New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware will open beaches Memorial Day weekend with some restrictions, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Friday.
Cuomo said that the states coordinated the opening as a way to avoid people traveling to certain areas that have open beaches. He used the example of Georgia, which opened some businesses late last month, and people reportedly traveled there to pay for services that were closed in other states.
“We are one multistate region. What one state does will affect other states; that is probably clearer nowhere else than in opening beaches,” Cuomo said.
“If Connecticut opened beaches and we didn’t open beaches, you would see a flood of people going to Connecticut,” he added.
Beaches will be at 50 percent capacity and masks will be required when social distancing is not possible. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said earlier this month he would be “shocked” if the state’s beaches weren’t open by Memorial Day.
The move from Cuomo comes as his state inches toward reopening. The state-wide stay-at-home order will remain in place until May 28 for the five regions that are still closed, although any region can reopen earlier if it hits its “benchmark.”
“Five of 10 regions in New York state are starting to reopen on Friday, because they meet the numerical criteria,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said Friday that the number of hospitalizations and new cases continue to decline in the state, but warned residents to not underestimate the possibility of a resurgence.
As of Thursday, 348,192 cases and 27,617 deaths have been reported in New York, according to The New York Times.
Cuomo announced Friday that 132 people had died due to the virus over the past day, marking a continued decline in new deaths from the peak in the state in early April.