The Big Apple Makes Big Adjustments to Combat Coronavirus

There is some confusion as to what the “global pandemic” designation signifies when it comes to COVID-19, and this has caused a great deal of misinformation and panic among Americans.

The illness itself will affect Americans in varying ways.  The healthy can expect to suffer from only minor symptoms of the illness – a runny nose, a fever, and perhaps a cough.  Those with certain preexisting conditions, and those who are in “at risk” populations could see their illness escalate into deadly, pneumonia style symptoms.

But it’s not the severity of the sickness that has medical authorities concerned – it’s the sheer volume of cases ad the virus’ highly contagious nature that is so troubling.

As such, the best preventative measures are isolation and “social distancing”.

New York City is taking these precautions seriously.

Museums prepared to shut their doors, the opera was silenced, lights dimmed on Broadway, big gatherings were banned and the subway was shunned as the largest city in the United States wound down Thursday amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that gatherings with more than 500 people will temporarily be banned in New York state, one of several “dramatic actions” to contain the new virus.

The governor said the ban would start for most places statewide at 5 p.m. Friday, though he said it does not apply to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and mass transit. Cuomo said it would be “tremendously disruptive” to close schools en masse.

The ban for Broadway theaters starts 5 p.m. Thursday and is in effect through April 12, according to a statement from The Broadway League, an organization of theater owners and producers.

As for a timeline on the measures…

“As soon as we can go back to normal we’ll go back to normal,” Cuomo said. “But we are still ascending, we are still on the upward trajectory of this disease.”

The news comes as a majority of America’s major league sports organizations have announced suspended or canceled seasons or, in some cases, events continuing as planned but without spectators.