There are more than seven thousand coronavirus cases in New York State as of Friday. More than half of them are in New York City.
With the numbers increasing, Governor Cuomo is ordering all employees to work from home. The governor says only essential businesses will be able to have workers in the office or on the job site.
“There will be a civil fine and mandatory closure for any business not in compliance."
He calls the order the most drastic action the state can take in order to try and slow the spread of coronavirus. Cuomo says the virus is on pace to overwhelm the hospital system.
“We’ve talked to people all across the globe about what they did, what they have done, what worked, what doesn’t work. That has all informed this policy “
Cuomo says he will likely soon order all medical facilities to cancel non-critical elective surgeries and is offering to pay a premium to companies who supply the state with much needed hospital masks, gowns, and gloves.