Health & Fitness

Cuomo Lifts Many NYC Coronavirus 'Red Zone' Restrictions

Parts of Brooklyn remain under "red zone" closures, but other clusters in the borough and Queens are now less-restrictive "yellow" zones.

Parts of Brooklyn remain under “red zone” closures, but other clusters in the borough and Queens are now less-restrictive “yellow” zones.
Parts of Brooklyn remain under “red zone” closures, but other clusters in the borough and Queens are now less-restrictive “yellow” zones. (NY Governor's Office)

NEW YORK CITY — Coronavirus case levels in problematic local Brooklyn and Queens hotspots improved enough to lift many “red zone” closures in the neighborhoods, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.

Cuomo said the improvements allow the state to adjust or eliminate tiered, color-coded red, orange and yellow zones in the boroughs.

Simply put, coronavirus case surges largely slowed after Cuomo instituted the zones around so-called “micro clusters.”

Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“What it shows is it is working,” he said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo went over improvements in coronavirus “red zones” across the state. (NY Governor’s Office)

Schools and non-essential businesses will remain closed in Brooklyn’s nearly two-week-old red zone, Cuomo said. But numbers in its roughly five-block orange “buffer” zone have improved enough to shift it to a yellow zone, meaning schools and businesses can reopen.

Find out what's happening in Massapequawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced changes to Brooklyn’s color-coded coronavirus zones. (NY Governor’s Office)

Two clusters in central Queens and Far Rockaway fared much better. All red and orange zones have been wiped off the map in those areas, which are now yellow zones.

Yellow zones still keep many restrictions — such as 50 percent capacity limits on houses of worship and mandatory weekly testing in schools — but keep schools and businesses largely open.

Coronavirus clusters in central Queens are now designated yellow zones. (NY Governor’s Office)

All of Far Rockaway’s cluster areas are now designated yellow zones. (NY Governor’s Office)

Cuomo outlined the steps by which areas can exit the red, orange and yellow zones.

To exit a red zone, the coronavirus positivity rate must stay under 3 percent after 10 days, Cuomo said. The rates for orange and yellow zones are 2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, after 10 days.

Click here for more information on the cluster zones.

The city’s COVID zone finder can be found here.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here