NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $170 million initiative Wednesday to make sure "no New Yorker goes hungry" as he urged supermarkets and grocery stores require customers to wear face coverings amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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"More and more people are experiencing that kind of insecurity," de Blasio said at his briefing.
De Blasio said about 1.2 million New Yorkers were food insecure before the coronavirus crisis. "We expect it to grow," the mayor said.
The initiative to provide meals will be in addition to the network of food pantries and soup kitchens already serving meals to New Yorkers. De Blasio encouraged anyone in need of free food to call 311.
The mayor said 4.5 million meals have been served to New Yorkers since March 16. The city already is handing out 250,000 free meals a day at schools and delivering 25,000 a day to senior citizens. Officials expect to provide 10 million free meals in April and expect the need to grow to as much as 15 million in May.
De Blasio also said 11,000 taxi and livery cab drivers who are TLC licensed are taking on shifts to deliver food directly to people in the greatest need who can't leave their homes.
Part of the $170 million plan will include $50 million emergency food reserve for New York City. Some 18 million shelf-stable meals ready at all times "to protect us no matter what else happens."
De Blasio also called on all supermarkets and grocery stores to require their customers to wear a face covering, saying it's legal and that the city will "back you up."
"We need to keep each other safe. We need to keep these grocery store and supermarket workers safe," de Blasio said at a news briefing.
"Every store has the right to put up that guidance and make it a requirement for entry into the store," the mayor said. "Any customer who refuses should not be allowed in."
De Blasio said stores should put up signs similar to those that require customers to wear shoes and shirts.
"Put up a sign that says unless you're wearing a face covering, you can't come in," the mayor said. "If you don't have a face covering, you have to go back out until you get one."
While outlining the hardships New Yorkers are facing, de Blasio said at his briefing that leaders need to be deliberative about trying to rev up the economy.
"I want to restart the economy desperately ... but the best way to do it is to be careful," he said, warning that moving too quickly could create an opportunity for the coronavirus to come roaring back.
De Blasio, whose city is the epicenter of the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak, said some parts of Asia have experienced a resurgence of the virus after reopening.
De Blasio spoke after the city's health department revised its toll of COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday by adding 3,778 "probable" coronavirus deaths among people who showed symptoms but were never tested for the virus. The new methodology raises the city's virus toll to more than 10,000.
"The first thing to think about is the human reality of thousands more human beings we lost and families that are in pain," the mayor told "Fox and Friends" early Wednesday. "But then we also have to think about what it means for all of us and to really recognize the sheer ferocity of this disease."
The change in the city's accounting of deaths came after officials acknowledged that statistics based only on laboratory-confirmed tests were failing to account for many people dying at home before they reached a hospital or even sought treatment.
"Behind every death is a friend, a family member, a loved one. We are focused on ensuring that every New Yorker who died because of COVID-19 gets counted," said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. "While these data reflect the tragic impact that the virus has had on our city, they will also help us to determine the scale and scope of the epidemic and guide us in our decisions."
On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he would be issuing an executive order that all residents must wear a mask or face covering while using public transportation, on busy streets or anywhere where social distancing isn't possible.
"Pursuant to the Governor's Executive Order, all customers will be required to wear a face covering while traveling with us during this pandemic, effective Friday April 17," the MTA said in a statement on Wednesday.
MTA statement: "Pursuant to the Governor's Executive Order, all customers will be required to wear a face covering while traveling with us during this pandemic, effective Friday April 17." pic.twitter.com/QGQowyHD3i
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) April 15, 2020
New Yorkers continue to die at an unnerving pace even as the number of patients in hospitals has leveled off.
Earlier Tuesday, officials said 778 deaths were recorded statewide Monday, bringing New York's total to more than 10,800. That figure, though, did not factor in the probable deaths now being counted in New York City.
At least 107,263 cases have been reported in the city as of Wednesday. Here's the breakdown by borough:
- Bronx: 23,426
- Brooklyn: 28,183
- Manhattan: 13,740
- Queens: 33,616
- Staten Island: 8,236
When it comes to coronavirus cases, de Blasio said Wednesday there has been good and bad news in recent days.
Hospitalizations went up from April 12 to April 13: 326 to 370. Daily ICU admissions also went up: 850 to 868. But the percentage of people testing positive for the virus was down: 60 percent on April 12 versus 53 percent on April 13.
De Blasio said Tuesday that the city will move toward coronavirus self-sufficiency by boosting local production of virus test kits, face shields and surgical gowns.
"Starting in a few weeks we will be producing here in New York City 50,000 test kits per week with components put together right here, with companies, universities, New York City workers right here building a brand new supply chain to feed this industry that will now develop in New York City," de Blasio said.
State and city officials have stressed the need to greatly expand coronavirus testing before any relaxation of social distancing guidelines can be contemplated. Health care workers have complained throughout the virus pandemic of shortages of personal protective equipment like gowns and face shields.
De Blasio said eight city companies are now making 240,000 face shields a week and will ramp up to 465,000 by April 24 and to 620,000 soon after.
He said five companies are making 30,000 surgical gowns a week and the goal is more than 250,000 weekly.
De Blasio said the city will purchase 50,000 test kits a week from Indiana-based Aria-Diagnostics.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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