New York to reopen on June 8

New York City is on track to begin reopening for business on June 8, as the world’s biggest tourist destinations are eased from lockdown.

The Big Apple, America’s most populated city, quickly became the epicenter of the country’s coronavirus pandemic with over 16,000 coronavirus deaths to date. New York has been in lockdown since March, major tourist attractions remain closed and the usually bustling streets have been empty.

New York state’s Governor Cuomo announced that the city will hopefully enter phase one of reopening at the start of June. This will see non-essential construction and manufacturing resume and give retail stores chance to offer collection services – allowing an estimated 400,000 New Yorkers to go back to work.

“We are on track to open on June 8,” said Cuomo, however, “reopening does not mean we’re going back to the way things were.”

The city’s first baby steps come as parts of the state, which have met the seven health benchmark tests, will transition to phase two of reopening. This permits the likes of hair salons to welcome clients and retails shops to allow customers through their doors – with capacity restrictions and face covering rules in place.