New Yorkers should be prepared for possibility of shelter-in-place order: NYC Mayor

New York should be prepared should be prepared for an order, a drastic and unprecedented measure that would impose a blanket quarantine on 8.6 million New Yorkers in order to control the rapidly growing number of coronavirus cases in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said.

The 'shelter-in-place' order, a blanket quarantine, will prohibit people from leaving their homes, except under "limited circumstances." Non-essential businesses across the state, including wineries and bars, will be closed. But essential services such as grocery stores, banks and pharmacies will remain open.

People who venture out are expected to remain six feet apart, wash their hands, cover their coughs or sneezes and follow a number of other restrictions.

"I want to talk about a question that's on everybody's mind, and that is the issue of shelter-in-place. This is a reality that is being talked about because this crisis continues to grow. We are all deeply concerned about the direction and the trajectory even as we get new information daily and hourly and we're trying to better understand the specific trajectory. It's quite clear this is a fast-growing crisis," de Blasio said in a news conference on Tuesday.

He said, even though a decision has not yet been made by the City or by the State, New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the "possibility of a shelter in place order. It has not happened yet, but it is definitely a possibility at this point. I believe that decisions should be made in the next 48 hours and it's a very, very difficult decision."
Any blanket quarantine would require the State action and as the Governor has said, there is no consideration of that for any locality at this time."