Outdoor dining in New York City in January. Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that if the current coronavirus positivity in New York City holds, indoor dining will reopen at 25% capacity on Feb. 14, one of the busiest dining days of the year.
Why it matters: The forced closure of indoor dining in December caused major backlash, as New York's struggling restaurant industry had already been hit hard by pandemic restrictions. Restaurants will still be required to close at 1o p.m.
The big picture: The announcement comes days after Cuomo declared that "the holiday surge is over," with positivity rates peaking on Jan. 4, per CNBC.
- Cuomo said that positivity rates had dropped from over 7% at the beginning of the month to 4.9% on Friday.
- New York City will also allow wedding receptions of up to 50% capacity, or 150 people, to be held beginning on March 15 as long as all guests test negative.