Restrictions on bars, restaurants, gyms in New York take effect Friday

NEW YORK - New restrictions in New York bars, restaurants, and gyms take effect Friday night due to a surge in coronavirus cases.

"The fall surge is here," Cuomo said on Wednesday afternoon.

Among the new rules he announced, any establishment with a state liquor license must close during overnight hours starting at 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, 2020.

Also, gyms will be forced to close statewide at 10 p.m. each night.

"If you look at where the cases are coming from, if you do the contact tracing, you'll see they're coming from three main areas and we're going to act on those three areas," Cuomo said. "It's bars, restaurants, gyms."

The state is also limiting limit indoor gatherings at private homes to 10 people. This would mean families could not have large Thanksgiving gatherings.

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"We know indoor gatherings and parties are a major source of COVID spread," Cuomo said.

The state reported 4,820 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and an additional 21 deaths. Total coronavirus hospitalizations are at 1,628 across New York.

The governor also announced these changes to the so-called hot spots:

Modifications to Current Focus Zones

• Steuben County - Yellow Zone Removed
• Port Chester - Yellow Zone Changes to Orange Warning Zone - (see map here)

New Focus Zones

• Staten Island - New Yellow Precautionary Zone - (see map here)
• Tioga County - New Yellow Precautionary Zone (see map here)

"Staten Islanders spend a lot of time going back and forth from New Jersey, and New Jersey has a very high rate," Cuomo said. "I think that's part of what's driving the high rate in Staten Island, which is higher than the rate in the rest of New York City."