New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered a containment zone in New Rochelle, a small city that has become a coronavirus hot spot, and deployed the state National Guard to help.
“New Rochelle has double the cases of New York City. It’s true. It’s a phenomenon,” he told reporters Tuesday at a press briefing in White Plains.
Of the 173 confirmed cases in all of New York, 108 of them are in New Rochelle.
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New York National Guard troops arrived earlier Tuesday at the New Rochelle health department, where they will team up with city health officials to collect samples to test for the coronavirus around town, according to the Times Union.
Schools will close for at least two weeks starting Thursday, Cuomo said, as will “major gathering places,” community centers, and places of worship. The containment area will have a one-mile radius centered around a synagogue that state officials say could be the center of the outbreak, the New York Times reported.
People will still be able to walk around town, and grocery stores will remain open. Cuomo also said he would not be placing travel restrictions on New Rochelle residents.
“You’re not containing people,” he said. “You’re containing facilities.”
