With coronavirus cases surging, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has shifted his strategy sharply away from tackling local clusters and toward protecting the state’s health system in a bid to avoid a return to the worst days of spring, when hospitals were stretched to the limit.

The virus statistic that had transfixed New Yorkers — the rate of tests that come back positive — is no longer the primary driver of state action, as it was when Mr. Cuomo sought to quash viral outbreaks in designated areas. That effort did not stem a rising tide of infections statewide, and the focus now is on hospital capacity.

Far from hastening a broad new round of business closings, the governor’s shift is likely to delay by weeks a potential return of the most stringent restrictions from earlier in the year. A …continued .
[Source: New York Times]