Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Coronavirus Updates: White House Task Force Member Says Anyone Leaving NYC Should Quarantine For 14 Days
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Sydney Pereira
Published Mar 24, 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 .
Alex Brandon/AP/Shutterstock
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Sydney Pereira
Published Mar 24, 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 24th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here. Our guide to understanding New York on PAUSE, NY's stay-at-home order; is here; preparing 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.
You can send us tips/questions/comments at [email protected].
Here are some related stories you might want to read (or listen to):
- Take a virtual bike ride through deserted Midtown.
- Luxury housing construction is considered "essential" during a pandemic.
- How the prejudice around coronavirus conjures the AIDS epidemic.
6:45 p.m. Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House task force on coronavirus response, said anyone leaving New York City should quarantine themselves, a sign of the severity of infections in the city.
To date, 56 percent of all known coronavirus cases in the U.S. are in the New York metropolitan area.
“Everybody who was in New York should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days to ensure the virus doesn’t spread to others no matter where they have gone, whether it’s Florida, North Carolina or out to far reaches of Long Island,” she said. “We’re starting to see new cases across Long Island that suggest people have left the city.”
President Trump added: “New York City definitely is a very hot spot. There's no question about it."
NYC Set To Receive 2,000 Ventilators But "Speed Of Disease Is Growing"
Mayor Bill de Blasio visits the New York City Emergency Management Warehouse, where 400 ventilators have arrived and will be distributed.
Mayor Bill de Blasio / Flickr
5:30 p.m. New York state is set to receive 4,000 ventilators from the federal government, half of which will be given to New York City.
"That’s great news," said Mayor de Blasio during his press conference Tuesday. "But that is only the beginning of what we need. The speed of this disease is growing."
Earlier, Governor Cuomo said that the state is two to three weeks from the apex of the coronavirus crisis, shorter than a previous projection.
On Tuesday, de Blasio visited the city's Emergency Management Warehouse in Brooklyn**,** where 400 ventilators from FEMA have arrived. The city currently has about 5,000 ventilators.
Including the additional 2,400 ventilators, the mayor said the city would only have enough to get through the first week of April. President Trump on Tuesday said that he “would love to have the country opened up, and just raring to go, by Easter,” which is less than three weeks away.
Responding to the president's comment, de Blasio said, "The notion that we could be back to normal in April is inconceivable."
All told, de Blasio has said New York City needs 15,000 ventilators to get through May.
New York City is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. As of Tuesday afternoon, the city had 14,776 confirmed cases of coronavirus, one third of all the known infections in the country.
At least 131 people have died in the city. During his remarks, de Blasio paid tribute to Broadway playwright Terrence McNally, who won four Tony awards and died on Tuesday in Sarasota, Florida from complications due to coronavirus. He was 81.
"It’s not just numbers, it’s not just happening to someone else," the mayor said. "This is something we’re all going to feel directly in our lives before it's over."
New York City is in the second day of a shutdown of nonessential businesses and activities. De Blasio has said he would take a wait-and-see approach this week before instituting stricter rules to enforce social distancing in city parks. On Saturday, Cuomo admonished the city for "a significant amount of non-compliance."
But on Tuesday, the mayor said that the NYPD had seen "broad adherence to the rule," with some exceptions. He said patrol officers for the NYPD would continue to issue warnings to those failing to perform social distancing. Playgrounds have remained opened for now. The mayor said he will keep them open until at least Saturday evening in hopes that people would get the message.
In hopes of alleviating crowding, the city will also reserve two city streets in each borough for pedestrians only. The pilot program, which was originally proposed by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, takes advantage of the significant drop in car traffic amid the coronavirus shutdown.
The sites are set to open on Thursday.
New York Will Begin Experimental Drug Trial For Coronavirus Patients
2:00 p.m. New York state health officials are working on a trial to treat seriously ill coronavirus patients by injecting them with antibodies from people who have recovered. The hope is that the treatment would give the patient's immune system a boost in fighting the virus.
Governor Cuomo announced the plan during his press conference on Monday, saying that the treatment, known as convalescent plasma, had been approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Hospitals outside of New York have also submitted requests to the FDA to begin trials.
"There have been tests that show when a person is injected with the antibodies, that then stimulates and promotes their immune system against that disease," Cuomo said. "It's only a trial. It's a trial for people who are in serious condition, but the New York State Department of Health has been working on this with some of New York's best health care agencies, and we think it shows promise, and we're going to be starting that this week."
Historically, plasma infusions were used during the 1918 flu pandemic, and against other infections, including measles and bacterial pneumonia.
Cuomo Tells Federal Government To 'Act Like It's A War'
12:20 p.m.: Governor Andrew Cuomo today implored the Trump administration to unload what Cuomo says is a 20,000 federal stockpile of ventilators to help the state, which he believes is about two to three weeks from the anticipated peak number of COVID-19 cases.
Cuomo said the state needs 30,000 ventilators, yet has only acquired 7,000. The city alone has requested 15,000 ventilators. To date, the federal government has provided 400 ventilators to New York City from the federal stockpile.
"Act like it's a war," a visibly outraged Cuomo said, addressing the insufficient federal response during a press briefing at the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center, where 1,000 emergency hospital beds are being built. "You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators!"
400 ventilators lined up at the NYC Emergency Management Warehouse in Brooklyn on March 24 that were set to be transported to hospitals.
Gothamist/Scott Lynch
"The ventilator will make the difference between life and death, literally, for these people," Cuomo said. An experimental method of using one ventilator for two people is being explored—a risky option that requires synching up patients with the same lung capacity.
Cuomo noted, "We don't have any other options."
Cases are doubling every three days, according to Cuomo, who described the increase in cases as the difference between a freight train and a bullet train.
New York state has 25,665 cases, with 3,234 people who are hospitalized. 756 are in intensive care unit beds. 210 people have died.
After Cuomo's address, Vice President Mike Pence said on Fox News 2,000 ventilators were shipped to New York Tuesday morning, with another 2,000 set to arrive Wednesday.
"New York is the canary in the coal mine," Cuomo warned the rest of the nation. "What happens in New York is going to wind up happening in California, in Washington State, in Illinois. It's just a matter of time."
Cuomo said the ventilators should be transported to various parts of the country as different localities reach their apex.
"I will take personal responsibility for transporting the 20,000 ventilators anywhere in this country that they want once we are past our apex," he said.
The state's new projections for needed hospital beds has also risen to 140,000—about 30,000 more than previously anticipated. The current capacity is about 53,000 hospital beds and 3,000 intensive care unit beds.
"So, flatten the curve, flatten the curve," Cuomo said. "We haven't flattened the curve and the curve is actually increasing." Cuomo called today's numbers "troubling and astronomical."
The governor said he is looking at ways hospitals can increase their bed capacity by 50 to 100 percent through emergency hospitals in hotels and dormitories. The 1,000 beds at the Javits and Westchester convention centers are helpful, but insufficient. Adequate hospital staff and equipment like personal protective gear and ventilators are also critical to ensure increased bed capacity would function.
"I will turn this state upside down to get the number of beds we need," he said, adding that he is talking with hotel owners about using their properties as makeshift spaces for hospital overflow.
Cuomo said he couldn't understand why the Trump administration had not yet activated the Defense Production Act, which President Donald Trump has invoked but resisted actually using. The act would allow for the activation of government resources to assist private companies to produce needed supplies—like ventilators.
On Tuesday morning, FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor said in an interview with CNN the act would be used to access 60,000 test kits and 500 million masks.
Referencing Trump's suggestion to open up businesses again and downplaying how severe the outbreak has been, Cuomo said, "No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life because no American is going to say how much a life is worth."
"Job one has to be save lives," Cuomo said.
New York State needs 30,000 ventilators.
Gothamist/Scott Lynch
New York State Now Has The Same "Attack Rate" For The Virus As Italy
The percentage of people in New York state who we know have COVID-19, also known as the "attack rate," is now nearly identical to that of Italy. As of Monday, 107 out of every 100,000 individuals in the state had tested positive. In Italy, where the outbreaks began earlier and which has become the global epicenter of the pandemic, 106 out of every 100,000 individuals are known to have the virus. Italy has more than 60,000 known infections and more than 6,000 deaths, the highest death toll of any country.
During a White House briefing Monday evening, Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator, said that the New York metropolitan area, including Long Island and New Jersey, had an attack rate that was five times that of other areas of the country, a reflection of its density.
“To all of my friends and colleagues in New York, this is the group that needs to absolutely social distance and self-isolate at this time,” Dr. Birx said.
As of Monday evening, New York City had 13,119 confirmed cases of coronavirus. At least 125 people in the city have died as a result of COVID-19.
At least 2,213 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, while at least 525 are in intensive care units.
Speaking on Fox Tuesday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio renewed his call for the federal government to send the U.S. military into New York City to assist with the medical response. He said April and May would be especially difficult, when a surge of coronavirus patients is expected the push the city's hospital system beyond capacity.
"I think we are seeing these dominos start to fall," he said. "If the military is mobilized quickly, they could set up a structure to make sure supplies go where they are needed first."
FEMA officials and members of the National Guard are retrofitting the Javits Center this week into four hospitals with a total of 1,000 beds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has also been assisting the effort. On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that construction could be completed between a week to 10 days.
More Than 100 NYPD Members Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus
The rate of confirmed coronavirus cases within the city's Police Department is growing. As of Tuesday morning, 129 members of the NYPD tested positive for the virus, according to the department. That is more than double the number from last Friday, when there were 52 confirmed cases.
During a press conference on Monday, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea acknowledged that there was a "spike" in the number of employees reporting that they were sick. On Monday, 2,407 NYPD employees were out sick, double the typical daily average.
"The increase in the number of employees on sick report was anticipated and given the nature of the virus, it is expected that this number will grow," read an NYPD press release. "So far these absences have had a minimal impact on our ability to keep the people of New York City safe and respond to those requiring assistance."
Tagged
covid-19 updates
coronavirus
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
Sydney Pereira
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
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 .