NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering ordering New Yorkers to shelter in place, meaning they could only leave their homes for essential goods, services and activity.
The move would follow seven San Francisco-area counties putting similar controls in place for three weeks Monday as they tried to control the spread of the new coronavirus.
“We’re absolutely considering that,” the mayor said Tuesday morning on CNN.
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“It could get to that for sure for the whole country.”
The move has the backing of City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who was speaking with Brian Lehrer on WNYC Tuesday.
“I really think people should not be leaving their homes,” he said.
“I think that we’re in a very very precarious situation and time is really of the essence here. …We need to move toward San Francisco.”
He added: “I think we’re being to slow drafting drastic social distancing measures we know work. I think we should have moved faster. Time is the enemy during the pandemic. when you’re in a hotspot.”
If such a measure were put in place, all nonessential travel would be banned. New Yorkers could only venture out of their homes for food, medical care and exercise.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that any move to quarantine the city would have to be approved by him — and he had no intention of doing that.
” Well maybe you’re going to quarantine New York City,” he said.
“That is not true. That cannot happen legally. No city can self quarantine without state approval. I have no plan whatsoever to contain New York City.”
New York City has already shut down a huge swath of its businesses, including all restaurants and bars and any venue in which more than 500 people gather. Restaurants are only allowed to serve take-out food under a rule that went in place at 8 p.m. Monday.
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As of Monday night, 463 people had tested positive for the virus.
The mayor has also closed city schools, warning that they could be shut for the rest of the school year.
Coronavirus In NYC: What’s Happened And What You Need To Know