COVID-19 Update: Pressure Grows for Broader Shutdown of New York

Bars and restaurants are still attracting crowds, alarming some elected officials as the number of cases in N.Y. tops 700.

RIGHT NOWThe union representing New York City’s health care workers called for public school closures, while New Jersey Gov. Philip D. Murphy said a statewide shutdown of schools in that state is “imminent.”
Some elected officials raised growing alarms on Sunday that the city was moving far too slowly to place restrictions on public life.

They pointed out that bars and restaurants on Saturday night in many parts of the city were still relatively crowded, elevating the risk that the coronavirus would continue to spread rapidly.

City Council members, as well as Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, have begun calling on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to order the closure of restaurants and bars.
“All nonessential services must be closed, including bars and restaurants,” Corey Johnson, the Council speaker, said in a statement. “We should keep essentials like grocery stores, bodegas, pharmacies, and banks open. And restaurants that can make deliveries should be able to stay open to provide delivery service for New Yorkers.”