Coronavirus Cases In NYC Double In Single Day

NEW YORK CITY — Eleven New York City dwellers died as the number of confirmed case of the new coronavirus doubled from just over 900 to more than 1,800 in a matter of hours Wednesday, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The number of confirmed cases was 923 Wednesday morning, but 1,871 by the time de Blasio spoke to WCBS Wednesday evening.

"This is going to be like a war effort," de Blasio said. "And most New Yorkers haven't experienced what this city and this country is like in a full scale war."

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De Blasio promised the city's mass transit system — currently hoping to get a $4 billion bailout from the federal government — will continue to run even if he orders a shelter-in-place, as he said he was considering.

"It's not as draconian as some people may have started to assume," said the mayor. "I cannot see any context for closing borders or closing bridges or anything like that."

The mayor also promised to address mounting concerns about detainees in New York City jails by releasing at-risk New Yorkers and those convicted of minor crimes in the next two days.

"We will identify any inmates who need to be brought out," de Blasio said. "NYPD has reduced arrests ... but we gotta balance public safety with health in the jail."

Emptied hotels may be transitioned into hospitals or quarantine areas, an idea Gov. Cuomo floated over the weekend.

Among those diagnosed in New York City are a Rikers Island guard and inmate, four Brooklyn Nets players, a New York Times journalist and members of Brooklyn's Hasidic community.

There were 214,894 COVID-19 cases worldwide as of Wednesday evening with 8,732 deaths and 83,313 recoveries as of Wednesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University's tracker.

Coronavirus In NYC: What's Happened And What You Need To Know