New York bans public gathering of 500 or more amid coronavirus outbreak

New York state banned public gatherings of 500 or more people which is effective from Friday afternoon amid the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday (local time).

"No gathering with 500 people or more," Cuomo said at a press briefing.

"Those new rules will go into effect five o'clock on Friday, except for the Broadway theaters in Manhattan, where it will go into effect, five o'clock today," he added.

The new measure exempts schools, hospitals, nursing homes and mass transit and will remain enforced for the "foreseeable future," Cuomo said. Additionally, nursing homes across the state will prohibit entry of all visitors for the time being.

The restriction will help to reduce occupancy by 50 per cent and, therefore, surge the number of people in a contagious environment, the governor explained.

Meanwhile, Cuomo said that the state needs to plan an emergency health management system and increase the reserved medical staffing capacity, including by employing medics from the National Guard and identifying health care professionals at medical schools.

"We are asking former doctors and nurses to reconnect with your old hospital, old healthcare employer, to be on an on-call basis," he added.

The state is also in the process of assessing temporary hospital facilities to expand physical space in case if such action is needed.

On Thursday, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York has reached 328, making the state the second most impacted one in the United States after Washington with 338 cases.

On Wednesday, New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade was postponed, for the first time in more than 250 years that the event was held, to stop the spread of the virus.

The number of people who tested positive for the COVID-19 in New York City has climbed to 95.