New York To Limit The Number Of Event Attendees Amid Coronavirus

As New Jersey and New York limit the number of people at events because of COVID-19 fears, the governor of New York said meetings of over 500 individuals would not be allowed following Friday evening with some exclusions. New York is also aiming to handle a larger volume for testing at medical facilities, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“This is an evolving situation. The numbers change every day, the facts change every day,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said per the report. “As the facts change, change your response. That’s what we’re doing — you can calibrate up, you can calibrate down.”

State officials said per the report that the amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York has arrived at 328. The heart of the state’s coronavirus outbreak is in the Westchester County municipality of New Rochelle.

Members of the National Guard went into New Rochelle on Thursday after the New York governor created a “containment zone” of three square miles. Educational institutions in that area were shuttered, while additional districts were making cancellations known.

Carnegie Hall and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for their part, have shuttered in New York City.

Beyond New York, officials from other states have also indicated that the size of events would be restricted. Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey, advised that every public event with over 250 people attending be called off.

In separate news, the yearly culture and music gathering, SXSW, will not be held in Austin, Texas because of concerns over spreading the coronavirus. The gathering is meant to connect speakers, musicians and comedians, among others, from different parts of the world.

A press release from the SXSW website read, “We are devastated to share this news with you. ‘The show must go on’ is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation.”