Cuomo says New York can start loosening COVID-19 restrictions not including restaurants
Governor Andrew Cuomo not contemplating making changes to indoor dining bans. 'Fox & Friends First' New York City business panel reacts.
Weddings in New York are about to get a little bit bigger -- as long as everyone gets tested for the coronavirus first.
On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that wedding venues in the state will be permitted to host events at up to 50% capacity, or up to 150 people, just as long as everyone in attendance is tested in advance.
Local health departments will also have to approve each event. The new guidance goes into effect on March 15.
"We’re not going to have the full vaccine for many, many months," Cuomo said during a press briefing Friday. "In New York, we want to use testing as the key to reopening events."
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Allowing wedding receptions to resume operations at limited capacity follows the success of the Buffalo Bills playoff game earlier this year, where 6,700 fans were allowed to attend the event, as long as they tested negative for the coronavirus beforehand and wore masks during the game.
"We’ve had virtually no cases of spread from that game," Cuomo said.
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He went on to explain that requiring all attendees to test negative for the coronavirus will put guests at ease.
![Starting March 15, venues in New York state will be able to host wedding receptions at 50% capacity, or up to 150 people, as long as everyone tests negative for the coronavirus. (iStock)](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2021/01/1200/675/Wedding-Ceremony_iStock-1192241011.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Starting March 15, venues in New York state will be able to host wedding receptions at 50% capacity, or up to 150 people, as long as everyone tests negative for the coronavirus. (iStock)
"People will actually come to your wedding because you can tell them with the testing, it will be safe," Cuomo said. "Everybody there will have been tested and everybody will be safe."
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"For a lot of these venues, I don’t believe it’s about the government restrictions," he added. "I believe if I said today, movie theaters can open to 100%, I don’t believe people would go. I believe people have to be confident that it’s safe."