Gatherings of up to 25 people now allowed in New York’s phase 3 regions

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday announced gatherings of up to 25 people will now be allowed in regions that are in phase three of their economic reopening. That’s up from the prior limit of 10 people in a gathering.

Five regions have already entered phase three — Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, and the Southern Tier. Western New York and the Capital Region will join them in the next couple days.

The governor said the state’s improving COVID-19 data has enabled the increased gathering size limit. New York in the last day reported its lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths on a three-day rolling average since the pandemic began.

“We’re going to modify phase three given this new data, and we’re going to allow gatherings up to 25 people in phase three, which is up from 10 people. People should follow the guidelines because the guidelines have been working,” Cuomo said “We have months of data now that says the guidelines make sense, keep following them because they are working.”

The new limit of 25 people at a gathering will open the door to some smaller business events, but will still not be nearly enough to accommodate most conferences.