The governor of New York State extended the confinement decree which expired on Friday until May 28, except for five less populated regions of this state of 20 million inhabitants.
The decree signed Thursday evening by Governor Andrew Cuomo extends the confinement for the city of New York and its surroundings, very affected by the epidemic of new coronavirus. The American economic capital has recorded more than 20,000 deaths from Covid-19. “We have to be really, really disciplined”, Mayor Bill de Blasio repeated Thursday, May 14 on CNN. “We are going to take it slowly and gradually.”
On the other hand, five less populated regions of the State will be able to gradually relaunch certain economic activities. Despite the epidemic slowing – the daily death toll is down sharply, below 200, and ambulance sirens have become scarce – authorities refuse to commit to the resumption of schools in September, leaving millions parents in uncertainty.
“The places that have reopened are chaos”
“We have to be smart”, hammered on Thursday Governor Andrew Cuomo, who continues to warn of a new outbreak of the virus.
For the moment, the metropolis of 8.6 million inhabitants is far from fulfilling the key criteria necessary to gradually revive the economy: continuous decline in the number of hospitalizations, people in intensive care and positive tests for the coronavirus. In the face of prolonged confinement, New Yorkers have so far remained relatively disciplined, despite the dramatic consequences for hundreds of thousands of people now deprived of income, especially among black and Hispanic minorities.
While elsewhere in the United States, demonstrations have multiplied against containment, many adhere to the caution of their leaders. Especially since more than 80 New York children have suffered from rare pediatric inflammation, probably linked to the virus. “The confinement must continue for two or three more months, because we live in a big city with a lot of people”Postman Denzel Charles told AFP. “Many people are in a hurry to resume quickly (…) but the places that have reopened are chaos”, underlines Kiyona Carswell, now unemployed model.
The specter of bankruptcy
However, the more the economy remains immersed in lethargy, the more uncertainty rises about the future of a city which owes its influence to its density and permanent hyperactivity. Many affluent New Yorkers have already left to go green, and some are considering never coming back. “All the reasons we are (in New York) – restaurants, concerts, etc. – are gone”, says Hans Robert, 49, IT executive at a major New York bank. He and his family, for 10 years in Manhattan, moved at the end of April to their country house in northern New York, from where they telecommute.
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If their daughter’s school does not reopen in September, Mr. Robert does not rule out staying there. Especially since his bank is thinking, like other companies, of allowing its employees to continue working remotely.
Another question: the financial health of the city, whose tax revenues have melted with the stoppage of the economy. The Democratic mayor brandishes the specter of bankruptcy like the one in the 1970s, which dramatically cut public services and exploded crime. He begs Republican President Donald Trump to validate a new stimulus plan, concocted by the Democrats in Congress, which would bail out the city to the tune of 17 billion over two years. But the president has already ruled out adopting it as it is.
“New York has known a lot of crises and always ends up bouncing back”, assures Maria Kopman, anesthetist in a New York hospital. Even if everything will not be like before, “The people who come here for the boil, the socialization, I don’t believe this will go away”.
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