Bill de Blasio during a press conference announced the plan to lock down parts of New York City. This announcement affects twenty zip codes. Nine of the twenty will have stricter measures than the other counties, which are on a watch list.

As reported by the New York Post, de Blasio said, “we’re having an extraordinary problem — something we haven’t seen since spring.” The cases in the affected areas have seen their positive rate of over 3 percent for seven straight days. The announcement is to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 in New York City.

New York City is the hardest-hit city in the United States. The city experienced 250,583 cases, and 23,844 deaths since COVID-19 started in the United States. These restrictions are a preventive measure to stop the spread from the counties over three percent to other sections of the City.

Bill de Blasio attempting to shut down nine counties in New York City

Public health officials share the concern with Bill de Blasio. The positive rate increased in the past week. Bill de Blasio made sure that the increased rate was not from schools that recently opened.

New York City opened the schools to in-person schooling last week. They will not allow the nine counties to continue in-person schooling but will go back to online schooling starting Wednesday.

They will allow the students to go to school in person until Wednesday.

100 public and 200 private schools will close on Wednesday. The schools will stay closed until they decrease the positivity rate. The majority of the private schools that are closing are in Orthodox Jewish communities.

Bill de Blasio announced that this would affect the restaurants in the affected zip codes.

They would close for indoor and outdoor dining. The restaurants would be available for takeout and pickup orders only.

All non-essential businesses are closing in these counties. The residents are not in complete lockdown. It will allow them to leave their house or apartment. The enforcement of social distancing and mask-wearing will be more vigorous.

Watch list created for another 11 counties in New York City

The announcement was for twenty counties. They placed eleven of those counties on a watch list. Restrictions will increase in these neighborhoods.

The schools will stay open for in-class learning. The counties on the watch list will have more restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Restrictions are less than the other nine counties for this announcement from de Blasio.

Restaurants will close for indoor-dining. New York City opened restaurants for patio dining before opening indoor dining. The restrictions will allow restaurants to continue outdoor dining.

Gyms and pools are closing until the eleven counties improve their positive test results to under three percent.

If they do not improve, then the restrictions will increase to the same as the other nine counties.

Bill de Blasio asks for permission from Governor Andrew Cuomo for restrictions

The positive rate for New York City is at 1.5 percent. The counties affected by these restrictions are over three percent for seven straight days. Quoted by the New York Times, de Blasio said, this is “out of an abundance of caution.” Andrew Cuomo stated, in an email, that they need to “notify the state" and that they would "close all business activity in the hot spots where the local governments cannot do compliance,” as reported by the New York Post. New York City could not control mask-wearing and social distancing in orthodox neighborhoods.

Government officials worry about the virus spreading from these neighborhoods where the positive rate is increasing.

From Cuomo's statement, it sounds like he will approve the shutdowns for a lack of enforcement. Bill de Blasio states he needs approval before shutdowns. It appears that he is shirking his responsibility to the Governor.

Andrew Cuomo said, in a statement that he would not close businesses unless local enforcement was insufficient. Cuomo is blaming the mayor for the shutdown. Bill de Blasio announced that enforcement would increase before the shutdown on Wednesday.

Former City Council Representative David Greenfield stated, “I think it’s unfortunate that New York City continues to single out a couple of Hasidic Jewish neighborhoods when there are now 20 neighborhoods with serious spikes,” reported by the New York Times.

He is in charge of an anti-poverty group in New York City. Bill de Blasio announced all twenty counties in his statement.

Bill de Blasio’s announcement includes all twenty counties. In the past, de Blasio has singled out the Orthodox communities about their social distancing and mask-wearing. Most of the communities closed are majority orthodox, but they are not the only counties selected for closure. This argument from David Greenfield is like de Blasio’s announcement. He is not closing the neighborhoods based on demographics, but because of the rise in positive cases.

The closures will affect 500,000 people in Queens and Brooklyn. In Queens, Rockaway and Kew Gardens are to close, according to the announcement by de Blasio.

Borough Park, Midwood, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, and Sheepshead are the areas in Brooklyn that will be affected by the new restrictions.

Modified restrictions will affect Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Manhattan Beach, Bergen Beach, Kensington, and Crown Heights in Brooklyn. The Queens’ neighborhoods are Rego Park, Meadows, Hillcrest, and Jamaica Estates. These neighborhoods will be on these restrictions for up to three weeks or until they improve the positive rate.

The restrictions could be longer if no improvement in these neighborhoods. The neighborhood’s restrictions could increase like the other nine counties at their current levels. Bill de Blasio will lift the restrictions once they get under the three percent positive rate.
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