County Executive George Latimer and Westchester Director of Economic Development Bridget Gibbons on Tuesday briefed the public on the phase one reopening of the Mid-Hudson Valley region, which includes Westchester. After weeks spent expanding testing to 14% of the county and tracking coronavirus contact points, Latimer initiated a four-phase reopening plan set forth by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Latimer said, “As we reopen today, we satisfy the seven metrics, which include: decline in total hospitalizations, decline in deaths, new hospitalizations are at a certain limited level, hospital bed capacity, ICU capacity, diagnostic testing capacity, and contact tracing capacity.” At the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, the first week of April, there were over 11,000 active cases in Westchester; however, as of Tuesday, there are 1,665. In addition, the number of people hospitalized has decreased by about 75% from the peak. 

While discussing the phase one reopening, Latimer said “phase one involves primarily construction, manufacturing, retail delivery and wholesale trade. It also involves agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing. Most of those folks in the blue collar industries had been hurting for money, small businesses had been hurting, and so now hopefully this all restarts that process.”

These changes will allow for many people to get back to their jobs, though it is not yet a return to normality. Businesses will need to follow specific guidance provided by the state. They will need to take on new responsibilities along with upholding the social distancing measures the state has already imposed, such as wearing masks and maintaining a six-foot distance between people whenever possible. 

To address the confusion and stress of adapting to a new version of normalcy, the county has created new resources. “We are forming this business reopening task force, and we’re looking forward to getting that launched,” said Gibbons. “In addition, the economic development department is putting together a mentoring program to help our businesses that need help pivoting into the new normal from a business plan or funding perspective.” 

“I believe we’re going to go through phase one pretty effectively,” Latimer said. “I think that the construction and manufacturing organizations will be able to manage their workforce in a way as to keep them safe, and we don’t see the contagion spread.”