Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo provides a coronavirus update during a press conference Monday in Irondequoit, near Rochester. (Provided photo — Mike Groll, governor's office)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that the state is authorizing the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley regions to begin the process of reopening its economies, starting Saturday.

The North Country could be among the next economic development regions to reopen. It meets six of seven benchmarks outlined by the state; its remaining challenge is to conduct more testing.

The first three regions will be able to restart the construction, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors, and allow retail stores to provide curbside pickup, starting after Friday, May 15.

Statewide, some activities deemed “low-risk” can also reopen starting Saturday, such as landscaping, gardening, tennis and drive-in movie theaters.

Other industries will be reopened in phases, at the direction of a regional panel. The regional panels will be tasked with keeping an eye on the number of hospital deaths and the regional rates of transmission, and may recommend adjustments to openings if necessary.

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Benchmarks

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To be given the green light to begin the process of reopening, regions are required to meet seven benchmarks:

¯ See a 14-day decline in hospital deaths or see an average of fewer than five COVID-19-related deaths over three days.

¯ The number of new hospital admissions has to stay below an average of two per 100,000 residents across three days.

¯ The region has to have at least 30% of its total hospital capacity and intensive care unit capacity available in case of a surge.

¯ At least 30 people for every 1,000 residents must be tested each month.

¯ The region must have at least 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents, or enough based on the current coronavirus infection rate.

The North Country — which includes Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties — met six out of seven of those benchmarks on Monday. The remaining benchmark requires the region to bolster its testing capacity, which has been happening gradually over the last few weeks. As of Monday, the region’s testing average was 400, according to new data published by the state Department of Health. The region has to increase that average to 419.

New regional data from the state Department of Health is available online at forward.ny.gov/regional-monitoring-dashboard.

The North Country’s regional reopening panel includes New York State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseld, Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism CEO and Regional Economic Development Council co-Chair Jim McKenna, Hamilton County board Chair Bill Farber, St. Lawrence County board Chair Joe Lightfoot, Jefferson County board Chair Scott Gray, Lewis County board Chair Lawrence Dolhof, Franklin County board Chair Donald Dabiew, Essex County board Chair Shaun Gillilland and Ron McDougall, president of the Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties Central Trade and Labor Council.

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Testing

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Representatives of three local hospitals that serve Essex and Franklin counties — Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake, Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone and Elizabethtown Community Hospital — all recently announced that the facilities would open testing to a larger number of people this month, in accordance with updated guidance from the state health department. A delivery of testing materials from Trudeau Institute to Adirondack Health earlier this month increased the AMC hospital’s testing capacity by nearly ten-fold. A delivery of supplies from Essex County allowed ECH to also expand its testing.

Testing at the hospitals is now available to those ordered by doctors to get tested and any worker deemed “essential” by the state, as well as health care workers, those whom the Franklin or Essex County health departments request be tested, prison inmates and corrections officers, nursing home residents and staff, and hospital inpatients.

Some private urgent care facilities, such as Mountain Medical Urgent Care, have announced testing availability for almost anyone who wants one.

As of Monday, a total of 909 tests had been processed from Essex County, including 809 diagnostic tests and 100 antibody tests, according to the county health department. Those numbers include people who were tested more than once. A total of 829 tests had been processed from Franklin County; that county did not specify how many were diagnostic and how many were antibody tests.

Franklin County had 11 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday, putting the total number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases reported since the pandemic began at 108, according to Franklin County Public Health. Essex County had four active cases and a total of 49 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.