‘Yellow’ for some ’burbs: gov

ALBANY — A day after New York City’s public schools were shuttered, Gov. Cuomo is increasing restrictions for several suburbs surrounding the Big Apple as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

Several new areas in Westchester, including New Rochelle, once the epicenter of New York’s COVID-19 outbreak in the spring, Rockland and Orange Counties are being designated as “yellow” zones.

The label is the least restrictive of the state’s targeted microcluster approach and limits indoor dining to four people per table and puts a 505 cap on houses of worship. Schools will need to test 20% of in-person students, faculty and staff over the next two weeks.

“It’s a warning sign for that community,” the governor said during a phone conference with reporters Thursday.

New Rochelle was the first major COVID-19 hot spot in the Empire State back in March as the state quickly became the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S.

Several neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, as well as most of Staten Island are currently under similar orders as the city contends with an uptick in infections and preps for more restrictive measures.

Should the city reach a 3% positivity rate per the state numbers, in addition to other factors including hospital-bed availability and cases per 100,000, New York City could be elevated to a more restrictive “orange” zone.

Of the more than 195,000 test results reported to the state on Wednesday, 2.72% came back positive, a dip from the 3.4% recorded a day earlier.

There are currently 2,276 people hospitalized and New York saw another 31 virus-related deaths.