Andrew Cuomo
Andrew CuomoReuters

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the lifting of most coronavirus restrictions in the state after New York passed the threshold of having 70% of adult residents vaccinated,

“What does 70 percent mean? That means that we can now return to life as we know,” Cuomo said Tuesday.

“All the state-mandated restrictions are lifted on commercial social settings sports and recreation construction, manufacturing, retail buildings, all across the board we can get back to living and businesses can open, because the state mandates are gone, social gathering restrictions capacity restrictions the health screenings, [and] the cleaning and disinfecting protocols,” the governor said.

Federal mask mandates will remain in effect in pre-K schools, mass transit, ride-hail services and health-care.

“We’re no longer just surviving,” Cuomo said. “Life is about thriving. Life is about seeing people, life is about loving, life is about celebrating life is about enjoying life is about interacting. And now we get back to living life.”