Mayor Bill de Blasio says progress is being made in the coronavirus hot spots of Brooklyn and Queens
He didn’t give data but Mayor de Blasio says since the tight restrictions were put in place late last week the coronavirus infection rate appears to have stopped rising the hot spot areas.
“We have a lot of work to do but we are seeing a leveling off in the sense of not consistent increases and different results for different areas that encourage us because we see some starting to come down a bit.”
The mandatory coronavirus testing program in schools started Friday. So far there’s been one positive result out of 17 hundred plus students and staff tested in dozens of schools.
Residents in coronavirus hot spots in Brooklyn and Queens may have issues voting.
The tight restrictions are in place for at least two weeks in these so called red zones and with early voting starting soon and Election Day nearing, the mayor was asked if people will be able to go to their polling site.
“That’s something that we will talk through with our health officials and with the Board of Elections to figure out the best way to approach it. They can vote by mail if that’s their preference so we know that’s a fallback.”
Meanwhile, de Blasio is dispatching outreach teams to small businesses forced to shut again. He wants to help in any way possible but the mayor admits there’s no plan for financial aid because the city is in a fiscal jam as well.