Story at a glance
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said too many New Yorkers are not taking the rule as seriously as they should.
- New York has closed nonessential businesses, banned in-person gatherings and ordered residents to stay home, with the exception of emergencies or essential tasks.
- More than 130,000 cases have been confirmed in New York with more than 4,700 deaths.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday the fine for violating the state’s social distancing rules during the coronavirus outbreak is doubling as he says too many New Yorkers are not taking the rules seriously.
New York residents can now face a maximum fine of $1,000 for not adhering to the social distancing rules.
“You don’t have the right to risk someone else’s life,” Cuomo said during a news conference Monday.
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“You don’t have the right, frankly, to take health care staff and people who are literally putting their lives on the line and be cavalier or reckless with them. You just don’t have the right,” he said.
In New York, nonessential businesses have been closed, in-person gatherings have been banned and residents have been ordered to stay home with the exception of emergencies or essential tasks in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus that has ravaged the state. New York has more than 130,000 cases with more than 4,700 deaths.
But Cuomo said Monday a large number of New Yorkers aren’t properly following the measures.
“There has been a laxness on social distancing, especially over this past weekend that is just wholly unacceptable,” the governor said. “People are dying. People in the health care system are exposing themselves every day to tremendous risk walking into those emergency rooms, and then they have to go home to their family and wonder if they caught the virus and they’re bringing it home to their family.”
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But a new poll suggests most New Yorkers are either quarantining or practicing social distancing. The Siena College Research Institute’s poll found 95 percent of New York residents surveyed said they are quarantining themselves or maintaining social distance, while 4 percent say they are going about life as usual. Fourteen percent of respondents say they are under mandatory quarantining, 42 percent say they are self-quarantining, and 39 percent are practicing social distancing
Federal, state and local officials have been urging all Americans to stay home and keep their distance, and preliminary data shows it is helping to slow the spread of the virus so far. California and Washington were the first states to show evidence of community spread from the coronavirus and were among the first states to issue stay-at-home orders for residents. Experts said the measures likely bought those regions time, and potentially spread out a surge in hospitalizations.
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