NEW YORK | Broadway theaters closed, Saint Patrick’s Day parade canceled, any gathering of more than 500 people banned: New York, the flagship city of American culture and one of the great cultural capitals of the world, suffered its first shock on Thursday linked to the new coronavirus.
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“We are taking drastic measures (..) to reduce the number of people in a contagious environment: no gathering of more than 500 people”, announced Governor Andrew Cuomo during a press briefing, as the first American metropolis approached the 100 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
The ban goes into effect Friday evening, except for the Broadway theaters, which all have a capacity of more than 500 seats, often more than 1,000: they went out from Thursday 5 p.m., and until April 12.
Shortly after, the mayor of New York formally declared a state of emergency, already in effect at the state level.
“The next milestone is that of 1,000 cases,” said Bill de Blasio during a press briefing, indicating that he expected it to be crossed “next week”.
The curtains will therefore remain drawn for at least a month on the 41 theaters whose signs illuminate the Times Square district, in the heart of Manhattan, with shows that attract tourists from all over the world, from Lion King at Hamilton, including the new remake of West Side Story.
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This is a blow to the American entertainment world, already shaken by serial cancellations of concerts and festivals, such as Coachella or South by Southwest.
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For the 2018-2019 season, Broadway generated $ 1.8 billion in revenue and brought in 14.8 million spectators, according to figures from the professional organization Broadway League.
Idle life
After having resisted any drastic measure for a long time, the “city that never sleeps”, one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, suddenly started to slow down social life, with the first queues in supermarkets.
On Wednesday evening, she had already announced the postponement of her Saint Patrick’s Day parade, a great popular festival which honors Americans of Irish origin and brings together some 2 million people each year. It was to take place on March 17th.
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This parade, which takes place in the middle of Manhattan, along Central Park, had been held every year without interruption since 1762, according to the organizers’ website, even during the wars.
Other cultural institutions have announced that they are closing their doors, starting with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the largest of New York museums.
“Even though we have not had any confirmed cases in connection with the Museum, we believe that we must do everything possible to guarantee a safe and healthy environment for the population, which at this stage calls for minimizing gatherings”, a declared its president Daniel Weiss, without giving a possible date of reopening.
Ditto for the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic or Carnegie Hall, which cancel performances until March 31. The Tribeca Film Festival, scheduled for April, has also been postponed.
Other aspects of daily life are starting to be affected.
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If the mayor stressed that he would do “everything possible” to avoid the closure of public schools, Catholic schools have announced that they will be closed next week, and several schools have already closed on time following alerts to the virus.
He also indicated that he did not plan to close the metro at this stage, even if the city was studying “all potential scenarios”.
Some New Yorkers were serene, refusing to panic.
“I’ve already cut back a lot of my releases,” said Gregory Orr, independent filmmaker. “But it’s not the zombie panic. New York is a great place to be in an emergency, she knows how to defend herself ”.
But he still stocked toilet paper and food, and others were preparing to follow suit: Thursday evening, at the time of leaving the offices, unusual lines formed in front of some supermarkets, including the shelves pasta / rice and toilet paper were especially taken by storm.
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