In New York, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus epidemic in the United States, containment has been extended until June 13.
While some states, rural and for the moment less affected, begin to reopen in the United States, New York is seeing its confinement extended. Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed an executive order extending the measure until June 13. Only five regions of the state, sparsely populated, are authorized to relaunch certain commercial, industrial and recreational activities as of this Friday, included in “phase 1”.
“We have to be really, really disciplined. We have to take it slowly and gradually, ”the Democrat told CNN. While acknowledging that the epidemic is slowing, other criteria necessary for an at least gradual recovery of the economy are still in the red: continued decline in the number of hospitalizations, people in intensive care and positive tests for the coronavirus. New York State deplores more than 20,000 deaths linked to Covid-19.
To read :In New York, unclaimed bodies buried in Hart Island mass graves
The specter of the city’s bankruptcy
Faced with prolonged confinement, New Yorkers have so far remained relatively disciplined, far from the protests organized in Florida or Michigan, where armed men have entered the State Capitol to pressure them. local elected officials called to vote on an extension of the confinement.
But the question of the city’s economy remains crucial: tax revenues have melted with the shutdown of the economy, raising fears of the worst according to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. The latter has already raised the specter of a bankruptcy like that of the 1970s, which had considerably reduced public services and exploded crime. He begs Republican President Donald Trump, himself New Yorker, 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 stands, especially since he assumes his idea of making any financial assistance to cities or states conditional on negotiations on subjects such as immigration.
Any reproduction prohibited—
