City Worker, Elderly Traveler Most Recent NYC Coronavirus Deaths

NEW YORK CITY — A Department of Corrections investigator and an 89-year-old man who recently returned from Italy are the most recent New Yorkers to die from the new coronavirus, said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The 56-year-old and 89-year-old man are the sixth and seventh New Yorkers reported to have died from COVID-19, the mayor said.

"Lives will continue to be lost," de Blasio said. "It will get a lot worse before it gets better"

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As of Monday afternoon, there were 463 confirmed cases in New York City and about 80 percent have not required hospitalization, the mayor said.

Hospital Facilities

The city's hospital facilities will be expanded in the weeks ahead to bring more than 8,000 new beds to deal with the spreading pandemic, de Blasio said.

Hospital spaces — such as cafeterias and parking lots — will be turned into intensive care units to fit about 7,000 more beds, according to de Blasio.

About 1,300 of those beds will be brought into the following medical facilities, according to the mayor:

• New York Health and Hospital's Coler Facility on Roosevelt Island will get 350 new beds in one week's time.
• A new nursing home in Brooklyn will come online with 600 beds.
• Montefiore's Westchester Square Campus in The Bronx will get 150 beds in two weeks time.
• North Central Bronx Hospital will get 220 beds in one week's time, de Blasio said.

"We are constantly building out medical facilities and creating them where they've never been before," de Blasio said.

Five drive-thru testing centers will also be set up in New York City with help from FEMA, de Blasio said.

Executive Orders

De Blasio signed an executive order bringing certain governemnt offices to a halt and regulating businesses during the outbreak.

City Council hearings, ULURP applications and visits to inmates in Department of Corrections facilities were all suspended.

Theaters, museums, concert venues, nightclubs and "commercial gyms" — a distinction he made hours after his Park Slope YMCA workout sparked ire in the city — will close at 8 p.m. Monday.

The mayor also limited prices on resources New Yorkers will need during the outbreak.

New York City stores will face a $350 fine for increasinge prices more than 10 percent on the following:

• Thermometers
• Sanitizing and baby wipes
• Hand sanitizers
• Latex gloves
• Face masks
• Fever reducers
• Supplements
• Toilet paper
• Rubbing alcohol and aloe vera, which can be combined to create hand sanitizers

New Yorkers can report price gouging to 311 and are asked to provide specifics about where the store is and what products are overpriced.

Social Distancing Recommendations

The city updated its recommendations for sick and well New Yorkers.

As of Monday, March 16, sick New Yorkers are asked to stay home for three or four days — when coronavirus is most contagious — then reassess their situation.

Those still feeling unwell should call the doctor. Those feeling better should stay home until completely recovered.

De Blasio also told New Yorkers not to go to the emergency unless faced with a medical emergency.

"We cannot overwhelm our healthcare facilities," de Blasio said. "Stay home to the maximum extent possible. "

The mayor said short walks or jogs were still possible but encouraged city dwellers to keep as much distance from others as possible.

"That's acceptable if you keep it limited," the mayor said. "That's where we are right now."