COVID-19 pandemic has cost NYC between $5 bn and $10 bn: Mayor

The COVID-19 pandemic has cost New York City between USD 5 billion and USD 10 billion so far, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

New York state is the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the US and has close to 200,000 confirmed cases.

New York City's death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 10,000 after city officials added to the tally more than 3,700 people presumed to have died because of coronavirus but had never tested positive.

de Blasio said Wednesday that the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting shutdown have cost the city between USD 5 billion and USD 10 billion.

We're not going to be able to provide basic services and actually have a normal society if we don't get help from the federal government, de Blasio said on CNN.

Our revenue is gone, our tax base is gone, our economy is gone, he said. Five to 10 billion is the amount of money we've lost that we would normally use to be able to support our first responders, our basic services, everything that keeps the biggest city in America going.

Last month, Congress had put together a USD 2 trillion federal stimulus package and de Blasio had said it was immoral" that the city would receive only USD 1 billion in direct aid, despite having a third of the country's virus cases.

Congress has got to get back and do a stimulus to help cities, help states, helps everyone get back on their feet and actually sustain a normal economy again, he said.

New York City will also spend USD 170 million over the next four months to get food to residents affected by the virus outbreak, de Blasio said. I pledge to you, and I'm very confident making this pledge: We will not allow any New Yorker to go hungry, de Blasio said at a news briefing.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has joined forces with Governors from New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Delaware to coordinate a regional plan for restoring the economy ravaged by the COVID19 pandemic and getting people back to work.

The Governors have announced the creation of a multi-state council that will comprise one health expert, an economic development expert and the respective Chief of Staff from each state and will work together to develop a fully integrated regional framework to gradually lift the states' stay at home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus.