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By Denis Slattery
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York will allow summer day camps to open at the end of the month as the coronavirus crisis wanes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.
A spokesman for the governor said formal guidance will be forthcoming this week that will provide details about safety measures and other steps camps must take.
“Our young people have experienced both the trauma and the boredom of all these weeks of lockdown,” Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, D-Brooklyn, said in response to Cuomo’s decision. “They deserve to enjoy a safe summer filled with fun.”
Schools have been shuttered since mid-March as the city became the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.
The day camp decision comes after the city already canceled all city-run camps; the state has yet to make a determination on sleep-away camps.
Last month, Cuomo cast doubt on the idea of opening camps as kids across the state began coming down with a mysterious inflammatory condition linked to coronavirus.
“Until we have this answer on this pediatric syndrome, as a parent, until I know how widespread this is, I would not send my children to day camp,” the governor said during a briefing on May. 21. “If I would not send my children to day camp, then I would not ask anyone to send their children to day camp.”
Cuomo touted the gains the state has made battling the virus, noting that hospitalizations and other markers are trending downward as regions begin to reopen.
On the COVID-19 issue, day 94, we have more good news today,” the governor said. “The number of hospitalizations is down, the number of new COVID cases walking in the door is at an all-time low. Number of deaths, just about as low as we have seen it.”
Hospitalizations are averaging 154 admissions a day, compared to more than 3,000 daily at the peak of the outbreak, according to state statistics.
More than 24,000 New Yorkers have died from the virus in total, with 58 new deaths reported on Monday.
Western New York, including Buffalo, the state’s second-most populous city, became the latest region to see hair salons, retail shops and offices open under strict guidelines as part of the second phase of Cuomo’s reopening plan.
The capital region, which includes Albany, is set to move to “phase two” on Wednesday.
New York City remains the sole region still in full “pause,” meaning all nonessential businesses are still shuttered and large gatherings are banned. The Big Apple is on track to start the first phase of the state’s plan on June 8.
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PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): Cuomo