Long Island region of New York to enter new reopening stage

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Colleges and universities with safety plans can soon reopen and professional sports competitions can take place without fans in Long Island as the region enters the state's fourth phase of reopening.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that the available data suggests that COVID-19 is spreading at a low enough rate to allow the 7 million residents of the populous suburbs east of New York City to enter the fourth phase starting Wednesday. The state's online dashboard shows Long Island's percentage of positive tests have remained at around 1% since mid-May while the rate of new hospitalizations has slowly declined to around 0.45 per 100,000 residents.

Cuomo divided the state up into 10 regions under a plan that began to allow more businesses to reopen to the public in mid-May under safety guidance developed by the governor's administration.

The fourth phase also covers media production companies and low-risk outdoor and indoor arts and entertainment. The Cuomo administration is still deciding whether to allow casinos, movie theaters and malls to open their doors anywhere in New York.

Cuomo has also allowed three additional states — Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma — to quarantine for 14 days as more individuals are testing positive for COVID-19 nationwide.

Cuomo's advisory now applies to 19 states with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average, or states with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.

“As states around the country experience increasing community spread, New York is taking action to ensure the continued safety of our phased reopening," Cuomo, a Democrat, said.

Cuomo said he hopes his travel advisory will prevent COVID-19 from spreading at high rates again in...