New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday he is sending the National Guard into a “containment area” in New York City suburb to help fight what is believed to be the nation’s biggest cluster of coronavirus cases — one of the most dramatic actions yet to control the outbreak in the U.S.
The move came as health authorities contended with alarming concentrations of the disease on both sides of the country and scattered cases in between.
Schools, houses of worship and large gathering places will be shuttered for two weeks in a “containment area” in New Rochelle, and the troops will scrub surfaces and deliver food to the zone, which extends a mile in all directions from a point near a synagogue connected to some of the cases, Mr. Cuomo said.
“It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster of cases in the country,” Cuomo said. “The numbers are going up unabated, and we do need a special public health strategy.”
The virus has infected over 700 people in the U.S. and killed at least 27, with one state after another recording its first infections in quick succession. New Jersey recorded its first COVID-19 death.
In California, passengers from the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess were allowed off the vessel and walked to the bottom of a ramp, where masked officials in yellow protective gear and blue plastic gloves took their temperature and led them to a tent for more screening before they lined up to board a bus.
In California, the evacuation of passengers from Grand Princess began on Monday with several hundred people let off the ship. About two dozen people who needed acute medical care were taken off first, though it was unclear how many of them were infected, California emergency authorities said. Also, more than 200 Canadians on board were flown to a military base in their country, Canadian officials said. About 2,000 passengers, including hundreds of Californians, were still aboard on Tuesday morning.
