You are reading

Mayor Tells Protesters to Stay Home Amid Coronavirus Resurgence Fears

Mayor Bill de Blasio at this morning’s press briefing (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

June 2, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Mayor Bill de Blasio told protesters Tuesday that their point has been heard and they should now stay home to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19 less than a week before the city is set to reopen.

The mayor said he is nervous of the virus spreading among protesters — thousands of whom have taken to the streets across the five boroughs to protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“These last days, I’m very worried about any resurgence that might come from these protests,” de Blasio said at a morning press briefing. “I absolutely am.”

He said the protesters have made their point and should now stay home amid the pandemic.

“I think people have made their point, change is coming,” he said. “I wish people would now realize in the name of the health of all New Yorkers [that] it’s time to go back, stay home.”

New York City will still begin reopening Monday, June 8, despite the past five days of protests and subsequent looting that has shaked the city, he added.

“We’re going to restart the city on Monday, June 8th, but for the last few days has been a national crisis,” de Blasio said.

New York City will enter into phase one of reopening, which includes opening construction, agriculture, hunting, manufacturing and wholesale trade industries.

Retail stores are also allowed to reopen for curbside or in-store pickup only under phase one. The stores are not open for browsing.

De Blasio also revealed Tuesday that all three indicators the city uses to measure its progress fighting back COVID-19 have hit their benchmarks.

The number of new hospital admissions for COVID-19 was at just 40 patients on Sunday — well below the goal of 200.

The number of people tested for COVID-19 who get positive results was at a meager 4 percent. The number has been below its goal of 15 percent for several days, but Sunday’s number was the lowest the city has seen thus far.

The daily number of people in the ICU at the city’s public hospitals was at 354 people Sunday. That number finally fell below its goal of 375 on Friday.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

3 Comments

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Arsenal of ghost guns and thousands of rounds seized during Rockaway Park raid: DA

A Rockaway Park man was criminally charged with a slew of crimes after an arsenal of more than 30 firearms, including ghost guns and assault weapons, was uncovered along with thousands of rounds of ammunition and other weapons-related paraphernalia were seized during a raid at his home on Beach 117th Street on Wednesday.

Ryszard Materna, 51, was arraigned Thursday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Germaine Auguste on a 281-count complaint after a long-term investigation into his purchase of polymer-based firearm components that can easily be assembled into operable weapons, known as ghost guns.

Armed robber hits 7-Eleven stores in three Queens neighborhoods in just over an hour Wednesday morning: NYPD

Police from two Queens NYPD precincts are looking for an armed robber who targeted 7-Eleven stores in three different neighborhoods in just over an hour during the early morning of Wednesday, Apr. 17.

Police from the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park reported that the first heist went down just before 2:25 a.m. at the 7-Eleven located at 112-11 Liberty Ave. in South Richmond Hill. The perpetrator allegedly pulled out a handgun and demanded money from the 23-year-old man behind the counter, who complied, handing over $400 in cash from the register, police said.

Jamaica Estates man beaten, robbed by bat-wielding thugs near Cunningham Park: NYPD

A 22-year-old Jamaica Estates man was beaten and robbed in broad daylight three blocks west of Cunningham Park on Saturday, and police from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows are looking for the suspects who attacked him with a baseball bat.

The incident occurred just after 7 p.m., as the victim was walking home in the vicinity of 189th Street and Aberdeen Avenue when he was set upon by the two assailants who struck him in the face and head with the baseball bat, police said. They forcibly removed his cell phone and fled in a black Pontiac Grand Am, heading northbound on 109th Street toward Union Turnpike.

Dozens of restaurant and small business owners urge Sen. Ramos to support the $8B Metropolitan Park proposal at Citi Field

Around fifty restaurant and small business owners from Corona, Jackson Heights, and East Elmhurst signed a letter asking state Senator Jessica Ramos to support the $8 billion Metropolitan Park proposal from New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International to build a casino and entertainment complex on the parking lot adjacent to Citi Field.

Jessica Rico, the owner of Mojitos Restaurant & Bar in Jackson Heights, hand-delivered the letter to a Ramos staffer while the Senator was in Albany on April 19.