Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Coronavirus Updates: As Statewide Cases Rise To 173, Cuomo Suspends Schools And Large Gatherings In Area Around New Rochelle "Hot Spot"
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Jen Chung
Published Mar 10, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
John Minchillo/AP/Shutterstock
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Jen Chung
Published Mar 10, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Tuesday, March 10th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here. Our guide topreparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Organizers Cancel NYC Half-Marathon
New York Road Runners
5:25 p.m. The New York Road Runners has canceled the New York City Half-Marathon set to take place this coming Sunday.
The accompanying Rising New York Road Runners youth event will also be scrapped.
"We know this is a challenging time for everyone, and the cancellation of the NYC Half is disappointing news to many, but the resources necessary to organize an event with 25,000 runners on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan have become strained during this difficult period," read a statement on the organization's website.
The press release continued: "Over the past week the NYRR team worked hard to adjust plans, implementing modifications and accommodations to alleviate crowding and facilitate social distancing. Unfortunately, it has become clear that we will be unable to proceed in the manner that our runners have come to expect at NYRR events, where the safety and security of our runners, volunteers, staff, partners, and spectators are our main concern."
Over the years, the race, which begins in Brooklyn's Prospect Park and ends in Central Park, has drawn world class competitors.
Pressure to cancel large-scale events has been mounting in recent days as the city grapples with an escalating number of coronavirus cases. The mayor and governor have not said whether they would cancel the St. Patrick's Day Parade, set to take place on Tuesday, March 17. Mayor de Blasio has said he is concerned about the toll a cancellation would have on small businesses who derive revenue from the annual parade.
Cruise Travelers Leaving And Arriving In NYC Will Undergo Temperature Checks
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dannydaly/14694060317/in/photolist-oosUcx-4Z6ji9-Vjdw3U-8zosCP-8LTjJv-hf4ssz-deGyzu-UP4Lwc-M7SMC2-L9tJKt-ehKUbs-7aDpNe-8qf3SW-qiQuGM-d8iYRY-8N6St4-XSPiQ9-4NjfKG-9aoqVP-UR68GA-amr6XD-76eHGZ-anes7p-dUD7ff-ebfayF-4NjfKu-8dT4bS-bYeUEN-nzfhgF-aBnmVz-chTxGL-aZ45Y-75F8yV-bmd2Ah-XqTYPZ-9coE3U-98zqkf-hnjNG-XqTZ9g-KcLxeT-5GJ9bb-9CjX9K-5JwJpf-dNa4sG-8WZbXE-XwYV8f-a6CQWC-92DkDc-9TJbu9-9yxwcX" target="_blank" rel="noopener">danny daly's flickr</a>
In an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, people who are about to board or depart from cruise ships in New York City must have a temperature of at or below 100.4 in order to proceed with their travel.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the new measure during his daily press conference on coronavirus cases. The city now has 36 cases, not including the New Rochelle attorney Lawrence Garbuz. The city had previously included him because he was diagnosed and treated in Manhattan.
The policy for cruise travelers comes as the industry is reeling from the global coronavirus epidemic. In the worst incident so far, the Diamond Princess, a luxury cruise ship with more than 3,000 passengers, was forced last month to go under quarantine off the coast of Japan after several people tested positive for the virus. In the end, eight people died and more than 700 became infected.
On Monday, after days of being in limbo due to fears of spreading the virus, another cruise ship, the Grand Princess, docked at the port of Oakland in California after 21 of the more than 2,400 passengers were confirmed to be infected.
De Blasio said the next cruise ship was set to arrive on March 15th. It will be met by Department of Health officials, who will be checking temperatures.
NYC Testing Capacity Improves But Turnaround Time Still Lags
4:15 p.m. City officials continued to call on the federal government to expedite its approval of automated COVID-19 testing for health labs in New York City.
Mayor de Blasio said that while capacity was currently adequate, the turnaround time needed to be improved. Manual testing takes 2 to 3 days for the results to come, compared to hours for automated testing.
"It’s getting harder to get all of the information we’d like out quickly," de Blasio said during his press briefing.
The city's public health lab is currently able to perform COVID-19 tests for 60 people a day, according to Dr. Oxiris Barbot, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She said health officials would like to see that number expand to 100 people a day.
Private labs have also recently been given federal authorization to perform testing for the coronavirus.
With 16 new cases since Monday, Mayor de Blasio said he would no longer be giving profiles of all of the individuals who tested positive, but would instead offer details on "pertinent cases."
Acknowledging a case involving an FDNY EMS worker (see story below), he said that the individual contracted the virus from his girlfriend who works a flight attendant. Both individuals are under quarantine.
City Worried About Face Mask Shortage
4 p.m. New York City is looking to secure more face masks for doctors and first responders to protect themselves from the spread of coronavirus.
The state recently supplied the city with 120,000 N95 face masks, according to Mayor de Blasio.
The city has requested 300,000 additional masks from the federal government.
Amid the coronavirus epidemic, face masks have been in demand across the globe where there have been outbreaks. In New York City, the masks, especially N95, a heavy duty version that can filter out most small air particles, have been in short supply in drug stores.
But city health officials and other experts have discouraged healthy people from buying the masks, arguing that they should be reserved for healthcare professionals and those who are already sick to prevent the spread of disease.
Pressed on the subject, de Blasio acknowledged that people had the right to buy the masks if "it makes them feel better."
"It's a free country," he added.
Cuomo Calls New Rochelle "The Largest Cluster In The U.S."
Governor Cuomo's office
1:20 p.m. Facing an increasingly concerning outbreak of COVID-19 in New Rochelle, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state would seek to shut down all schools and other large gathering places for a two-week period within a one-mile radius of a "hotspot" near an attorney's home and synagogue where the cases first surfaced.
As of Tuesday, there are now 173 confirmed cases in New York, which is now neck and neck with Washington State in having the greatest number of infections. New York City has 36 cases, a jump of 17 from Monday.
But over the last week, the governor has expressed increasing concern about the precipitous rise in cases in Westchester, which has 108 cases.
"This the single greatest public health challenge right now," Cuomo said.
Clarisa Diaz / Gothamist & WNYC
The anticipated closures would take effect beginning March 12th and scheduled to run through March 25th. The National Guard will be brought in to deliver food as well as clean public spaces in the containment zone. Northwell Health Labs, which has received authorization to run automated testing, will set up a satellite testing facility in New Rochelle.
Most, if not all, of the cases in New Rochelle are believed to be connected to Lawrence Garbuz, a 50-year-old attorney who was announced as the state's second confirmed case on March 3rd. Garbuz, who was identified by his wife in a public Facebook post this week, had no known connection to China or other countries affected by outbreaks, suggesting the first sign of community spread in the state.
Not long after Garbuz was announced to have tested positive, Young Israel of New Rochelle, the synagogue he attended, halted all services indefinitely. Garbuz is currently in stable condition at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan.
Cuomo said he made the decision on the recommendation of the state's health commissioner, Howard Zucker.
"As we see the number of cases continue to rise based upon close contacts with persons who are positive for COVID-19, there is a particular need to reduce the opportunity for further close contacts," Zucker said in a statement released after the press conference. "These opportunities include schools, churches, synagogues, and other event spaces where large numbers of people gather and remain together for extended periods of time."
Of especial concern is exposure of the virus to older New Yorkers, who have been shown to develop more serious symptoms from the disease. Last week, Cuomo ordered all nursing homes in New Rochelle to bar visitors.
One factor that may be driving the spread is the amount of time the virus can live on hard surfaces. "So much of this is new and evolving," Cuomo said. "No one really knows for sure."
In recent days, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that New York City health experts have concluded that the new coronavirus survives for only minutes on hard surfaces. But Dr. Ian Lipkin, a leading virologist who has been researching COVID-19, said a recent study showed that the new coronavirus can persist on surfaces for days. The study, which is under review, was conducted by scientists at the Princeton, UCLA, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cuomo said the closures would not prohibit residents from leaving the area, but would only affect facilities and spaces with large groups of people. Asked to be specific, he said, "We have to look at it."
He added that he would consult with the mayor of New Rochelle and the Westchester County executive.
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy on Tuesday announced the state’s first death related to COVID-19. The person was a man in his 60s from Bergen County.
“Our prayers are with the family during this difficult time,” he and Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver said in a statement. “We remain vigilant to doing all we can—across all levels of government—to protest the people of New Jersey.”
To date, New York has not had any deaths resulting from COVID-19. Of the 173 people who have tested positive, 14 have been hospitalized.
Hedge Fund At Hudson Yards Tells Employees That Colleague Has Coronavirus
Employees at a hedge fund owned by wannabe Mets owner Steve Cohen are working from home, after an employee was reportedly confirmed to have the coronavirus. A spokesperson for Point72, located at 55 Hudson Yards, told Page Six on Monday that the employee worked on the 14th floor—and the office was being cleaned.
"In addition to working closely with state and local health departments, we are taking precautions and preventive measures to protect our employees and maintain a healthy work environment," the spokesperson said. “We have extensive business continuity plans in place to ensure the Firm can continue to operate.”
Employees on the 14th floor are being asked to work from home for the next two weeks.
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the reported case.
St. Patrick's Day Parade Is On…For Now
Photo by Scott Lynch/Gothamist
On Monday afternoon, the mayor said the city did not have plans to cancel the St. Patrick's Day parade, scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th. Since that press conference, Boston decided to cancel its St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday.
During an interview with CNN on Tuesday morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo left open the possibility that the NYC parade could be cancelled. "You calibrate your response to the time," he said. "And the facts and the circumstances in that place at that time. So parades, etc."
Four Major Sports Leagues Ban Media Access In Locker Rooms
No professional sporting events have been cancelled over COVID-19 concerns, but the Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, and National Hockey League announced it would restrict reporters from locker rooms and club houses.
USA Today's Nancy Armour is skeptical of the ban, noting, "Setting aside for a minute the dangerous precedent of limiting media access, or any pretense of concern for the paying customers, the edict does very little, if anything, to protect players. They’ll still be coming in contact with dozens, if not hundreds, of people before, during and after games. Their teammates. The coaching staff. Referees. Team personnel. Vendors. Ushers. Maintenance personnel. And don’t forget about those high rollers who sit courtside and are forever getting run over, or sat upon, by a player chasing a loose ball."
"But using the media as a patsy allows the leagues to look as if they’re doing something so people stop raising the possibility of playing games behind closed doors," she wrote. "Or, God forbid, postponing them until COVID-19 is no longer an active threat."
United Nations Closes Its Headquarters To Public
Photograph by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendvsenemy/4719512076/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jeremyjohnpeters on Flickr</a>
11: 50 a.m. The United Nations has announced that it is closing its headquarters to the public, along with guided tours, until March 31st as a precautionary measure.
The announcement was made by a UN official on Twitter as well as on the international agency's website.
David Hunter, who works in the UN's spokesman's office, told Gothamist that there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the UN.
Roughly 12,800 people work at the UN headquarters at 46th Street and 1st Avenue. Staffers are being encouraged to work from home in an effort to reduce their presence in the building.
NYU Moves To Remote Classes
An NYU building in Manhattan
On Monday evening, New York University announced that all classes beginning on Wednesday, March 11th until Friday March 13th would be conducted remotely.
"We are implementing a number of additional actions to keep the NYU community healthy and to contribute to checking the spread of the coronavirus," university officials wrote in a lengthy memo to students.
Tuesday classes were set to take place as scheduled. NYU administrators and staff are still expected to come to work, although the university is encouraging those who can to work from home.
The school joins a growing group of universities, including Columbia University, Fordham University, St. John’s University, and Yeshiva University, which have transitioned to remote instruction. The public CUNY school system, however, is still holding classes, despite criticism from some faculty members and students.
New York City Now Has 25 Confirmed Cases
An EMS worker who works for the FDNY in Brooklyn is among the new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in NYC.
The unnamed person is the first confirmed case involving one of New York City's medical first responders.
There are now 25 people who have tested positive in New York City, an increase of five from Monday. Statewide, the number of cases increased by roughly 25, bringing the total to 167. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo provided updated tallies during their respective early morning appearances on cable news programs.
A spokesperson for the FDNY said the individual was not exposed through patient contact and was believed to have contracted the disease from someone who recently traveled overseas. The individual who traveled is not an FDNY member. [UPDATE: During a press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio identified the person as a flight attendant who is the EMS worker's girlfriend.]
The EMS employee worked three shifts last week and partnered with five fellow EMS workers and treated 11 patients. All of the patients have been notified by the city Health Department, while the five EMS workers have been ordered to self-quarantine.
Currently, 19 total FDNY members are self-quarantined.
Although the city maintained the source of the EMS worker's infection was not through a patient, Oren Barzilay, president of FDNY EMS Local 2507, criticized the de Blasio administration, saying EMS workers were not getting adequate information about the virus and that the union has been fighting for years to secure better equipment, including face masks, for its members.
"We are on the front lines, and this is an ongoing battle we've had with City Hall for a few years now," he said.
On Monday, several news outlets also reported that Elizabeth Smith, the president of the Central Park Conservancy, was among those who recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Smith, in her late 60s, is also the wife of Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who became the first prominent government official in New York to contract the disease.
“She was tested after experiencing mild symptoms over the weekend,” a Conservancy spokeswoman told the New York Times. “As a precaution, a dozen members of Smith’s administrative team are also self-quarantined for two weeks. No other staff has tested positive for the virus.”
This morning, Cuomo suggested Cotton became infected while working at John F. Kennedy International airport, where he was spearheading the Port Authority's response to the virus.
"He was on ground zero of the coronavirus outbreak," Cuomo said on CNN.
A spokesperson for the Port Authority said Cotton learned of the positive test on Sunday night and has not shown any symptoms. Staff members who have had recent contact with him have been asked to work from home and follow state Department of Health guidelines. Specific questions about how Cotton contracted the virus and what further measures were being taken to protect other employees were unanswered as of Tuesday morning.
He is now under self-quarantine and working from home.
Tagged
coronavirus
fdny
covid-19 updates
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Port Authority eyes $117M fix to Manhattan roadway where falling debris smashed cars
The agency made emergency repairs to the Trans-Manhattan Expressway after debris fell from the structure's ceiling onto the road earlier this year. Now, officials are planning long-term upgrades.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 21, 2026 at 3:50 p.m. ET
Bronx couple starved their 3-year-old to death, indictment says
Their son was was also malnourished and hospitalized for a month, according to prosecutors.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Bronx couple starved their 3-year-old to death, indictment says
Their son was was also malnourished and hospitalized for a month, according to prosecutors.
By
Catalina Gonella
Marble Hill protester accused of attacking federal agent faces assault charge
By
Samantha Max
NYC’s subsidized childcare waitlist is moving, starting with 3K families
By
Karen Yi
Elon Musk drops $500K on NY Rep. Mike Lawler's re-election bid
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .