This morning, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would be “fully reopen” at the start of July.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe, de Blasio attributed his decision to the city’s high vaccination rates.
“Our plan is to fully reopen New York City on July 1,” he said. “We are ready for stores to open, for businesses to open. Offices, theaters. Full strength. Because look, what we’re seeing is people have gotten vaccinated in extraordinary numbers. 6.3 million vaccinations in New York to date. We’re doing a lot to reach people at the grassroots.”
The emphasis will remain on increasing vaccine numbers in the future, according to de Blasio.
“We know the vaccination effort is going to grow and grow,” said de Blasio. “We gotta keep working hard at that, but what’s amazing is every single day we’re beating back COVID more and more. Hospitalizations down. You know, we’re just seeing a better situation every day. We’re ready to take that pathway to a full reopening.”
When asked what kind of milestones the city would need to hit to meet the July 1 deadline, de Blasio stressed the importance of getting as many citizens vaccinated as possible. While there is still “work to be done,” de Blasio stated that people would assist in achieving the July 1 deadline by getting vaccinated.
“Help us out by going out and getting vaccinated if you haven’t already,” he said. “And it’s free, and it’s all over the city, and now we’re doing walk-ups at sites all over the city.”
This season, in de Blasio’s words, “is going to be the summer of New York City.”
The mayor’s announcement of a summer reopening in 2021 comes just days after the CDC released revised mask guidance. President Biden used his first address to Congress on Wednesday night to share an upbeat message about moving toward a post-pandemic reality.
“I can report to the nation: America is on the move again,” Biden said. “Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength.”
