones expected this week
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signaled Monday that changes to New York's red zones are expected to be announced this week, based on the latest data about the virus.
On a conference call with members of the media Monday morning, the governor said he expected those changes to be announced on Wednesday.
"We can adjust the zones, you can make them bigger, you can make them smaller, because you have the numbers block by block basically, and you can change the contours... On Wednesday, we'll announce changes to the zones, and I do anticipate changes to the zones," Cuomo said.
The governor was referencing New York's new "micro-cluster strategy," that uses red, orange and yellow zones to clamp down on emerging clusters of the virus by rolling out restrictions on a refined basis, as opposed to regionally. 
"On the design of the red zones... the Queens numbers are better than the Brooklyn numbers. Orange and Rockland numbers are still high. We have total flexibility in these zones -- you know, once you get below the regional level... You can draw the lines on these maps wherever you want, literally, you can just configure it block by block," the governor said. "So as discrete areas get better, you can rewrite the zones."
The governor said he was also working with community leaders in the areas where clusters have emerged "on a direct basis to get the numbers down."
"We're looking at the data, we're talking to the groups, and we'll do that today and tomorrow, and we'll announce them on Wednesday," Cuomo added.
The governor also spoke on the call about questions that he says the federal government must answer on its vaccination plans, as research continues on several potential vaccines. He urged the Trump administration to give details on prioritization, allocation, funding and more.