New York lifts 'virtually all' COVID-19 restrictions effective immediately, Gov. Cuomo announces

• State-mandated COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in New York, with a few exceptions.
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the change on Tuesday, saying it was "effective immediately."
• Cuomo's requirement for reopening was 70% of New Yorkers getting at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York announced on Tuesday that "we can now return to life as we know it" because the state had hit his vaccination-rate threshold.

Earlier this month, Cuomo said he would lift "virtually all" COVID-19 restrictions once 70% of New Yorkers had received at least one dose of a vaccine.

Cuomo said on Tuesday that restrictions would be "relaxed as of today, effective immediately."

"Remember June 15th. Remember today, because it is the day that New York rose again," Cuomo said at Manhattan's One World Trade Center, adding that June 15 was also his late father and former Gov. Mario Cuomo's birthday.

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Masks will still be required on public transit, but otherwise New York's landscape of state mandates will be drastically diminished.

Counties and localities can still implement their own restrictions, and Cuomo said New York would still observe guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Businesses can also keep their own mask policies.

Cuomo did not clarify policies on masks and social-distancing measures in schools.

-Kate Lisa (@KaitlynnLisa) June 15, 2021

New York's vaccination effort has been most successful in regions around New York City and to the north - Long Island and the area around the capital, Albany, have the highest rates of single doses administered.

The Tuesday event was a joyous one for Cuomo, who harked back to his COVID-19 briefings when he would announce which day it was. Cuomo has since been besieged by several scandals and faces an impeachment investigation, but he has remained in office, passed a budget, and touted his pandemic response.