NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York City’s daily coronavirus infection rate spiked above 3% on Tuesday, for the first time in months, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
During a press conference, the mayor said the COVID-19 outbreaks in predominantly Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and Queens has pushed the city’s infection rate to 3.25%, after months of staying at or below 1%.
“That is cause for real concern,” de Blasio said. “We have to take more action at this point and more serious action and we will be escalating with each day depending on what we see happening on the ground.”
The seven-day rolling average is at 1.38%, but that could begin to rise with an increase in cases.
The news comes as the five boroughs prepare to open for indoor dining at 25% capacity on Wednesday.
Mayor de Blasio has warned that indoor dining could end if the city’s infection rate goes above 2%, though the mayor says that’s not happening as of yet.
“Obviously right now indoor dining is going forward tomorrow but I want us to keep a close eye on the situation,” de Blasio said.
The city has said all public schools will automatically close if the seven-day average stays above 3%, but the mayor says the city is moving forward with its reopening plan.
“We are not seeing an uptick in cases in the schools in those ZIP codes,” the mayor said.
City workers will be in the areas to hand out masks to residents and anyone who refuses to wear one will be fined.
“Anyone who is not wearing a face covering will be offered one, will be reminded it is required and anyone who refuses to wear a face covering will be told that if they don't put one on they will be fined, and anyone who still refuses will be fined,” the mayor said. “That will happen aggressively, clearly. Our goal of course is to give everyone a free face mask and get them to wear it. We don't want to fine people. If we have to we will, and that will be starting on a large scale today.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo also addressed the spike in cases, comparing the virus to the wildfires in the west saying new clusters are “embers that threaten to catch fire in dry grass.”
The governor says the best option now is to snuff out highly concentrated clusters.
“Cluster today is community spread tomorrow. They have to do their job today. I'm going to be meeting with religious leaders of the Orthodox community and local officials. If you look at those clusters and you look at those ZIP codes you will see there's an overlap with large Orthodox Jewish communities and that is a fact. So I will be directly meeting them to talk about it, this is a concern for their community, it's also a public health concern for surrounding communities,” Cuomo said.
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi added that people need to be cautious around one another.
“There is no evidence of herd immunity in any community,” he stressed.
City officials have been working with Orthodox Jewish community leaders to dispel the notion that herd immunity is an effective way to combat the spread of coronavirus. Cuomo says he also will be meeting with leaders to ensure the message is getting across.
Meanwhile, the governor also slammed some NYPD officers for failing to wear their masks.
“What message does that send?” Cuomo asked.
He says the upticks are happening because officers refuse to enforce masks rules on the local level.
“Competent government must do compliance and enforcement,” he stressed.