This week, Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the state’s “pause” to at least May 15 — keeping schools and nonessential businesses shut — and also has outlined a plan to “un-pause” New York.

“Now that we’ve shown we can flatten the curve and our efforts to control the spread of the virus are working, we must focus on a smart, effective plan to un-pause New York,” he said in a statement.

Cuomo’s blueprint is to control the rate of infection, strengthen the health-care system, and increase testing with federal help while phasing an economic return to what he termed a “new normal.” The goal is to get people back to work and ease social isolation without triggering a renewed spread of the coronavirus.

The plan is to be implemented in conjunction with nearby states.

Cuomo outlines these four steps:

— Do no harm: Continue to control the rate of infection by extending the pause order until May 15 and implementing additional measures to reduce the rate of infection, including requiring masks in public when social distancing is not possible;

— Strengthen the healthcare system: Continue the surge-and-flex strategy to ensure anyone who needs medical attention gets it, building out the strategic stockpile of personal protective equipment and other medical equipment, and sharing resources among states and localities;

— Test and trace contacts: Both diagnostic and antibody testing is needed to inform decisions and calibrate progress of phased reopening of the economy. The states need the federal government to partner on this effort, Cuomo says, and bring it to the mass scale that is needed; with the help of an army of investigators, contact tracing needs to be done to help limit the virus spread; and

— Return to a ‘new normal’ in phases: Businesses considered more essential with inherent low risks of infection in the workplace and to customers will be prioritized, followed by other businesses considered less essential or those that present a higher risk of infection spread. As the infection rate declines, the pace of reopening businesses will be increased.

These precautions and practices for businesses, the plans says, will guide the phased return to the ‘new normal”:  

— Transport: Ensure employees have means for safe transport such as masks and gloves for public transit or require telecommuting to work from home;

— Workplace: Ensure workplaces are designed to include social distancing measures (i.e., desks six feet apart, conference rooms redesigned), telecommuting for those who can and the most vulnerable;

— Customer interaction: Measures are to be designed to ensure minimal contact with customers, ensure public-interacting employees have necessary protective supplies such as gloves and masks. Special precautions should be taken for businesses that primarily interact with the most vulnerable populations; and

— Proactive infection plan: Ensure protocols, such as a work-from-home plan, are in place should an employee develop COVID-19 symptoms or test positive.