Tuesday, September 16, Coronavirus Cases - There are 308 active confirmed coronavirus cases and 296 total coronavirus deaths in Monroe County, according to the Monroe County Health Department.

Travel Restrictions

As the U.S. death toll exceeds 195,000, travelers arriving to New York State from designated states are being met with restrictions, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s updated Executive Order. This week, Gov. Cuomo removed California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada and Ohio from the list of restricted states and territories. Puerto Rico was re-added. The order requires travelers from the listed states and territories to quarantine for 14 days upon entering New York. 30 states and territories are on the list since the most recent update on September 15.

The full list from the New York State travel advisory is below:

Alabama

Alaska

Arkansas

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Guam

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Missouri

Mississippi

Montana

North Carolina

North Dakota

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Puerto Rico

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Virginia

West Virginia

Wisconsin

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average. Essential workers are excluded, as well as anyone returning to New York from a designated state in which the visit was for less than 24 hours.

Travelers from restricted states are required to complete and submit a health form if landing at New York airports and by other means. Failure to submit the form could result in a $2,000 fine.

New York State Slows Spread

The COVID-19 infection rate in New York State has been below 1% for 38 consecutive days as of September 14—a record low since the pandemic began.

"Thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers across the state, New York has now gone four straight weeks with an infection rate below one percent," the Governor said. "Next week, malls in New York City and casinos across the state will be able to open, marking another milestone in our battle against COVID-19."

COVID-19 Testing

Rochester Regional Health Immediate Care locations accept walk-in evaluations and will test based on the testing criteria. Learn more about who can get tested, where you can get tested, and how much a test costs, in our new COVID-19 testing guide.

Read the COVID-19 testing guide

Reopening Schools

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently released guidance for reopening schools in New York State. The guidance allows for regions in phase 4 to reopen if the infection rate remains below 5 percent using a 14-day average. Schools will close if the regional infection rate rises above 9 percent, using a 7-day average. A summary of the full guiding principles created by the New York State Department of Health and can be read here.

Gyms & Casinos Reopening

Gyms and fitness centers in New York State are allowed to reopen on or after August 24 under new guidance issued by Governor Cuomo. Facilities are required to operate at 33% capacity and follow health and safety guidelines such as masking for all at all times and 6 feet social distancing at all times.

Local officials may choose to delay the reopening of gyms and fitness centers until September 2 if time is needed for health inspections, and they may choose to delay the reopening of indoor fitness classes until later than September 2.

Casinos across New York State have been given the green light to reopen under limited capacity of 25% occupancy limit.

Rules for Bars & Restaurants

All restaurants and bars in New York State can only serve alcohol to people who are ordering and eating food, according to a state-wide requirement announced by Gov. Cuomo. All service at bar tops must only be for seated patrons who are socially distanced by six feet or separated by physical barriers, and customers are prohibited from ordering directly from the bar.

To comply with the requirement, the New York State Liquor Authority say that bars and restaurants must sell sandwiches, soups or other foods, whether fresh, processed, precooked or frozen, to customers in order to sell them alcohol. Other foods can be salads, wings, or hotdogs. However, a bag of chips, bowl of nuts, or candy are not enough to satisfy the requirement.

Vaccine Update

The next two phases of the coronavirus vaccine trial have begun at Rochester General Hospital (RGH) after the successful completion of phase 1. RGH is one of four sites nationwide participating in the study, alongside the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).

Learn more about the potential coronavirus vaccine

Phase 4

Phase 4 is in effect for the greater Rochester area and the Finger Lakes Region. Phase 4 allows businesses to reopen in the industries of art, education, recreation, and entertainment. Malls have also reopened, however, not all stores in malls are reopening immediately. Casinos, movie theaters, and amusement parks remain closed. Museums and aquariums are open with proper safety protocols in place.

"Phase 4 presents the greatest risk because the amount of variation of facilities that are on the slate to reopen in Phase 4 is more than variable than in Phase 1 through 3," said Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County public health commissioner. "So doing so in a measured, coordinated way will allow the health department to follow the data very close and make course corrections as needed because the last thing we want to do is set ourselves all the way back."

Indoor restaurants in all regions have opened with safety precautions, as well as nail salons, tattoo parlors and spas. Indoor and outdoor seating is allowed with tables spaced six feet apart, all staff must wear face coverings and customers must also wear face coverings when not seated.

Read these 6 safe outdoor dining tips

New Visitor Policies at Hospitals

All Rochester Regional Health hospital facilities are implementing new visitor restrictions, including visitor screening requirements, following state and local Department of Health recommendations.

Read more

COVID-19 by New York Counties: