New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday he is almost to the point of recommending to Gov. Andrew Cuomo that Big Apple residents be ordered to shelter in place as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
De Blasio made his comments Wednesday during an interview on NBC’s “Today” show. He was questioned whether he would ask Cuomo for an order to shelter in place. He replied: “I’m almost to that point. I will be speaking to the governor about it later on today. There’s a little bit more we have to make sense of like how we’re going to get people food or medicine. But I have to say it has to be considered seriously starting today.”
He maintained the fight against the virus “is something that needs urgent intervention by the government.”
In a column posted on Wednesday by USA Today, de Blasio criticized the Trump administration for not having a “wartime scenario” in the fight against the coronavirus.
“We are in a war-time scenario,” he said.
“The Trump administration is approaching this crisis with a Mar-a-Lago attitude. Two weeks ago, the president called concerns about the administration’s reaction to the virus ‘a hoax.’
“And as cities like ours plan for the long term, the Trump administration still hasn’t shown a plan to get us the medical supplies we need.”
“Just as the federal government did in World War I, World War II and other extraordinary moments, the Trump administration should nationalize the production and distribution of the medical supplies the American people need. "
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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