In his April 26 coronavirus briefing, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to start reopening parts of New York ― in phases on a regional basis. Phase 1 will be significantly limited, but will include “construction and manufacturing activities.” Expressing that there is a range in such activities, the governor explained that only construction and manufacturing industries that pose a low risk will be allowed to resume business during Phase 1. Gov. Cuomo has not provided any details on which construction or manufacturing activities constitute low risk, nor has he indicated which businesses, in addition to construction and manufacturing, will be allowed to reopen under Phase 1.

The reopening plan includes a Phase 2, which will be evaluated on a business-by-business analysis, measuring how essential a business’ services are versus the risks of reopening the business. Using the incubation period of the virus as the measure of time, there will be two weeks in between Phases 1 and 2 to monitor the effects.

Gov. Cuomo stressed that all businesses and employers will need to consider certain necessary factors to make reopening less risky, such as travel and transportation, personal protective equipment, cleaning and hygiene and capacity requirements.

Once New York’s phased, region-by-region reopening commences, there will be many questions as to whether a particular business or activity is permitted to reopen, and with what caveats.