New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo briefs the media during a coronavirus news conference at his office in New York City, Saturday, May 9, 2020. AP Photo: John Roca/New York Post

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday forecasted that Long Island and the Mid-Hudson region could reopen parts of their economies within days.

Hundreds of contact tracers need to be trained for the Mid-Hudson region, but the area is expected to reopen a portion of its economy starting Tuesday, the Democrat reported Saturday. The reopening news comes after the region saw a low number of hospital deaths, meeting a reopening benchmark set by state officials.

Long Island could possibly open by Wednesday, if deaths continue to decline and the region meets a contact tracing benchmark, Cuomo said.

In those regions, a reopening green light could spur the state's Unified Court System to allow judges and other staff to return to courthouses in those areas. It would also leave New York City as the only region in the state not yet allowed to restart a portion of its economy.

Compared to upstate New York, hard hit downstate regions are taking longer to reach the state's reopening benchmarks, which require that regions see a continued downturn, or a low number, of hospital deaths or new hospitalizations. Regions must also have the capacity to do 30 diagnostic tests per 1,000 residents on a monthly basis, among other metrics.

Meanwhile, upstate New York regions have moved into phase one of the state's reopening scheme, in which construction, agriculture and manufacturing companies are allowed to bring back their operations.

In anticipation of Long Island and the Mid-Hudson region entering that phase, Cuomo has said the state will allow "construction stanging" for those regions.

"We're hopeful that the number of deaths continues to decline," he said at a Friday news conference. 

The Mid-Hudson region includes Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties, among others.

Law firms are expected to be included in phase two of Cuomo's reopening plan.

Government officials have been forced to weigh reopening a wounded economy with public health concerns and the looming threat of an outbreak.

As upstate New York counties have received the nod to reopen, the state's court system has allowed judges, chambers staff, designated clerks and support staff to return to their courthouses. 

Much like the approach in reopening the economy, the state's court system has taken a piecemeal path in moving closer to operating at full capacity.

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