New York considering a ‘shelter-in-place’ order
New York City residents should be prepared for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order within days, Mayor Bill de Blasio says.
Mr De Blasio said no decision had been made yet, but he wants city and state officials to make a decision within 48 hours, given the fast spread of the coronavirus.
“New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the possibility of a shelter in place order,” Mr de Blasio said at a news briefing.
"There is no place on Earth better than New York City. We're going to need to show that right now. Everyone, step up. Look out for the people in your life. Because they're going to need you."— @NYCMayorMore: https://t.co/7T1e77liGE pic.twitter.com/KJzhUdu1r3
— City of New York (@nycgov) March 17, 2020
Governor Andrew Cuomo said earlier on Tuesday he had no interest in imposing local quarantines, but he stopped short of ruling it out.
Mr Cuomo said that more restrictions on business would come first and that a quarantine would have to be at least statewide.
Mr Cuomo said that citywide quarantines would only encourage people to stay with friends or relatives outside the zone, making transmission problems worse.
Officials in six San Francisco Bay-area counties issued a “shelter-in-place” order that went into effect on Tuesday, requiring nearly seven million residents to stay inside and venture out only for food, medicine or exercise for three weeks.
