Don’t expect this to be over anytime soon, New Yorkers.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday that all “non-essential permitted events” in May are cancelled, such as parades, concerts, and rallies, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We love those events, but what do we know about those events? It inherently means large numbers of people crowded together in a pretty small space,” the mayor said during a press conference.
“That’s New York City, that’s who we are,” he continued. “But guess what? That goes against everything that we need to do to fight back the coronavirus.”
The city’s sweeping cancellations further solidify that President Donald Trump’s desire for the country to return to business as usual by May 1 is a pipe dream. Trump backed off from his “total authority” bluster and decided to leave it up to governors as to when life can begin returning to normal.
De Blasio promised that the events “will be back.”
The outbreak could also put the kibosh on the events in June, the mayor warned.
He told reporters that he was currently discussing potential cancellations of major June events with organizers, saying that there would need to be a “real high bar” for the happenings to proceed as planned.
“We’ve got a lot to get done to be safe for June, and we are far from out of the woods,” de Blasio said.
