SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Restaurants operating in orange zones under New York State’s COVID-19 cluster initiative can reopen for indoor dining across the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s general counsel said Thursday.
The move comes after a judge in Erie County on Wednesday granted an injunction to lift the ban on indoor dining in that county’s orange zone after more than 90 restaurants took the state to court.
The governor’s office disagrees with the ruling and is looking at appealing, but “while that process is ongoing, to ensure uniformity and fairness, all restaurants operating in orange zones can now operate under rules governing yellow zones,” Kumiki Gibson, counsel to the governor, said in a statement.
The rules for yellow zones include being limited to a maximum of four people per table. Also, all bars and restaurants, including those not in a color zone, still have to close at 10 p.m. for onsite consumption.
The city of Syracuse has been in an orange zone since November, with many restaurants saying the ban on indoor dining was driving their customers to nearby eateries outside the city’s orange zone.