New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo promises that the city of New Rochelle will not be closed. The governor of the state of New York, Andrew Cuomo, announced the creation of a special zone of coronavirus infection with a radius of one mile (1.6 km) in the city of New Rochelle, north of the metropolis. According to him, it is likely that the largest outbreak in the United States is located there. Residents of the area will be assisted by members of the United States National Guard, who will perform civilian duties. In particular, they will be involved in cleaning schools and delivering food to people in quarantine. New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson emphasized that the National Guard will be helping people get food, not performing military or police functions. “This is not a restricted or quarantined area, no one is prohibited from entering,” he said.
To date, 173 cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in New York State, the highest rate in the country. Of these, 108 have been identified in Westchester County, where the city of New Rochelle is located. The county’s population is less than one million, the city’s 77,000. Only 36 cases have been identified in New York City, 40 km to the south. The governor promises that there will be no restrictions on entering the city, but places where people gather will be closed. Schools, public places and large businesses will be closed for two weeks. The nursing home, which is not in the infection zone, will also be closed, as the elderly are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus infection. “This is a very serious action, but this is the largest hotspot in the country, and this is literally a matter of life and death,” Cuomo said.
According to local media reports, the local synagogue is the center of the spread of infection in the city. It is claimed that the first identified infected resident was a man who attended the synagogue. Approximately 1000 congregants of this temple are currently quarantined. As of March 10, a total of 804 cases had been reported in the United States. 28 people have died, including 23 in Washington state, two in California, and one each in Florida and New Jersey. Meanwhile, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, declared that he did not need to take a test for coronavirus after attending a conference where one of the participants was infected with the virus. At the same time, five prominent Republicans, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Senator Ted Cruz, voluntarily went into quarantine after that conference. They shook hands with the infected person.