Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency in New York City on Thursday amid the rising number of positive coronavirus cases.
“We are now entering a situation that’s only analogy is to war,” de Blasio said during a press conference giving himself an expanded set of powers.
There are now 95 confirmed cases in the city, 42 more than Wednesday. The mayor added that public health crises could last six months and it was unclear how long recovery efforts after those sixth months could last.
“This is going to be a long battle… we are going to lose some of our fellow New Yorkers, that’s inevitable…this is going to be a long painful episode.”
The mayor predicted that the number of positive cases will jump to 1,000 by next week. Despite the state of emergency, de Blasio said that he was still reluctant to close schools and public transportation.
Hizzoner’s announcement comes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Broadway theaters would be closing down as of 5 p.m. Thursday. The governor also announced a plan to create a public health emergency system.
This story first appeared on amny.com.
