THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR MONDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. From the Governor’s Press Office. June 8, 2020;

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the MTA is accelerating construction on $2 billion in capital projects during this period of reduced ridership caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The projects include:

• Launching the rehabilitation of the F Train’s Rutgers Tube with the contract awarded in July – four years ahead of the original schedule;
• Accelerating 11 ADA stations, including adding 24 new elevators;
• Rehabilitating the 138th Street Grand Concourse Station, which will be completed one month early in October 2020; and
• Accelerating repairs of steel and concrete defects and leaks within the 2/3, 4/5 Train’s Eastern Parkways Line in Brooklyn and shaving 10 months off the project by increasing work up to 25 percent during overnight closures.

Governor Cuomo also announced the launch of the ‘It’s Up to Us, New York’ Campaign on MTA buses and trains and billboards across the region as well as on billboards throughout the state and through an integrated social media campaign to remind New Yorkers to do their part to continue fighting the COVID-19 virus.

The Governor also reminded New Yorkers that masks are mandatory when riding public transportation systems and that New Yorkers should follow all guidelines and protocols when riding, including maintaining social distancing to the extent possible, using hand sanitizer and observing decal guidance.

The Governor also announced that as New York City reopens today, the MTA is continuing to take unprecedented steps to keep riders and workers safe, including cleaning and disinfecting trains and buses daily – the largest and most innovative cleaning effort in its history.

Since May 6th, the MTA has performed 30,000 station cleanings and disinfections and 500,000 subway car cleanings and disinfections. The MTA is also piloting the use of proven UV light technology to clean subway cars and crew facilities.

The Governor also announced the state is deploying over one million masks, as well as 25,000 gallons and 500,000 2-oz. bottles of sanitizer to the MTA for reopening.

“New York City and the MTA are reopening, and today I took a ride on the 7 Train because if the subway isn’t safe for me, then I wouldn’t ask anyone else to go on the subway,” Governor Cuomo said. “The MTA has done phenomenal work – the subway cars are cleaner than they have ever been in my lifetime and they are disinfecting the cars every single day. And during this period of reduced ridership, the MTA has also smartly increased their construction so fewer riders were inconvenienced and accelerated $2 billion in capital projects.”

Confirms 1,108 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to 377,316; New Cases in 45 Counties

WPCNR SATURDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BREIFING. From the Governor’s Press Office. June 6, 2020:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the state has reached the lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of total hospitalizations was down yesterday to 2,603 from a record-high of 18,825 during the peak of the pandemic, and 35 people in New York passed away due to COVID-19, down from a record-high of 800 just eight weeks ago.

Governor Cuomo also announced places of worship will be permitted to reopen with 25 percent occupancy with all social distancing protocols in place during phase two of reopening. Places of worship in the seven regions that have already entered phase two – the Capital Region, Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, the Southern Tier and Western New York – can reopen beginning tomorrow, June 7th.

The Governor also announced he will issue an Executive Order allowing commercial buildings to conduct temperature checks for anyone entering the building as office workers begin to return to the workplace.

The Governor also announced New York City remains on track to enter phase one of reopening on Monday June 8th. The percent of positive COVID tests per day in New York City has dropped from a high of 57 percent per day to 2 percent per day. New York Forward guidance for phase one reopening can be found here.

The Governor also announced that in anticipation of New York City’s reopening, the state is deploying over one million masks, as well as 25,000 gallons and 500,000 2 oz. bottles of sanitizer to the MTA.

“The reopening of the economy is a valve – we said we were going to open the valve incrementally and then watch the metrics, and our metrics today are all very good so we’re going to open the valve more than we originally anticipated,” Governor Cuomo said. “We now have the lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths from coronavirus since this pandemic began – which is great news – so we are going to accelerate the opening of temples, mosques and churches and allow these places of worship to open with up to 25 percent capacity in phase two. But people still have to stay smart and follow all the necessary precautions and guidelines because if the metrics start to change, the reopening will have to be slowed down.”

Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,108 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 377,316 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 377,316 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows: