NEW YORK _ New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned public events of more than 500 people Thursday as the dogged and potentially-deadly coronavirus picked up steam, nearly doubling the number of infected New Yorkers in just a single day.
No bright lights. No bible studies. No big or jam-packed crowds. That was the effect of the governor's gathering ban, which goes into effect 5 p.m. Friday, and applies applies to large houses of worship, arenas and concert halls including Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Venues that draw crowds of less than 500 people _ including bars and restaurants _ can only be filled to 50% capacity under the ban, Cuomo said.
"We're going to take very dramatic actions," Cuomo said.
Exempted are hospitals, schools nursing homes and mass transit, he said.
The new restrictions and the state of emergency were put in place amid a rapid rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city. De Blasio said there were 95 confirmed cases across the five boroughs including an alarming 42 cases in just one day. Of the sobering total, 29 people were in mandatory quarantine, de Blasio said.
Under a state of emergency, the mayor can order public spaces to be closed and cleared, restrict vehicle access, initiate curfews and modify labor contracts.
De Blasio said the restrictions will be hard on city businesses.
"We don't do any of this lightly. This is difficult stuff," de Blasio said. "It's really going to be kind of a hole in our lives. It's painful. It's not something we would ever want to do, but we have to do."
"There's one small piece of good news," the mayor said. "We had the first case of somebody coming out of mandatory quarantine and able to go back to their lives."
De Blasio said he wants to keep the schools open.
"We are going to fight tooth and nail to protect our school system for many, many reasons," de Blasio said. "It is where our children are very safe, and our parents have no alternatives. We're going to do our damndest to keep the schools open."
The city has also suspended evictions anywhere in NYCHA unless criminal activity is involved.
The state, meanwhile, will impose restrictions on nursing homes across the state, including banning all visitors, and will mandate that all staff wear masks and be monitored for symptoms.
The elderly are particularly susceptible to the coronavirus.
Cuomo said nursing home facilities can make exceptions for those visiting a family member who is critically ill or facing death, though they, too, must wear protective gear.
While state-run universities have moved to a "distance learning" model for the rest of the spring semester, the governor said canceling school for children is off the table at the moment.
"Schools are primarily young people, who do not seem as affected by this virus as older people," he said. "You close schools en masse that's entirely disruptive to the entire society."
The governor said he has been in contact with de Blasio and Vice President Mike Pence, and said they, along with other public officials, signed off on the new restrictions.
Cuomo also called for increased testing, and said authorities are working on plans to expand capacity at hospitals across the state. The governor also asked retired doctors and nurses to get ready to pitch in if necessary.
"This has to be a system that is in balance and can handle the entirety of a public health emergency."
He also said the state could cancel elective surgeries in hospitals to open up additional beds for coronavirus response.
"It is something we are considering in our back pocket," Cuomo said.
Additionally, Cuomo announced that the first public drive-through testing facility on the east coast will start testing people Friday in New Rochelle. Testing will be done by appointment only. New Rochelle residents who have been quarantined will be tested first.
The governor said there are 328 confirmed cases across the state, and 112 in the last 24 hours. There are 148 cases in Westchester County, where the National Guard began pitching in in New Rochelle. There have been no reported deaths in the state.
"I know the hysteria is high. I know the political environment super heats everything," Cuomo said. "But we are fully able to handle this situation."
