CUOMO ANNOUNCES NYC EATERIES MAY REOPEN FEB. 14

New York City's famed restaurant scene will reopen for indoor dining on Valentine's Day, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Friday, the latest announcement by a U.S. state to ease public health restrictions as a deadly surge of COVID-19 begins to abate. “We were expecting this surge, and we handled it and we're on the other side of it,” Cuomo said. Restaurant owners welcomed the new rules that will allow them to resume indoor dining at 25 per cent of capacity, and will also allow some wedding venues to open. But the New York Hospitality Alliance said Thursday that struggling business owners were disappointed that they cannot open immediately. “It's good news that Governor Cuomo heard the voice of New York City's struggling restaurant industry and is lifting the ban on indoor dining,” the organization said. “However, restaurants are broken-hearted that they need to wait two weeks until Valentine's Day to open at only 25 per cent occupancy.” New York on Friday reported 10,886 new cases and 180 new deaths.