Gov. Andrew Cuomo updates the public on action steps that are being taken in New York State to address the novel coronavirus during a press conference on March 12, 2020.
ALBANY – As New York prepares for an expected rise in the number of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the coming days and weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that there will be a limit on mass gatherings starting Friday.
During a press conference in Albany, the Governor said that any event with 500 or more individuals in attendance is to be cancelled or postponed. He said the move is necessary in order to try and slow the spread of COVID-19 so that healthcare systems can better help those battling the virus.
“We are talking about a public health emergency and we are talking about setting up a public health emergency system. This has to be a system that is in balance and can handle the entirety of a public health emergency,” the governor said. “So there are two basic functions you are performing. One is reduce the spread of the disease. Two, make sure that you can treat the number of people that get infected. So, reduce the spread the best you can. You do that through testing. You do that through density reduction. Reduce the spread.”
State, national and world health health experts agree that mass gatherings with people making sustained close contact are a place where the novel coronavirus can easily infect many people quickly and continue its spread.
In addition to the cancelling of events with over 500 people, other events, gatherings, or places of business with less than 500 individuals in attendance will be required to cut capacity by 50 percent, with exceptions being made for spaces where individuals do not make sustained close contact, such as schools, hospitals, public buildings, mass transit, grocery stores and retail stores.
The new regulations will go into effect Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m., with the exception of Broadway Theaters, where the limits went into effect Thursday at 5 p.m..
Also, in an effort to protect some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, Governor Cuomo announced only medically necessary visits will be allowed at nursing homes.
“The spread of this coronavirus is not going to stop on its own, and we know that mass gatherings have been hotspots for the virus to infect large numbers of people quickly,” Cuomo said. “To help contain it, we are instituting limits on large events as well as new measures to protect our most vulnerable populations — including people in nursing homes — and preparing our healthcare system to be able to deal with any future capacity issues. While the context is key and the anxiety is outpacing the facts of this situation, we will continue taking aggressive action to protect public health and prepare for any future spread of this virus.”
The governor also acknowledged that testing has been a challenge since the novel coronavirus first appeared in New York due to a lack of available test kits from the federal Centers for Disease Control. But rather than focus on why there was a shortage, Cuomo instead said now is the time to move forward and work to try and provide as many tests as quickly as possible.
“On testing, I am not that interested in what happened yesterday and what we should have done a few months ago. I am more interested in what is happening today and what is going to happen tomorrow. There will be plenty of time to do a retrospective,” Cuomo said. “We need to increase testing as quickly as possible and get the volume as high as possible. The more people you test, the more people you can isolate. Testing is not about figuring out how many people have the disease. That is gone. As far as I am concerned, we are way behind in testing and determining how many people are actually infected.
Cuomo said that in addition to contracting with 28 laboratories to assist with testing, the state will soon begin to increase the number of tests and is contracting with BioReference Laboratories to run an additional 5,000 tests per day starting next week. That’s on top of what the state is already doing.
The first public drive-through testing facility on the east coast will also start testing people today in New Rochelle, but the testing will be done by appointment only.
Finally, the Governor confirmed 109 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 325 confirmed cases in New York State.
The vast majority of the cases remain in Westchester County and the New York City area, although several other new counties were also added to the list, including Deleware, Herkimer, and Monroe Counties.
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