Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering an order that would require the city’s 8.6 million residents to stay in their homes in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The mayor on Tuesday said he will decide in 48 hours whether or not to impose the shelter-in-place order, NBC News reported. The order would require residents to stay in their homes except for “essential needs” such as shopping for groceries.
“New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order,” de Blasio said. “The decision will be made in the next 48 hours.”
The move would follow similar orders in cities like San Francisco and Oakland, and would be New York City’s most drastic step yet in the attempt to curb the deadly virus.
But in a statement, Melissa DeRosa, secretary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said the state had not considered such a measure.
“The emergency policies that have been issued are of statewide impact, and the Governor is making every effort to coordinate these policies with our surrounding states,” Melissa DeRosa, secretary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said in a statement. “Any blanket quarantine or shelter in place policy would require State action and as the Governor has said, there is no consideration of that for any locality at this time.”
De Blasio recently made the decision to close the city’s schools and order bars and restaurants to close except for take-out or delivery.
The state also put a moratorium on evictions, but hasn’t said whether or not foreclosure cases will be put on hold. [NBC] – Rich Bockmann
Contact Rich Bockmann at rb@therealdeal.com or 212-673-5081.