De Blasio Says NYC Will Provide Businesses 2 Million Face Coverings As They Reopen
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Mayor Bill de Blasio said 200,000-400,000 will likely be going back to work in the coming weeks, and said business owners need help and guidance as the New York City prepares to reopen.
"We've got to make sure that business owners can keep their workplaces safe, that they can get their businesses going. We need to make sure that the people who work there are safe, that they can get their livelihoods back but always in a way that's safe of healthy," de Blasio said. "And the city of New York is going to be right there, side by side with each and every business owner helping them to make that strong restart.
Face coverings will be a requirement for businesses and customers when the city begins reopening. The city will distribute two million face coverings to start to all businesses who need them, the mayor said.
WATCH: Mayor Bill de Blasio Gives Daily Coronavirus Briefing
"You need 'em, we'll come to you. We'll deliver them. We'll make sure you have them," de Blasio said.
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
- Resources, Hotlines, Unemployment & Covering Bills
- Remote Learning Tools For Parents Teaching At Home
- Ask Dr. Max Your Health Questions
- How Make Your Own DIY Face Mask
- How To Safely Remove Disposable Gloves
- Tips For Parents To Help Kids Cope
- Chopper 2 Over Empty NYC Streets, Landmarks
- Complete Coronavirus Coverage
New York City will also be launching a worker protection hotline and will have outreach to working people to make sure they are being treated correctly, de Blasio said.
The mayor said New York City will start adding non-profit workers to a list of people on a priority list to get COVID-19 testing.
Web Extra: See The Mayor's Presentation Slides (.pdf)
As for the daily indicators:
- 61 new hospitalizations for COVID-19
- 391 people in ICUs
- Percentage of people who tested positive is 5%, the lowest amount recorded
"What a good sign this is," de Blasio said. "This is putting us well on the way to our goal to opening in the first half of June. Well done New York City."
De Blasio said he's "confident" the city will be getting to phase one of reopening in the first two weeks of June, but wouldn't go into further details.
CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ COVID-19 Info Hub | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The mayor said there hasn't been a major growth of cases of MIS-C, the mysterious disease afflicting children that is suspected to be connected to COVID-19.
"Thank God we have not seen a lot of growth of the problem in the last days," he said.
There are 124 confirmed cases in New York City, with about three quarters of them having indications of having been positive for COVID-19, Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said.
