Governor Andrew Cuomo took the New York City subway into midtown Manhattan Tuesday and proclaimed, “New York is back!” as the city begins to reopen after being shut down by COVID-19.
Cuomo told reporters he took the subway to show citizens it was safe to ride and that he “wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.
Considered the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, New York City began to slowly reopen Monday with residents going back to work after 78 days. Construction, manufacturing and wholesalers are able to resume work as are retailers, who had been deemed nonessential.
Cuomo acknowledged the pandemic is not over and urged New Yorkers to stay smart, keep washing their hands and wearing masks. He said as long as they are controlling it, the city can operate.
The coronavirus killed more than 500 people a day in New York City during the peak o the pandemic in early to mid-April. By the end of last week, the number of deaths per day had dropped to single digits.
The number of people testing positive for the virus was down to 200 to 300 per day at the start of last week, compared with more than 6,000 a day in early April.
