#Cuomo uncertain of coronavirus reopening plans for Met, other museums

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo threw cold water on hopes that museums and other cultural institutions — like the Metropolitan Museum of Art — might be able to reopen by the end of the summer.

“What’s gonna happen Aug. 29? I don’t know. Nobody knows. I think they can plan to reopen and then we’ll see what the facts say,” the governor said during a conference call with reporters Thursday, when asked about the Met’s reopening date, announced Wednesday.

The museum announced Wednesday that it would reopen to visitors Thursday through Monday, starting on Aug. 29.

“This is sort of common sense, but we have to be honest and there’s no reason for government to be cute by half, as I like to say. Nobody can answer today what the COVID virus is going to be doing a month from today,” Cuomo said.

“But let people plan, get ready, and make arrangements, like the school opening and then we’ll see what happens. We have to respond to the data at the time, we have to respond to the facts in the moment.”

“But they can plan, but we’re gonna see how it goes. We know now that there’ll be no indoor, cultural institution activity. That’s today, and then we’ll see how it goes,” he added.

New York City is slated to enter Phase Four of the Empire State’s economic reopening plan, with the other nine regions already green-lit for what is supposed to be the final stage.

But other limitations will continue — like an indefinite bar on indoor dining — as Cuomo and other officials have repeatedly emphasized worry over spikes seen in other states across the country.

New York, along with New Jersey and Connecticut, has also instituted a 14-day quarantine rule for nearly half the nation, as travelers flying into the tristate area from a list of 22 states will be forced to isolate or face fines of up to $2,000.