This afternoon, Governor Cuomo held a joint press call with the Governor’s from New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island. On behalf of the six states, the Governor announced that they would be forming a working group comprised of a representative from the public health entity, the economic development entity, and the Governor’s chief of staff from each state. This working group will begin work tomorrow and will design a reopening plan for the region that takes into account the public health issues and economic issues. The working group will follow the data and learn from other countries that have begun to reopen. The plan seems to involve slowly expanding the definition of essential workers, but this is relatively preliminary at this point.
There is no timeframe for the working group, but the goal is for the reopening plan to begin as soon as possible based on the information available that will balance the public health needs with the need to restart the economy. Governor Cuomo indicated that any other state can join this initiative if they are interested. To the extent possible, the six Governor’s will implement the plan consistently across the region so that one state’s actions aren’t ahead of their neighboring states. All of the Governor’s acknowledged that the Coronavirus does not respect or acknowledge state borders.
We will be following the working group closely, and we will share information as it becomes available. We will also continue to monitor Governor Cuomo’s executive orders and changes that are happening in New York.