FILE PHOTO: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio deliver remarks at a news conference regarding the first confirmed case of coronavirus in New York State in Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 2, 2020.
After New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has advised residents to be ready for a potential "shelter-in-place" order to be imposed, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo expressed his disapproval.
According to Cuomo, in order for a city or country to take an emergency action, they need to seek the approval of the state, and then stressed that he wouldn't approve the shelter in place policy that de Blasio seeks.
Cuomo explained that implementation of such a policy would create even more panic amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected more than 6,500 in the United States and has killed at least 115 people. New York has already has 1,717 cases which is more than the cases in any other state in the US. He also said that this number is likely much lesser than the true number of infections given the limited availability of testing kits and the federal guideline on who are allowed for diagnostic testing.
Despite the growing number of cases, Cuomo is firm on not approving de Blasio's shelter in place idea saying that if this is going to be implemented it should not only before New York City but should be regional and include county's surrounding the city in order to be effective.
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NY City Mayor tells residents to prepare for shelter-in-place'
On Tuesday, de Blasio announced and asked the residents of New York City to be ready for a possibility of a "shelter-in-place" order to be imposed within 48 hours from the announcement. The next day, he stated that the City government cannot take action without the support of the state government.
He, however, noted that with the decision resting on the hands of the state, it should be taken into account that at this point the disease has already put tens of thousands of lives in danger. And also stressed that making the decision is important due to the high number of confirmed cases in the state of New York.
If the "shelter-in-place" order is imposed, New York City would follow the lead of Bay Area officials who has prohibited people from leaving their homes except for limited circumstances and essential needs. De Blasio also acknowledged that in case the protocol will be imposed, it would cause tremendously substantial changes in the lives of New Yorkers.
He also assured people that before doing anything or deciding anything, he is taking into account all factors that would be affected. Furthermore, he said that he knows how people are worried about their lost paychecks and are dealing with a lot of stress due to the outbreak, thus they are still discussing the scenario that would be brought about by a shelter in place order and did not divulge any information on how it would look like yet.
In the past days, de Blasio has made a lot of declarations in efforts to control the spread of the virus. He has ordered the closure of schools until April 20 and has limited services of bars and restaurants to takeout and delivery only. Officials also prompted the need for social distancing which led to the shut down of establishments including, bars, movie theaters, concert venues, and Broadway.
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