NYC Mayor de Blasio Correct with Prediction of 1,000 cases by this week

On Friday, March 13, the Mayor de Blasio was asked if the number of infected could reach a thousand, to which he responded in the affirmative. At that point, there were 154 cases of Coronavirus infections in NYC. Two days later, on Sunday, March 15, the mayor stated clearly how he believed the number of cases would reach a thousand this week. At that point, the number of infected had risen to 269. The following day, on Monday, the number rose to 463 cases. By Tuesday, it’d reached 814. The mayor expressed his sorrow, as he’s always repeatedly done: “…the sad reality, the prediction I made last week that we would hit a thousand cases this week is obviously about to come true and I’m very sorry to say that.”

He would also be asked about his prediction and how it’s coming true and whether we would be hitting 10,000. He responded, “It’s not that long. I can say it this way, it’s not that long until we hit 10,000 cases. That is a true statement.”

Later in the evening of that day, on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, he would announce how the number had reached 923.

On Friday, March 13, NYC Mayor de Blasio during an appearance on ABC7’s Up Close with Bill Ritter there was the following exchange between the mayor and the host:

Bill Ritter: “You think that by the end of this coming week, next week you’re – we could have a thousand.”

Mayor: “Yeah, I think it’s just good to be clear with people that that’s the kind of number we could get to. I’m certainly not guaranteeing it. I’d love it to be less.”

Ritter: “As of Friday, it’s 154 cases.”

Mayor: “Right – and we could easily get there. But I do want to say I think people are really paying attention.”

On Sunday, March 15 the mayor sat down with Brianna Keilar of CNN’s State of the Union.

Keilar: “So, New York, obviously, is one of the most densely populated cities in America, so, I wonder, given how prevalent the virus is in New York, do you think it’s likely that everyone in your city has actually come into contact with this virus?”

Mayor: “I don’t think we can say that, Brianna. But we can say because of community’s spread, it is clearly widespread already in New York City and will continue to grow. I mean, the numbers – we had 25 confirmed cases on Monday. We have 269 this morning and that number is going to grow today. We’re going to clearly have a thousand cases at some point next week, probably not even too far into next week. There is community spread in New York City, but that doesn’t mean that people should be overwhelmed. It means people have to be smart about listening to all that guidance from the health care professionals doing their best to have some distance, to basic fundamental precautions – the hand washing, the hand sanitizer, the covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. And Brianna, most, especially, if you’re sick, if you feel sick, don’t go to work, don’t send your kid to school. If they feel sick, don’t go near older folks with those serious preexisting medical conditions. There’s such concern. That’s who we’re losing in this crisis that’s what we’re seeing all over the world – over 50, especially over 70, over 80 with those serious, serious heart, lung and other preexisting conditions. Keep them away from anyone who’s sick or might be sick.”

On Monday, May 16 at that day’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Press Conference, the mayor stated the following:

“So, projections are even changing, but what is clear is just our own number of cases. You can see immediately that thousand number that I told you we would hit this week, I was hoping and praying that I was wrong. There’s no question, tragically, I was right.”

The mayor on Tuesday’s COVID-19 Press Conference:

“Now we have information that is updated since the Governors earlier press conference today and you will see you that the numbers continue to grow rapidly. So as of this hour, and this is again our two hour changes now, as of this hour, the number of confirmed cases in New York City is 814, the sad reality, the prediction I made last week that we would hit a thousand cases this week is obviously about to come true and I’m very sorry to say that.”

Later within that conference he was asked the following:

Question: “A quick follow up Mayor. Since you were accurate or likely to be accurate about the 1000 cases probably as soon as tomorrow. Are we still in an exponential situation where by next week you’re looking at 10,000 cases or even more?”

Mayor: “Look, we’re certainly going to have thousands of cases next week. I don’t want to give you an exact number yet, but you know, it’s conceivable to be in the, you know, a number of thousands, so we’ll get to a better guess. It’s not that long. I can say it this way, it’s not that long until we hit 10,000 cases. That is a true statement. Whether it’s next week or some later period is not that far off. But that’s why we are racing against time to set up the expanded medical capacity in this city and to ensure — coming to you — and to ensure that we have the testing capacity we need.”

On the Evening of that day, the Mayor would appear the Rachel Maddow show and mention how the number had risen to 923.