Restaurants, bars, movie theaters to close
Monday morning Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a joint effort with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy jointly announced Monday that the states will temporarily shut down movie theaters, gyms and casinos — and allow bars and restaurants to only offer takeout.
“Our primary goal is to slow the spread of #Coronavirus so that the wave doesn’t crash our healthcare system,” Cuomo said via Twitter. “Social distancing is the best way to do that. I have called on the federal gov’t to implement nationwide protocols, but in their absence we are taking this on ourselves.”
Cuomo went on to say in a tweet that this joint action with New Jersey and Connecticut was taken as the virus does not consider borders and that grocery stores will remain open.
“The #Coronavirus doesn’t care about state borders, so this agreement with @GovNedLamont & @GovMurphy will help protect the entire Tri-State Area,” Cuomo wrote. “These temporary closures will last as long as is necessary to protect the public health. Grocery stores will remain OPEN.”
Earlier in the day in response to the spread of the coronavirus, the Oneida Indian Nation announced the closing of its area casinos.
The Oneida Indian Nation today announced that for public health and safety reasons, it will be temporarily closing its three casino properties – Turning Stone Resort Casino, Point Place Casino and Yellow Brick Road Casino – starting Monday at 5 p.m.. There is no timeline for reopening at this time.
“The well-being of our members, employees, guests and community at-large remains our highest priority which is why we have decided to temporarily close all of our casinos later today in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation Representative and CEO of Nation Enterprises. “In this unprecedented time, it is critical for businesses to step up and make decisions to support the health and well-being of community.”
Over the weekend, the Oneida Indian Nation announced that all full-time employees of its various enterprises will be receiving two additional weeks of coronavirus related Paid Time Off (PTO) to help them deal with the unprecedented disruption. Authorized and enacted by Oneida Indian Nation leadership, this measure is designed to provide some degree of relief during the coming months when the financial impacts of the coronavirus are expected to be the most acute.
