Coronavirus: New York City mayor declares state of emergency
Calling the fight against coronavirus "a war", the mayor said 95 people have been confirmed as having COVID-19 in New York City.
Tuesday 17 March 2020 10:01, UK
New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio has declared a state of emergency to fight the spread of the coronavirus outbreak - as he criticised Donald Trump's response.
Mr de Blasio signed an executive order on Thursday afternoon and said he supported an announcement by New York governor Andrew Cuomo earlier that banned gatherings of more than 500 people across the state.
Calling the fight against coronavirus "a war", he said 95 people have now been confirmed as having COVID-19 in New York City, up from 12 at the beginning of the week.
His team of mathematical modelling experts has predicted about 1,000 people could be infected by next week, he said.
And he said, based on the growth pattern, they are estimating the virus will affect life in a major way for six months, meaning the city's main tourist attractions could be closed until September.
He resisted calls to close schools, saying: "We're going to do our damndest to keep our schools open.
"Schools are where our children our safe in the day, many adults cannot take their kid to work or have a relative to look after them."
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The former Democratic presidential hopeful said Mr Trump had missed an opportunity on Wednesday night, when he announced measures to help stop the spread, to approve federal funding for widescale testing.
New York City's executive order will allow the mayor to:
Impose curfews
Regulate whether vehicles or individuals may enter or exit parts of the city
Close down public transport
Stop hospitals carrying out elective procedures
Ration essential items and introduce price caps to prevent price gouging
Prohibit or restrict people on streets and public places
Regulate consumption of alcohol and use of guns
Create emergency medical shelters
Limit maximum building capacity
Mr de Blasio emphasised that so far the only prohibition is on large crowds, which will affect the city's sports venues, Broadway shows and cultural venues.
Following the mayor's announcement, Governor Cuomo had to reassure New Yorkers the city was not on lockdown and the emergency declaration was only so the city had the legal authority to do so if ultimately needed.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is closing its three locations on Friday and will undergo a deep clean although no confirmed cases have been tied to the museum.
The Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall also announced temporary closures, while the historic St Patrick's Day Parade on 17 March has been cancelled.
Asked about one of New York City's busiest outdoor areas, Times Square, the mayor said officials have to "figure that one out" because unlike organised gatherings it is outside. However, he said he has faith in people listening to warnings about not being too close to others.
Mr de Blasio used the announcement to take a swipe at Mr Trump's response to the pandemic after the president took until Wednesday night to bring in any control measures, which included a travel ban on people from mainland Europe - but not the UK and Ireland.
Mr de Blasio said: "It's not worth wasting breath on the wasted opportunities over the past few weeks.
"Last night the president showed much more connection to reality than before.
"But, he was silent on immediate approval of automated testing for coronavirus.
"We want to do widescale testing but we cannot do it without the federal government coming in.
"I believe localities, companies, will take it into their own hands if they do not get approval from federal government."
The mayor dropped out of the Democratic presidential race in September after a campaign in which he branded Mr Trump "Con Don" in reference to his New York real estate dealings.
Addressing concerns about people not being able to afford rent if the city is on lockdown, Mr de Blasio said officials would try to help and he did not want anybody to become homeless because of it.
He also announced 500 outreach workers have been trained to locate and talk to homeless people to ensure COVID-19 does not spread through the community.
By the close of Thursday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down almost 10%, the Nasdaq was down 9.4% and the S&P 500 had fallen by 9.5%.
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On the other side of the country, Disney announced it is shutting down its two parks in the state, Disneyland and California Adventure, on Saturday until the end of the month after the state's governor Gavin Newsom limited gatherings of more than 250 people.
Disneyland has only closed down twice previously since its opening in 1955, once for a national day of mourning when President John F Kennedy was assassinated, and after the September 11 terror attacks.
Disney's theme parks in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo have been closed for some time now due to the outbreak.