NYC nail salons back in business, indoor dining on hold

July 7, 2020 Karen Matthews and Marina Villeneuve Associated Press

Candace Sanders, right, sat behind a plastic curtain while getting a pedicure at HT&V Nails in Harlem on Monday. Photo: Seth Wenig/AP

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Nail salons and dog runs were back in business on Monday as New York City entered a new phase in the easing of coronavirus restrictions, but indoor restaurant dining will be postponed indefinitely in order to prevent a spike in new infections.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said about 50,000 more people will come back to work as the city enters Phase Three of reopening, which in addition to nail salons includes tattoo parlors, indoor tanning and sports such as basketball, volleyball and handball.

“It will be more of summer again because we did this hard work to get this far and we cannot let up now,” de Blasio said.

De Blasio said that while indoor dining will be on hold for “a substantial amount of time” given the COVID-19 spikes traced to bars and restaurants in other locations around the country, outdoor dining has been a great success, with 7,000 of the city’s restaurants operating with outdoor-only seating.

People tried to figure out whose appointment was next outside HT&V Nails on Monday. Photo: Seth Wenig/AP

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there were nine deaths from the coronavirus and 518 new infections reported statewide on Sunday, a far cry from the height of New York’s outbreak in April when deaths topped 700 daily.

But Cuomo said he was concerned about reports of large holiday gatherings over the weekend in New York City, on Fire Island and in some upstate locations, and he said local governments must enforce social distancing rules. “I understand people are fatigued,” Cuomo said. “We’ve been doing this for 128 days. I get it. But it doesn’t change the facts, and we have to stay smart.”

Cuomo announced the cancellation of the New York State Fair, scheduled for Aug. 21 through Sept. 7 in Syracuse. “That makes me personally very unhappy but that is where we are,” he said.