After several months of working diligently to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and dealing with numerous health and economic challenges posed by this dangerous virus, I am pleased to report that the Mid-Hudson Region, which includes the Town of Ramapo, entered Phase One of reopening on today, Tuesday, May 26th.
Pursuant to Governor Cuomo’s COVID-19 guidelines, the first phase of reopening enables a number of industries to once again engage in business-related activities, including construction; agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting; retail (although it is limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off); manufacturing; and wholesale trade.
I must stress that the threats posed by the virus are not yet behind us and we therefore must continue to employ the social distancing measures that are critical to curbing the spread of COVID-19. As a result, there are a number of important protocols that have been put into effect by the state relative to Phase One of reopening.
For the construction industry, which includes building equipment contractors; building finishing contractors; foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors; highway, street and bridge construction; land subdivision; nonresidential building construction; residential building construction; and utility system construction, the following are a number of the regulations that must be followed:
• Ensure 6 ft. distance between personnel unless safety or core function of the work activity requires a shorter distance.
• Create additional space for employees by limiting in-person presence to only personnel necessary for the current task(s), adjusting workplace hours, staggering arrival/departure times, creating A/B teams, and/or scheduling only one team in an area at a time.
• Any time personnel are less than 6 ft. apart from one another, personnel must wear acceptable face coverings.
• Employers must provide employees with an acceptable face covering at no-cost to the employee and have an adequate supply of coverings in case of replacement.
• Adhere to hygiene and sanitation requirements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State Department of Health and maintain cleaning logs on site that document date, time, and scope of cleaning.
• Wherever possible, increase ventilation of outdoor air (e.g. opening windows and doors) while maintaining safety precautions.
• Provide and maintain hand hygiene stations for personnel, including handwashing with soap, water, and paper towels, as well as an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing 60% or more alcohol for areas where handwashing is not feasible.
• Employees who are sick should stay home or return home if they become ill at work.
For retail, Phase One includes delivery, curbside, and in-store pickup service only for the following businesses:
• Clothing Stores
• Direct Selling Establishments
• Electronics and Appliance Stores
• Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
• Furniture and Home Furnishing Stores
• Florists
• General Merchandise Stores
• Health and Personal Care Stores
• Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores
• Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores
• Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores
• Used Merchandise Stores
• Shoe Stores
• Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument and Book Stores
• Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers
The procedures for retail businesses include the following:
• Ensure 6 ft. distance between personnel unless safety or core function of the work activity requires a shorter distance.
• Create additional space for employees by limiting in-person presence to only personnel necessary for the current task(s), adjusting retail hours to spread employee and customer traffic over a longer period of time, staggering arrival/ departure times, creating A/B teams.
• For any work occurring indoors, limit workforce presence to only the employees necessary to conduct curbside and in-store pickup activities, but no more than 50% of the maximum occupancy for a particular area set by the certificate of occupancy, inclusive of customers picking up an order who must maintain 6 ft. of space from others or wear an acceptable face covering.
• Post social distancing markers using tape or signs that denote 6 ft. of spacing in commonly used and other applicable areas (e.g. clock in/out stations, health screening stations, cash registers).
• Designate and arrange customer waiting areas (e.g. lines, parking areas) to maximize social distancing, and implement a touchless delivery system whereby customers stay in the car while delivery takes place.
• Encourage customers to use touchless payment options or pay ahead.
• Employers must provide employees with an acceptable face covering at no-cost to the employee and have an adequate supply of coverings in case of replacement.
• Abide by all required hygiene and cleaning practices.
As we continue to move forward and take incremental steps to reopen local businesses, I urge everyone to continue taking appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Maintaining a vigilant approach even as we enter the reopening period is vital, and I thank everyone in advance for their continued cooperation in this regard.
