Mayor Bill de Blasio at this morning’s press briefing (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)
June 2, 2020 By Allie Griffin
Mayor Bill de Blasio told protesters Tuesday that their point has been heard and they should now stay home to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19 less than a week before the city is set to reopen.
The mayor said he is nervous of the virus spreading among protesters — thousands of whom have taken to the streets across the five boroughs to protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“These last days, I’m very worried about any resurgence that might come from these protests,” de Blasio said at a morning press briefing. “I absolutely am.”
He said the protesters have made their point and should now stay home amid the pandemic.
“I think people have made their point, change is coming,” he said. “I wish people would now realize in the name of the health of all New Yorkers [that] it’s time to go back, stay home.”
New York City will still begin reopening Monday, June 8, despite the past five days of protests and subsequent looting that has shaked the city, he added.
“We’re going to restart the city on Monday, June 8th, but for the last few days has been a national crisis,” de Blasio said.
New York City will enter into phase one of reopening, which includes opening construction, agriculture, hunting, manufacturing and wholesale trade industries.
Retail stores are also allowed to reopen for curbside or in-store pickup only under phase one. The stores are not open for browsing.
De Blasio also revealed Tuesday that all three indicators the city uses to measure its progress fighting back COVID-19 have hit their benchmarks.
The number of new hospital admissions for COVID-19 was at just 40 patients on Sunday — well below the goal of 200.
The number of people tested for COVID-19 who get positive results was at a meager 4 percent. The number has been below its goal of 15 percent for several days, but Sunday’s number was the lowest the city has seen thus far.
The daily number of people in the ICU at the city’s public hospitals was at 354 people Sunday. That number finally fell below its goal of 375 on Friday.
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