“New York is pushing forward to conduct more tests, add to hospital beds and make it easier to get the COVID-19 vaccine across the state, but we need New Yorkers to stay vigilant and take safe precautions as the virus is still spreading,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a release Thursday.,Meanwhile, restaurants in some COVID-19 hot spots in New York can once again offer limited indoor dining in the wake of the latest lawsuit against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s virus restrictions.,Up to four people per table can now dine indoors in seven so-called “orange zones” located in counties with some of the state’s highest rates of COVID-19 cases or hospitalizations: including Monroe County in the Finger Lakes and New York City’s Staten Island.,The decision comes a day after some Erie County restaurants won a preliminary injunction for themselves against the state’s enforcement of the indoor dining ban in yellow zones.,State Supreme Court Justice Henry Nowak said he could not “find evidence that the state had a rational basis to designate portions of Erie County as an orange zone” and that the restaurants would suffer “irreparable harm” without the injunction.

All restaurants in Erie County will be able to offer indoor dining at 50% capacity and no more than four people per table.,BUFFALO, N.Y. — Following a judge's ruling that WNY restaurant owners who filed a lawsuit against the state would be able to reopen under Yellow Zone restrictions; Erie County says they will apply the 'yellow zone' guidelines to all Erie County restaurants.,That means all restaurants in Erie County will be able to offer indoor dining at 50% capacity and no more than four people per table.,Judge Nowak said he understood the concern about Erie County being in an orange zone while other regions around the state like the Albany area post higher COVID rates and are not currently in any zone.,Counsel to the Governor, Kumiki Gibson, released the following statement Thursday afternoon reacting to the judge's decision:

"A court decision yesterday temporarily granted a select few restaurants located within an Orange Zone in Erie County the ability to resume indoor dining under the rules governing Yellow Zones. read more