NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that the state is ending special restrictions on orange zones across the state, including lifting restrictions on Staten Island and in a portion of south Brooklyn.

Cuomo also said that he is considering allowing indoor dining to resume at 25% capacity in New York City. He said he will unveil a plan and timeline by the end of the week. The 10 p.m. curfew for restaurants, however, will likely remain in place, he said. 

“I fully understand how difficult it is that they’re closed, not just for the restaurants but how many people are employed there,” Cuomo said. “On the flipside is how fast this virus can take off.”

Cuomo said that the state will consider further restrictions, including instituting “red zone” level restrictions, when hospital bed availability drops below 15%. New York City’s overall hospital bed availability is currently at 31%. 

Four yellow zones in the city remain in place: in Washington Heights, in Manhattan; in two sections of the Bronx; and in much of central Queens. Restrictions there include weekly testing requirements for schools, 50% capacity in houses of worship and 25% capacity gatherings in commercial settings, both indoors and outdoors. 

Statewide restrictions on public activity remain in place, said Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to Cuomo, including testing requirements for businesses like salons and 50% capacity in retail stores. 

Cuomo presented the lifting of the orange zones as justified by the declining positivity rates across the state, after a predicted surge during the holiday season, despite mounting concern over persistently high hospitalization rates and the spread of the more infectious U.K. variant of the coronavirus. 

There are 42 known cases caused by the U.K. variant in the state so far, although special genetic testing that confirms the specific variant have lagged by weeks behind initial positive tests for COVID-19.

“On the facts today, as presented, I believe these  measures are justified, because these measures were taken because of the surge that was coming,” Cuomo said. “If the facts change, I have no problem looking to people of this state in the eye and saying, the facts changed, our plans have to change.” 

The state’s current overall positivity rate is 5.44%. Cuomo said that he expected positivity rates for the virus to remain high for several months, and to only begin to come down after widespread vaccination. Under a new vaccine distribution plan announced by President Joe Biden Tuesday, New York will see a 16% increase in the number of Moderna vaccines it receives over the next three weeks.