NEW YORK – New York City agencies are on “high vigilance” and ready to deal with an escalation in the novel coronavirus outbreak should it spread to the city, officials said on Wednesday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot, and other city officials held a news conference a day after the CDC said that it expected COVID-19 to spread in the United States and become a global pandemic.
De Blasio said that he and his administration have been operating under that same assumption for several weeks. He said that New York City has no confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far and he credits that in part to precautions put into place by the city, state and federal partners (such as at airports) in January.
“No one should take this lightly,” the mayor said, adding that city agencies have been vigilant since “Day 1.”
De Blasio and Dr. Barbot outlined several steps the city is taking to be ready.
Mayor Bill de Blasio gives a briefing on the deadly coranavirus at NYC Emergency Management headquarters on Jan. 24, 2020. Photo: Paul Frangipane/Brooklyn Eagle
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