Nassau officials announced that the region can possibly move toward phase 1 as early as next week if it continues to meet the metrics set forth by the state to reopen.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced the county is back to meeting five of the seven metrics set forth by the state – now back to meeting the bed capacity metric of 30% in Long Island hospitals.

County health officials say 121 new positive cases were reported Friday – equaling 4% positives of those who were tested. Hospitalizations also have continued to go down to 531 – a 78% decrease since the apex. This week the county has averaged about seven new deaths per day, which is a large decline.

Curran says if the county continues to meet the metrics, it would mean manufacturing, construction, curbside retail, agriculture and fishing would begin to reopen next week.

“Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said construction staging can happen while we are waiting – they can get materials ready and workers ready. As soon as we get to phase 1, we can hit the ground running,” says Curran.

Curran says if Long Island enters into phase 1, phase 2 would happen two weeks later.

Meanwhile, during his afternoon briefing, Gov. Cuomo announced a small business loan program to address the urgent needs of small businesses. Curran says she is working to ensure that Nassau business can participate, and the county is finalizing a plan.

Nassau officials say Long Island lost more than 262,000 jobs in April – nearly 20% of the entire job market on Long Island. The county is also forecasting a $384 million deficit.

“We are pushing hard for the federal funding we need, state and local aid. Nassau will reopen, but we know this virus just won’t disappear,” says Curran.

Slight decline in hospital capacity sets back Long Island's climb toward reopening 

Curran: We have met 6 of 7 state metrics to reopen