New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned residents that he was considering imposing an order to shelter in place as the city copes with the spread of the coronavirus.
De Blasio, a former 2020 Democratic candidate for president, said on Tuesday that he was considering the action and that a decision may be made in the next couple of days, according to the Wall Street Journal. The order would direct millions of people to stay in their homes as much as possible for a certain period of time.
The San Francisco Bay Area issued stay-in-place warnings covering six counties on Monday, ordering residents to stay at home as much as possible for three weeks. All nonessential businesses were ordered to close, while pharmacies, grocery markets, and hardware stores remained open. Restaurants are also allowed to keep operating, albeit for delivery only.
Top U.S. health officials are concerned that, should the coronavirus spread much further in the United States, the government would have to take steps similar to Italy to contain the disease spread. By Monday afternoon, the U.S. had reported about 5,700 cases of the disease, 17 recovered former patients, and 94 deaths. Italy had reported about 31,500 cases of the disease, 2,900 recovered, and 2,500 deaths.
Italy has struggled to cope with the disease after its first initial, rapid spread across the country. On March 9, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a lockdown across the entire nation, banning people from leaving their homes without permission or an approved reason, such as visiting a pharmacy for needed medicine.
Conte’s order came after Italian hospitals were flooded with patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Italian hospitals unable to take the strain of incoming patients forced doctors to prioritize the treatment of patients, often taking the form of treating younger people versus older and those with preexisting conditions.
