Mayor warns that NYC schools could go all-remote
NEW YORK - As COVID cases continue to rise in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio says there is still time to prevent a second wave of coronavirus but warns restrictions could be coming.
On Tuesday, de Blasio said the percentage of New Yorkers testing positive for COVID-19 over a seven-day rolling average was 2.31%. At 3% some restrictions could be imposed including switching schools to an all-remote learning environment.
"I think these indicators actually tell you very, very clearly when we are getting to that point that you would define as the second wave having fully arrived," said de Blasio from City Hall. " Again, what our health care leaders are saying is that it can be stopped but it's going to take everyone doing the right thing to stop this second wave."
There were 795 new positive cases, reported de Blasio Tuesday. The threshold is 550. A day earlier, the city reported 779 new cases and 71 newly hospitalized cases.
De Blasio said that there are no current plans for new restrictions but cautioned that they could be coming in the days or weeks ahead and include businesses and schools.
He said that people need to avoid indoor gatherings and to wear masks at all times in public.
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The city announced a "Day of Action" on Staten Island to try to get as many people tested as possible. It was going to take place at locations across the borough on Tuesday as a surge of cases has popped up on the island.
"If these numbers we're reporting today continue to grow, then people are going to have to get used to more and more restrictions and going back to some of the ways we had to live in the Spring," de Blasio said.