De Blasio wants to return quarantine in 9 districts of the city: what and where will be closed

New York City Mayor Proposes Closing Schools and Businesses in 9 City Borders That Are Seeing a Surge COVID-19. For how long business and educational institutions can be closed, informs edition CNN.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed to temporarily close all schools and non-essential businesses in nine boroughs. He stated this at a press conference on Sunday, October 4.

These are areas where COVID-19 test positive rates exceed 3% for at least seven consecutive days.

“It will be difficult for the people who have done so much to combat this crisis,” the mayor said. - It is important to stop the spread of the coronavirus in these areas and beyond. This is necessary for the good of the whole New York. "

The proposed plan requires state approval. It includes the closure of all non-essential businesses, private and public schools and kindergartens starting Wednesday, October 7th.

Restaurants in the affected areas will have to stop receiving visitors - both inside and on the terraces; however, they will be allowed to take orders and deliver them.

Businesses and schools will be able to reopen in two weeks if the virus spread in their ZIP codes falls below 3% for seven consecutive days. Otherwise, they will be closed for at least four weeks.

New York was one of the first US cities to be affected by the pandemic. It was the epicenter of America's coronavirus outbreak in March, but the city and state have since managed to contain the virus's spread.

The mayor's announcement on Sunday came just days after the public school opened for face-to-face classes. “It became clear that a high level of spread of the coronavirus remains in a number of areas. This requires more decisive action than what we have had to take for many months, ”said de Blasio.

Areas that may be affected by the new restriction include:

• Edgemere / Far Rockaway ZIP 11691
• Borough Park ZIP 11219
• Gravesend / Homecrest ZIP Code 11223
• Midwood ZIP 11230
• Bensonhurst / Mapleton ZIP code 11204,
• Flatlands / Midwood, ZIP code 11210
• Gerritsen Beach / Homecrest / Sheepshead Bay ZIP Code 11229
• Kew Gardens ZIP Code 11415
• Kew Gardens Hills / Pomonok ZIP Code 11367

Many of these areas are home to Jewish communities and have seen an increase in new cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks.

Also, according to the mayor, on Sunday smaller restrictions will be introduced in 11 ZIP codesthat “worry” officials. They include parts of Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Manhattan Beach, Bergen Beach, Crown Heights, Rego Park, Fresh Meadows, HIllcrest, and Jamaica Estates. Canteens, gyms and swimming pools will be closed in these areas, but schools will continue to operate.

On the subject: New York Launches COVID-19 Tracking App: How It Works

Given the situation in New York today, health workers on Saturday urged all residents to wear protective masks, maintain social distance and stay home if they fall ill. Also, New Yorkers were urged to refuse to attend large gatherings.

Today an increase in the number of cases of coronavirus observed in six metropolitan areas that have been combined into one group called the Ocean Parkway Cluster. This cluster is a group of quarters where the number of new coronavirus cases has tripled over a seven-week period. These areas account for 20% of all new COVID-19 cases in the city.

The health department expressed concern that this increase could potentially escalate into more widespread transmission and spread to other areas "if appropriate measures are not taken."

On October 4, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that there are 20 hot spots across the state where the virus is spreading rapidly. However, he added that the average rate of positive test results was less than 1%.

The governor also called on local authorities to make more efforts to protect the population and announced the need to increase the number of inspections in schools.