Cuomo Orders Severe Restrictions on Shuls and Gatherings

Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a new plan to combat “clusters” of coronavirus cases, which will place severe restrictions on religious services, mass gatherings, close or place mandatory weekly testing on schools.

By Anash.org reporter

Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a new plan to combat “clusters” of coronavirus cases, which will place severe restrictions on religious services, mass gatherings, and stopping indoor dining in affected areas.

His new plan called The Cluster Action Initiative, locations will be categorized by Red, Orange, or Yellow, based on proximity to the cluster, instead of defining areas by zipcodes.

Red “intense clusters” will see all non-essential businesses and schools closed, restaurants will be limited to takeout only, mass gatherings will be prohibited, and houses of worship will be limited to a maximum of 25% capacity or 10 people.

Orange areas will see indoor and outdoor mass gatherings limited to 10 people, places of worship will be limited to a maximum of 33% capacity or 25 people. High-risk nonessential businesses will be closed.

Yellow area will allow worship at up to 50% capacity, indoor and outdoor mass gatherings limited to 25 people, all businesses will remain open, and indoor dining will be limited to 4 people per table.

While schools in Yellow areas will be allowed to remain open, mandatory weekly testing of teachers and students will be required.

Earlier today, the governor held a conference call with Jewish community leaders where he cautioned that Shuls would be closed if his guidelines limiting to 50% occupancy were not kept. Following his latest announcement just a few hours later, many on the call felt blindsided, saying that the call had been a one-way conversation with no questions allowed besides for three scripted ones.