Mayor Bill de Blasio hosts a roundtable for ethnic and community media on COVID-19. City Hall. Wednesday, March 11, 2020. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)
March 12, 2020 By Allie Griffin
Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency Thursday evening as the number of coronavirus cases reached 95 cases across the five boroughs — including 17 positive cases in Queens.
The number of positive cases in the city will reach 1,000 next week, the mayor believes.
“It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better,” de Blasio said at press conference today.
He said New Yorkers should expect to be dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak for six months.
“This will not be over soon. It’s going to be a long, tough battle,” de Blasio said and added that New Yorker’s lives will be lost in the process.
In the other boroughs, there are 25 cases of COVID-19 in Manhattan, 24 in Brooklyn, 10 in the Bronx and 5 in Staten Island.
Out of the 95 positive COVID-19 cases, just 22 people are currently hospitalized. Yesterday, there were 52 reported cases in the city.
As the number of cases rise higher and higher, the mayor says his office will be unable to provide updates and reports on each case–such as the hospitals where people are being treated and where they are being quarantined.
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Queens was a 33-year-old Uber driver who is hospitalized at St. John’s Episcopal in Far Rockaway and the second was a 75-year-old diabetic man who is critically ill.
De Blasio said that the upcoming Queens Borough President special election on March 24 will go on as scheduled and urged all candidates to end door-to-door canvassing.
He also suggested that Queens residents take advantage of early voting, from Saturday, March 14 and ends Sunday, March 22, in over to avoid election day crowds.
COVID-19 is transmitted when respiratory droplets from a sneeze, cough or spit of an infected person is transferred directly into another person.
Global health experts advise people to practice “social distancing” and avoid large crowds and close contact with others, which increases the chance of contracting the virus.
Meanwhile, schools, mass transit and hospitals will be kept up and running, the mayor said.
“There are three things we want to preserve at all cost — our schools, our mass transit system, and most importantly our health care system,” de Blasio said.
However, extracurricular activities and parent-teacher conference will be now held online or canceled altogether.
“We are going to do our damndest to keep schools open,” de Blasio said.
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12 Comments
Why don’t we follow Italy’s example and thank healthcare workers? Stand at our doors or windows at 6pm and sing. #volare@6pm
Volare, oh oh…
Cantare, ohohoho…
Nel blu dipinto di blu
Felice di stare lassù
HIPAA regulations protect your medical information. That’s why hospitals, doctors and public officials aren’t supposed to give detailed info out on patients.
But who needs a list now anyway? The virus is spreading rapidly in the community, so assume your hospital is treating patients. Everyone needs to assume personal responsibility.
I’ve got a fever and dry cough, and don’t know where to get tested. my mom lives with me and gets chemo, and she started coughing. were do we go to get tested? why is this such a huge hassle? I don’t want to wait 12 hours in the ER to be seen for 5 seconds by a doctor. that’s the normal wait time.
He can’t build a wall, he can’t secure our border, he can’t respond to the health crisis, and now the stocks are plummeting as a result.
Shame he’s so soft on border security.
Coronavirus is already around you. Wait for 7 days, sunnyside? It will slam sunnyside hard.
Yet he won’t close schools.
Half the kids were out today.
Fun fact, they are lying. They are only testing people who are in the emergency room or who traveled. Theres far more out there. And if you dont think so just wait. You’re about to look stupid
Confirmed numbers, not the reality. Covid started last year around November, since then how many people that went China arrived? Do you really believe that every one enters through an airport? Do you forget how many undocumented people got the flu since November ’19 and did not went to the hospital because:
– no insurance
– undocumented
Plesse guys, since Nov 2019 that virus is in NY. It spread before we knew about it.
Not a fan of the mayor. I think he is a corrupt douche bag. But, he is providing some leadership during this time. Hopefully this can inspire JVB back into action.
“the mayor says his office will be unable to provide updates and reports on each case–such as the hospitals where people are being treated and where they are being quarantined.”
This is not China. Why wouldn’t they release the information?
Nope. It’s Trumptard Nation, where Trumptards think the virus is a hoax.
Print their names. That is the right thing to do.