Face covers will be needed in the occupied spaces while New York City officials have said they will create an emergency food reserve and take other measures to protect the livelihood of residents. Meanwhile, the mayor called for a cautious approach to revive the economy.
Here are the latest developments in coronavirus in New York:
FACE COATINGS
New Yorkers will have to wear face covers when in public and come into close contact with others, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.
The new epidemic control mandate will require a mask or face cover on busy streets, subways, buses or any situation where people cannot maintain 6 feet of social distance. Cuomo’s promised executive order echoes the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a way to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The order takes effect Friday, the governor said, and either a mask or a cloth cover like a bandana will work.
“Stop the spread is everything. How can you not wear a mask when you approach someone? “Cuomo said during his daily briefing.” What theory would you not do this on? “
The governor said there would initially be no civil penalties for non-compliance, but urged traders to apply it to customers.
Although hospitalizations for the epidemic are stabilizing, New York officials are trying to dramatically reduce transmission rates as the death toll increases. New York recorded 752 deaths on Tuesday, for a total of more than 11,000 in just over a month.
These figures do not include about 4,000 other deaths in New York during the epidemic which, according to city officials, are likely due to the virus, but have not been confirmed by a laboratory test.
Cuomo’s announcement came hours after New York mayor Bill de Blasio called on stores to require customers to wear face covers to protect store workers from exposure. De Blasio had previously recommended face covers in public in the city.
The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially the elderly and people with health problems, this can cause more serious illness or death.
FOOD PLAN
In a city where 1.2 million people – including one in five children – have already had trouble eating sometimes, that number is expected to increase, as around half a million New Yorkers have lost or are likely to lose their employment in the immediate future.
“We will make sure everyone gets the food they need,” de Blasio said when he released a $ 170 million aid plan.
The city already distributes 250,000 free meals a day in schools and delivers 25,000 a day to the elderly. Authorities plan to provide 10 million free meals in April and expect the need to reach 15 million in May.
Meanwhile, the city contacted some 11,000 taxi and livery drivers – whose livelihoods were shattered when people stayed at home – to hire them to deliver meals to those who couldn’t leave the house. said the mayor.
Although officials have said the city’s food supply is stable, they are also planning to create a $ 50 million reserve of up to 18 million stable meals.
BREASTFEEDING HOMES
New York will begin requiring nursing homes to report positive COVID-19 cases and deaths to family members within 24 hours. The next executive decree will also include homes for adults and other assisted living facilities.
But the state still refuses to disclose the number of deaths in individual retirement homes, which represent about one of five virus-related deaths across the state. This is in contrast to some other states.
New York released county-level data that showed 2,477 deaths in nursing homes and 583 deaths in adult care facilities, largely in New York City and its hard-hit suburbs.
The Cuomo administration cited concerns about confidentiality.
Federal authorities are under increasing pressure to start publicly monitoring coronavirus infections and deaths in nursing homes.
THE ECONOMIC EQUATION
Cuomo said that getting people safely back to work before developing a vaccine would require not only large-scale testing, but also looking for personal contact with people who test positive and isolate those who are infected.
But testing and finding people in a state of 19 million is not possible without the help of the federal government, he said.
“It is a huge undertaking,” he said. “It’s smart but it’s huge.”
In the meantime, New York will begin testing 2,000 people this week for anti-virus antibodies through a new finger prick test. Priority will be given to nurses, New York police and other first responders so that they can find out if they have been infected.
Cuomo and de Blasio said that leaders should deliberate to try to revive the economy without creating an opportunity for the coronavirus to return.
“I want to restart the economy desperately … but the best way to do it is to be careful,” said de Blasio.
Cuomo said the state could consider lifting the restrictions first for companies that pose a lower risk of infection and are considered more “essential”.