Friday is the day.

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente says he's received clarification from New York State that the region can move forward with a phase one reopening on Friday. During his daily briefing on Monday, Picente had said it was unclear whether the Mohawk Valley could begin to reopen on Friday, or if it would be somepoint during the weekend or possibly the following Monday.

When pressed further on the exact reopening time, Picente later said, I'm assuming it's 'first thing', 8:00a.m. on Friday.

Meanwhile, he is reminding everyone that orders on mask wearing, social distancing and large gatherings remain in place until further notice.

More good news, Picente announced just eight new positive cases and no new deaths during Tuesday's briefing.

The total of lab confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county stands at 667 (officials reduced Monday's count by one after further investigation). Total fatalities remained at 23.

With manufacturing, construction and curbside pickup for retailers allowed to resume Friday, Oneida County has three resources that those businesses are urged to use in prepartion for reopening.  An Oneida County Best Practices Guidelines, a reopening toolkit and a checklist. Each is available at ocgov.net.

Additionally, Picente said there are also guildelines set forth by Empire State Development that businesses should adhere to.

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