New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday ordered the National Guard to New Rochelle to help contain the coronavirus outbreak there, CNBC reported.
The troops have been deployed to a health department command post in New Rochelle “to assist with the outbreak,” Cuomo said, adding that a “containment area” would be established in a three-square-mile area of the city.
In that zone large public gatherings will be limited, but people will be allowed to enter and leave the area and move about within it, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The National Guard also will help with cleaning, bringing food for those under quarantine, and transportation.
The governor said that schools in New Rochelle would close on Thursday for two weeks, according to CNBC.
In addition, a satellite testing facility will be added within the containment area to test people for the virus.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said that “We have moved from a containment strategy to more of a mitigation strategy.”
Westchester County, where New Rochelle is located, has 108 coronavirus cases out of the 173 confirmed infections in the entire state, according to state health department data, with Cuomo pointing out that New Rochelle [with a population of 80,000] has double the cases of New York City [with a population of 8.6 million].
About 1,000 people in Westchester County have been quarantined in recent days after many attended a synagogue for services, a bat mitzvah and funeral late last month, the Journal reported.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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