WNY No Longer Under Yellow and Orange Zone Restrictions

New York State's Governor, Andrew Cuomo,  has lifted the Yellow Zone and Orange Zone restrictions in Western New York.   However, one hotly contested restriction will stay in place. According to WKBW, Gov. Cuomo said that we have safely made it past the spikes brought on by the recent holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.  He said that the modeling the State is using shows that there will be a decline in new cases of COVID-19. He did issue a warning on Monday though, telling WNYers not to take the improvement for granted,

"I know the numbers look good today but, we have been down this road before and the road has curves and the road has potholes, so please just be smart."

There is, however, one restriction that Cuomo is leaving in place.  He said that bars and restaurants will need to continue to close both indoor and outdoor dining at 10 pm.

On Monday, Cuomo said,

"I think we're at a new place now and we can start to adjust that valve and start to open up more economic activity, and reduce some of the restrictions, and reduce some of the what we call microcluster zones."

100 Erie County Restaurants Suing State Over Closing Time

Even though Cuomo is leaving the '10 pm closing' restriction in place, if a judge sides with the 100 restaurants that are suing, he may have to lift it. The WNY restaurants and bars are suing the State over the mandated closing time. The restaurants want to stay open past the current time of 10 pm, according to WKBW. The law firms HoganWillig Attorneys at Law and Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP filed the petition on Friday, January 22, 2021, on behalf of the restaurants.

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