Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced that the state will extend the window for victims to file otherwise time-barred cases under the Child Victims Act for an additional five months, to Jan. 14, 2021.

Last year, Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act to ensure survivors of childhood sexual abuse have a path to justice, including the ability to file a case which had already been time-barred or expired, but only for one year, that window to file an expired or time-barred case was set to close Aug. 14, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a reduction in court services that has limited survivors’ ability to file claims and effectively prepare their cases with an attorney.

The governor also announced that dozens of events are taking place across New York state over the next week to kick off the Nourish New York Initiative.

The initiative, launched last week by Cuomo, is providing $25 million to food banks for the purchase of surplus agricultural products from New York state farms to distribute to population