Fox News Flash top headlines for July 16
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo put a cork in the state’s coronavirus reopening Thursday, announcing new restrictions aimed at bars and restaurants.
“We need to remember our success fighting this virus is a function of our own actions,” he said. “Mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing -- basic as they may seem -- are critical to controlling the spread of this virus.”
In New York City, a new “three strikes and you’re closed” policy will shut down businesses that have repeatedly flouted state guidelines on masks and social distancing, Cuomo said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo briefs the media during a coronavirus news conference at his office in New York in May. (AP/New York Post).
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“Any establishment that receives three violations will be closed for business,” Cuomo said. “Egregious violations can still result in an immediate loss of a liquor license, but three violations and you're closed.”
Republican state Rep. Will Barclay, the New York State Assembly’s minority leader, balked at the three-strike rule.
“We need to ensure public health is protected, but threatening closures isn't helpful,” he told Fox News. “This is the time to be working with businesses -- not against them.”
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Cuomo also announced that throughout the rest of the state, reopened restaurants and bars can now only serve alcohol to customers who are ordering and eating food.
He said that groups who go to a restaurant and sit together are limiting their exposure to only within their group.
“That's if you're eating a meal -- if you're not eating a meal, and you're just drinking, then it's just an outdoor bar and people are mingling and they're not isolated,” he said. “And that’s what we’re seeing,”
Additionally, bar top space can now be used only for seated patrons – who must be socially distanced by six feet or separated by physical dividers.
Barclay ripped the alcohol restrictions, too, noting that “thousands of workers have lost their jobs” in the industry amid coronavirus shutdowns.
“Restaurants and bars have been pushed to the brink of collapse by COVID and the economic shutdown,” he said. “The governor's latest universal order will hurt and disrupt businesses still fighting for survival, many of which have had no issues or violations whatsoever.”
Cuomo also said he would make a decision on whether New York City can move into phase 4 of its reopening by 4 p.m. Friday. If he does authorize the move, he said there would still be additional new restrictions placed on certain indoor spaces.
State officials had attributed more than 25,000 deaths to the coronavirus as of Thursday out of more than 400,000 confirmed cases.
On Twitter, the governor shared a graphic showing a long decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past couple of months – down to just 813 currently from a height of nearly 20,000.
As the state recovers, Cuomo has been touting supply shipments to other parts of the country still dealing with surging outbreaks of their own.
This week, he announced shipments of tests, personal protection equipment and hand sanitizer to Atlanta and Houston and an emergency supply of medication to Florida.
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“We are grateful for what people across the US did for NY,” he tweeted. “We’ll never forget it & we are paying it forward.”
