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HomeColumnNYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Clarifies what a 'Shelter in Place' Would Mean

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Clarifies what a ‘Shelter in Place’ Would Mean

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Clarifies what a Shelter in Place Would Mean

NYC Mayor, Bill de Blasio spoke with Roma Torre of NY1 News in the late afternoon of March 18, 2020. Amongst the first items on their discussion plate was the Governor’s rejection of the Mayor’s desire to employ a ‘Shelter in Place’ order for the city. Interestingly, the mayor felt a need to clarify for his fellow residents what exactly a ‘Shelter in Place’ would entail. I say ‘interestingly’ since he made references to San Francisco’s model. Something which yours truly exhibited one day ago. You can see my write-up, wherein I laid out San Mateo, California’s list of FAQs as they pertained to their own ‘Shelter in Place’ which was carried out yesterday in not merely San Mateo, but as well five other Bay Area counties. I also made mention of San Francisco and how their list was not very different from that of the county I chose to list.

Yesterday’s writeup: What a ‘Shelter in Place’ scenario in New York City MIGHT look like.

Here below would be their exchange in as far as the subject I mentioned is concerned.

Roma Torre: The number of cases of coronavirus increased today all across the state and particularly here in the city. Officials have been working rapidly to strengthen our health care system while preparing New Yorkers for a series of unprecedented disruptions to regular life. It has been another fast-moving day of developments and political anchor Errol Louis is joining me now. And on the phone, we have the very latest from Mayor de Blasio. And Mayor de Blasio, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. Before we get to the grim tally of cases, the Governor seems pretty adamant about rejecting your suggestion that it’s time to consider sheltering in place. So, I just have to ask you, have you spoken to the Governor yet?

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Yeah, the Governor and I spoke about an hour ago and I’ll tell you about that. But first, I want to say, I want to make sure when I say shelter in place that there’s an understanding of what that means. I am referring to the model that already is happening in this country on the west coast, in the San Francisco area. It’s something – anyone who wants to get educated on this model should look at the information that’s been put out by the city of San Francisco. It’s quite a clear model where people are directed to stay home, but there’s also clear exceptions made for a essential services, and it’s clear how people should go about their lives with the maximum commitment to staying home and keeping themselves safe. But it’s a very – I think, very clearly delineated model. I think some people – and I want to take responsibility that there may have been more than one interpretation out there when I said shelter in place. I want to be explicit that I’m talking about the San Francisco model, because it actually exists right now in this country. And from what I’m seeing, it is working. It is not the same thing as, you know, closing the bridges and closing the borders. Obviously, somehow people – some people have taken it that way. We saw that a few days ago where everyone, you know, was on Twitter, talking about the potential of shutting down the city. It’s not the same thing. It is a directive to maximize people being at home to reduce all non-essential activity. But there are still very essential activities that have to continue. And there’s some leeway, of course, for people getting food and medicine and some basics. So, anyone who wants to understand it, that’s what I mean. Not some of the other, you know, very speculative ideas I think people got.

The Governor and I spoke about an hour ago. It was a very good conversation. We’re going to be continuing the conversation over the next 24 hours. Look, the Governor, understandably is trying to think about the entire state and the impact of any decision on the whole state. We’re talking that through. Obviously, New York City has some very particular realities, but we’re going to talk about how to balance those factors. I think it’s important that we act as soon as possible and make decisions as soon as possible. I’m certain he feels a lot of urgency too. So, that was a very productive conversation and we’ll certainly have more to say after we continue that conversation.

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