May 11, 2020 By Christian Murray
Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city could see the easing of restrictions beginning next month.
The mayor said that with the spread of COVID-19 slowing, there is a chance that the city may allow the reopening of some nonessential businesses next month.
“June is when we are potentially going to be able to make some real changes, if we can continue our progress,” de Blasio said at his daily press briefing this morning.
“We’re going to always go by the data,” he added. “It’s been pretty good and pretty consistent. It’s not quite been what we need it to be, but definitely trending the right direction.”
De Blasio has used three metrics as a yardstick for when the restrictions can ease—the rate of hospitalizations, the number of people in critical care and the percentage of people who test positive. When each has dropped for 10 consecutive days and is below a set threshold the restrictions can ease.
All three measures have continued to trend downward, although some days they have ticked up.
The number of hospitalizations dropped to 55 on Saturday from 68 the day before, according to the latest NYC Health data. Meanwhile, the number of people in critical care dipped to 537 from 540 and the percentage of people who tested positive dropped to 13 percent from 17 percent.
“This is exactly the kind of day we want to see,” the mayor said. “Now, let’s say we can stretch a number of these days together.”
6 Comments
Data drivem yes. But since too many victims are never tested when they die at home, we should also look tat hat the number of deaths above the average for a similar prior period, That needs to be part of the data that drives our decisions, before we rush into a seemingly safe attempt at reopening parts of our economy.
There is so much we don’t know about this new disease, about how long immunity may last, about long term effects in the body, and about non-Covid like symtoms that may go unnoticed & slide under the radar in toddlers who contract the disease – until they become sp ill as to be at the verge of death.
Likewise data-driven choices will need too guide us if and when the virus comes back in the fall, as the Pandemic of 1918-19 did –with a deadly vengance.
By June there won’t be anything left to open.
Unfortunately DeBlasio has mishandled this whole situation and his demeanor is that of someone scared and out of his league.
This has also exposed his tremendous fiscal mismanagement during his reign as dictator
Does this have anything to do with the “three metrics as a yardstick for when the restrictions can ease” or just a trite rant?
He is so out of touch with the outer boroughs its disgusting. Ease restrictions, in Woodside and Sunnyside its business as usual….especially in Sunnyside lots of people without masks, social distancing is non existent, buses are packed,especially the q32, morning and afternoon, “day laborers”, in larger numbers than before covid 19,and illegal activity back to business on 69 street and Roosevelt Avenue,I’ve reported this but NOTHING is ever done about it. Bad behavior rules in this neighborhood.
That’s a photo of 74th Street, not 82nd. 😉