Coronavirus closings: These are the services still open in New York

Liquor stores and laundromats are among the exceptions.

ByAaron Katersky and Emily Shapiro
March 20, 2020, 5:58 PM

In New York, where there are over 7,000 diagnosed cases of the novel coronavirus, 100% of the state's workforce will be ordered to stay home except for those providing essential services.

"Only essential businesses can have workers commuting to the job or on the job," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday, stressing that this rule "will be enforced."

Everyone else must "remain indoors to the greatest extent" possible, he said.

People stand in line outside a food pantry in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, during the coronavirus pandemic, March 19, 2020.
Erin Patrice O'Brien/Redux

Those working in the news, finance, insurance, accounting and defense and national security-related operations are exempt, as well as those working at homeless shelters, food banks and other human services providers.

Construction workers, electricians and plumbers are also except.

Here are some of the other services that can stay open when this rule goes into effect Sunday evening:

Essential retail:

A shuttered Walgreens pharmacy store is seen during the coronavirus outbreak in Times Square in Manhattan in New York, March 20, 2020.
Mike Segar/Reuters

  • Grocery stores, including all food and beverage, which includes liquor stores
  • Pharmacies
  • Convenience stores
  • Farmers' markets
  • Gas stations
  • Restaurants and bars, but only for take-out or delivery
  • Hardware and building material stores

    • Essential manufacturing, which includes farming, to produce goods such as:

  • All foods and beverages
  • Chemicals
  • Medical equipment
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Safety and sanitary products
  • Telecommunication devices
  • Microelectronics and semi-conductors
  • Paper products

    • Essential healthcare:

    Medical staff talks outside a COVID-19 screening tent at the Brooklyn Hospital Center on March 20, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
    Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

  • Research and laboratory services
  • Hospitals
  • Walk-in health care facilities
  • Emergency veterinary and livestock services
  • Elder care
  • Medical wholesale and distribution
  • Home health care workers or aides for the elderly
  • Doctor and emergency dental
  • Nursing homes or residential health care facilities or congregate care facilities
  • Medical supplies and equipment manufacturers and providers

    • Essential infrastructure:

  • Utilities
  • Public water and wastewater
  • Telecommunications
  • Airports/airlines
  • Transportation infrastructure such as bus, rail, or for-hire vehicles, garages
  • Hotels

    • Essential services:

  • Trash and recycling collection
  • Mail and shipping services
  • Laundromats
  • Building cleaning and maintenance
  • Child care
  • Auto repair
  • Warehouse/distribution fulfillment
  • Funeral homes, crematoriums, cemeteries
  • Storage for essential businesses
  • Animal shelters

    • Essential services to maintain safety, sanitation and operations:

  • Law enforcement
  • Fire prevention and response
  • Building code enforcement
  • Security
  • Emergency management and response
  • Building cleaners
  • General maintenance
  • Automotive repair
  • Disinfection

    • Also exempt are those working with technology support for online services, child care programs, government owned or leased buildings and essential government services.

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