A look back: New York, as COVID-19 began to engulf the world

Record ID: 1663491

  • Title: A look back: New York, as COVID-19 began to engulf the world
  • Date: 11th March 2022
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 4, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NEW YORK CITY MTA TRANSIT WORKERS CLEANING A SUBWAY CAR TWO DAYS PRIOR TO TIME WHEN THE SUBWAY SYSTEM CLOSED FROM 1 A.M. TO 5 A.M. DAILY FOR CLEANING NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 6, 2020) (REUTERS) MOSTLY EMPTY 1 TRAIN SUBWAY DURING MORNING COMMUTE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Embargoed: 25th March 2022 19:49
  • Keywords: COVID-19 COVONAVIRUS PANDEMIC PEAK
  • Location: NEW YORK + ALBANY + NEW HYDE PARK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK + ALBANY + NEW HYDE PARK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA00F314308032022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020, New York State was fast becoming the epicenter for the disease in the United States.
    The first case in the state was announced by then-governor Andrew Cuomo on March 2. One week later, on March 9, New York's case number had risen to 142, overtaking Washington State for the highest caseload per state.
    In densely crowded New York City, on March 12th then-mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency. The state announced all gatherings of more than 500 people would be prohibited, which forced Broadway theaters to close. Case numbers rose rapidly, straining hospitals and healthcare workers. Healthcare officials warned of a shortage of hospital beds, ventilators and staff.
    On March 20 Cuomo announced the signing of 'New York State on Pause', which directed all non-essential workers to work from home, taking effect on March 22.
    New York's subway system was ordered to shut down for disinfection for a few hours each night, the first time 24-hour service was not available since 1904.
    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New York City was the epicenter for COVID-19 from March through June 1, 2020.
    The CDC says 203,792 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported during the three-month period. The fatality rate was 9.2 percent overall, and 32.1 percent among hospitalized patients. According to the CDC there were 18,679 fatalities during this period, but (stated? Have said?) this could be an undercount because some of those that died in the first few weeks might not have been properly attributed to COVID-19. In one month, New York state went from a single case on March 1 to more than 83,000 statewide and more than 2,300 dead on April 1. By April's end, the virus would claim another 16,000 lives statewide.
    By early June, the city was able to start easing some restrictions, and on June 8, Cuomo announced phase 1 of the reopening for the city.
    (Production: Soren Larson)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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