New York City began its first phase of reopening.
After New York City suffered the worst outbreak in the country, with nearly 22,000 residents killed by the virus, the city begins Monday its first phase of reopening.
Getting here, reports took the sacrifice of millions of New Yorkers who learned to live radically different lives. More than 205,000 have been infected, and nearly 22,000 have died. The New York Times adds that New York City, like nine other regions in the state, was required to meet seven health-related metrics before beginning reopening. New York City was the last part of the state to do so; much of upstate has already moved on to Phase 2, which allows most stores, offices and hair salons to open, with restrictions on capacity and social distance.
The “reopening” of the city means retail stores, battered by months of closure, can return to work, as well as 400,000 workers in construction and manufacturing.
What was the real toll of COVID for NYC? More than 885,000 jobs vanished during the outbreak, and the number of new apartment leases in Manhattan fell 71% to a decade-low of 1,407 in April, so the cost is high. Experts say the city will not see strong gains until 2022. Now, as vast protests for racial justice continues across the city, the resilience of a great city will be tested.
“You want to talk about a turnaround — this one, my friends, is going to go in the history books,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Saturday.
