Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that five regions - Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country and the Southern Tier (which includes Tompkins County) - are on track to enter Phase IV of reopening on Friday. New York State issued guidance for Phase IV, which will allow low-risk indoor and outdoor arts and entertainment, film and TV production, higher education and professional sports without fans. State Guidance for Phase IV of reopening is available online, and guidance from the Tompkins County Health Department is also online.

Cuomo also announced that in Phase IV of reopening, social gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed and indoor religious gatherings will be allowed at up to 33 percent of the indoor site's capacity.

"Our approach has been vindicated and the phased reopening based on facts is working," Cuomo said. "I said from day one that the theory the virus should be handled politically can't be done. The virus doesn't respond to political theory - it responds to science and data. We're going ahead with our metrics and our phased reopening, and five regions are set to enter Phase IV on Friday. The numbers continue trending in the right direction as we went from one of the highest infections rates to one of the lowest in the country, so we will also allow slightly larger social and religious gatherings, but people need to continue wearing masks, socially distancing and washing their hands frequently to stay safe."

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