De Blasio says he'll fine anyone in New York who doesn't wear a mask in public - as the infection rate surpasses 3% for the first time since June thanks to nine Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods where cases are skyrocketing
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday said he would start imposing fines on anyone who does not wear a mask in public
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday said he would start imposing fines on anyone who does not wear a mask in public as the COVID-19 infection rate rose above 3 percent for the first time since June.
It is a state law that while in public spaces, everyone over the age of two must wear a face covering or risk fines.
De Blasio on Tuesday said that he was going to aggressively crack down on people who flouted the rule and that cops will start issuing fines.
First, they will offer people a free mask if they are not already wearing one. If they refuse, they will be fined, he said, without saying how much they would be fined.
Cuomo previously told the MTA to issue fines of $50 to anyone on public transit who was not wearing a mask. It's unclear if that is as high as they will go.
New York City's daily COVID-19 infection rate has gone above three percent for the first time since June thanks to eight neighborhoods where cases are skyrocketing.
The infection rate in New York City on Monday was 3.25 percent. The seven-day rolling average, which is what officials will monitor when weighing new restrictions, is 1.38 percent. De Blasio's threshold for keeping the city open is a five percent infection rate.
The surge is being driven by new cases in nine neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens; Gravesend/Homecrest, Midwood, Kew Gardens, Borough Park, Bensonhurst, Gerritsen Beach/Sheepshead Bay and Flatlands.
The highest infection rate based on a 14-day average that was released by the Mayor on Monday was in Borough Park, where the infection rate was 6.72 percent.
But more recent data given by the governor's office paints a starker picture. The infection rate in some neighborhoods was as high as 17 percent on Sunday based on tests that were done that day.
It either means there was an anomalous spike in Sunday's numbers, or that the infection rate is rising gradually.
This is the city wide daily infection rate for New York City. It is creeping back up thanks to a handful of neighborhoods where there are larger spikes
New York City is bracing for another round of crippling shutdowns as eight neighborhoods experience 'alarming' surges in coronavirus infection rates. The map above shows the Sunday infection rate for each problem neighborhood
There are no specifics per neighborhood in Manhattan but, according to the most recent city data, the infection rate for the borough is 1.9 percent. Cuomo gave it as 1.3 percent on Tuesday morning.
10 NY STATE HOTSPOTS
Brooklyn:
11219 - Borough Park
11210 - Flatlands/Midwood
11204 - Bensonhurst/Mapleton
11230 - Midwood
Queens:
11367 - Kew Gardens
Rockland County:
10977
10952
10950
Orange County:
10950
Broome County:
13905
The rise in cases is not reflected in the number of deaths and hospitalizations around the city, nor does it mean that another lockdown is likely. One of the key metrics to reopening was the number of new hospitalizations. To stay open, New York City's needs to stay below 167 people a day. According to recent figures, there are fewer than one a day based on a 14-day average.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has refused to rule out shutting down businesses in the neighborhoods where cases are spiking, though.
Cuomo also said he planned to meet with religious leaders from the Orthodox Jewish community to appeal to them to spread the message. The hotspots are all home to large Orthodox Jewish communities. Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, was on September 18 and Yom Kippur was on September 27 and 28.
De Blasio said there had been compliance among Jewish communities in abiding by social distancing rules so far.
'We obviously have a serious problem, it is primarily in nine zip codes but it's affecting the daily number. For the first time in months you're going to see a daily number over 3 percent.
'To have an outbreak specifically nine zip codes out of 146. The geography is very specific. This is not like what we've seen previously,' de Blasio said at his press conference on Tuesday.
Governor Cuomo ordered de Blasio to take fast action to address the growing spike.
'COVID is real. This is not the time for indecision,' he said.
According to a 14-day average released by the city on Tuesday, the infection rate in those hotspots is as follows; Gravesend/Homecrest (6.72%), Midwood (5.53%), Kew Gardens (3.61%), Edgemere/Far Rockaway (3.98%), Borough Park (5.26%), Bensonhurst/Mapleton (5.15%), Gerritsen Beach/Homecrest/Sheepshead Bay (4.05%), Flatlands/Midwood (4.08%).
Sunday's numbers, based on test results that day were as follows; Gravesend / Homecrest (12.14%), Midwood (9%), Kew Gardens (6 percent), Edgemere / Far Rockaway (14%), Borough Park (17%), Bensonhurst/Mapleton (9%), Gerritsen Beach (10.82%), and Midwood (9%).
On Saturday the state reported more than 1,000 new cases for the first time since early June, prompting Cuomo to warn that the virus 'remains a force to be reckoned with throughout the country'.
In recent days Cuomo and his aides have highlighted the importance of containing clusters to ensure that they don't spread to neighboring zip codes.
In addition to the neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, Cuomo said that surges in the mid-Hudson region were pushing up the state's positivity rate.