Coronavirus in the United States: on a sunny day, the streets of New York were filled with people and the mayor fears for a "regrowth"

05/03/2020 - 17:46

• Clarín.com
• World

New Yorkers returned to the streets on a sunny day. But New York Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Sunday of the risk of the coronavirus coming back as a "boomerang" if citizens relax precautions, after good weather has kicked thousands out of the house over the weekend. .

De Blasio, in a press conference, warned that an increase in new cases of COVID-19 would delay the "reopening" of the city and begged the population to continue avoiding meetings and covering their faces in places where it is not possible to keep a safe distance from others.

The New York police handed out over fifty summons on Saturday to people who were breaking those rules, mainly in parks, although the mayor stressed that the vast majority of the inhabitants are acting with great responsibility.

In addition, three individuals were arrested after an incident that allegedly started because they were not respecting measures to stop the pandemic.

According to the authorities, that episode has led to the opening of an internal investigation, after complaints were received about the actions of the agents, who can be seen violently reducing two young African-Americans in a video that has circulated through the social networks.

De Blasio insisted that the police are not going to allow meetings in public places, even if they are small, since they pose a great risk of the disease recurring.

New York has reinforced the police presence in points such as parks, which this Saturday were quite full on a day of good weather and after weeks of confinement.

De Blasio also announced that the City Council wants to increase the food it distributes to help the large number of people who have lost their income due to the pandemic or who cannot leave their homes because they are risk groups.

Currently the city has the capacity to distribute more than three million rations a week , but it seeks to increase it to one million a day, said the mayor.

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To do this, he asked for collaboration from community organizations that can manage distribution points and commercial kitchens that prepare food, especially in certain more disadvantaged neighborhoods.

New York City is the great epicenter of the coronavirus in the United States, with more than 18,000 deaths confirmed or probable by this disease, according to the latest available data.

The death toll in New York state remains fairly stable, although it remains "unpleasant and terribly high," said state governor Andrew Cuomo.

The state is also seeing around 900 new cases of coronavirus each day, which Cuomo said is still "unacceptably high." The governor said New York is trying to collect more data through antibody tests and asking hospitals to provide more demographics about those seeking treatment.

These data will allow the State to specifically address the needs of communities, which see high infection rates. Antibody tests, meanwhile, show an infection rate of 19.9% ​​among New York City residents and 12.3% statewide.

Experts argue that it is too early to reach firm conclusions based on the antibody test, particularly when decisions are made about how to facilitate the closure of the state.

Source: EFE and ANSA