New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday made a remarkable revision of a social distancing command after being blamed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of supporting religious services over other gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuomo's 2nd directive order allows a maximum of ten people to gather for "any lawful purpose or reason" and was released less than 24 hours following the 1st order.
This is so long as the individuals involved practice social distancing and other public health measures to alleviate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
On Friday, the NY governor signed an executive order as retaliation towards a lawsuit by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
After 2 months of quarantine due to the coronavirus outbreak, New Yorkers undergoing cabin fever received a surprising respite upon when the state's ban on gatherings was lifted coinciding with the Memorial Day weekend.
On Saturday, beachgoers experienced cold weather that diminished the crowds.
Head of the New York City Health Committee Mark Levine surmised that the revised command was retaliation to a legal challenge, but remarked that it was untimely.
He said that the unexpected command, prompted by a lawsuit, does not alter anything regarding the risks linked with group gatherings including those held in closed doors. "We need the public to continue to be smart and use judgment about the risks of this virus, regardless of what the court has forced on us."
The NY-ACLU had asserted that forbidding non-essential gatherings prohibited the public from applying their First Amendment rights, along with their right to protest.
According to the revised order, 10 people are allowed to gather "provided that social distancing protocols and cleaning and disinfection protocols required by the Department of Health are adhered to."
The state reported its lowest tally of daily coronavirus fatalities of 84 on Saturday. The weeks were described by the NY governor as a crucial benchmark. The number reached its peak in April at 799.
The NYACLU lauded Cuomo's announcement that followed after filing a lawsuit against the initial command.
According to NYCLU Legal Director Christopher Dunn, they are glad to witness how Cuomo reversed his route on the executive order.
The revision arrived following the governor's announcement earlier in the week that gatherings of 10 would be permitted for religious services to take place at worship places and for ceremonies honoring fallen military members during Memorial Day.
Many weeks ago, Cuomo said it seemed almost hopeless to decrease New York's daily death numbers to less than 100. The figure which was deemed an indicator that they were falling behind was consistently strongly high even with other signs of motivation.
The New York governor was always looking towards getting under 100. and describes it as a sign that they are making an improvement.
According to Dunn, the right to apply free speech and protest is the basis of all our other policies for freedom and this is the time to be most sharp-eyed about preserving it.
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