Movie theaters can reopen in NY, aside from in NYC, next week

Up until now, NY has been taking action statewide or on a regional level.

Andrew Cuomo has announced that movie theaters outside of New York City will be allowed to open beginning October 23. "We are now going to analyze it block-by-block", he said.

-Gov. Cuomo began the briefing by recapping the history of how the virus came to the U.S., noting that it has always "been a step ahead of us" and was in the country spreading before it was known. "We have data so specific that we can't show it because it could violate privacy conditions. The only answer is more enforcement", Cuomo said.

The governor said micro-clusters would be declared "red zones". "It's much smarter it's more effective and its less disruptive".

Cuomo said Orange, Rockland, Queens and Brooklyn counties contain micro-clusters.

-Cuomo says NY's strategy is working and notes that cases are low compared to spikes in other states.

Cuomo announced that a record 160,000 tests were conducted Friday and the state's overall positive test rate stands at 1.1%. Also, movie theaters can only open outside of NYC in counties that have an infection rate below 2% on a 14-day average and do not have any cluster zones.

Masks will be required at all times except when seated and eating or drinking.

Cuomo also said the state had served a health order on an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Williamsburg that was planning a wedding that was expected to draw a massive crowd of some 10,000 revelers.