Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday ordered businesses to keep at least half of its workforce at home or have them work remotely in order to further prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

There are exemptions to the order: Businesses that provide food, shipping, pharmacies, medical services, as well as the media, are not included. 

Cuomo previously ordered local governments to keep half of their workers home on any given day as well. But the governor did not rule out further restricting the number of people.

"We’ll see if that slows  the spread, if it doesn’t slow the spread then we will reduce the number of workers even further," he said. "That 50 percent can be calibrated."

New York now has had 20 deaths attributed to the virus and more than 1,000 new cases. The hospitalization rate of the positive cases stands at 23 percent, which has increased in the last several days. 

Cuomo in recent weeks has sought to restrict large gatherings of people. New York officials have closed bars and restaurants to patrons, though they remain open for delivery and to-go orders, as well as movie theaters and other venues.