NYC tops 800 coronavirus cases

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Tuesday that coronavirus cases in the city have surpassed 800.

De Blasio advised New Yorkers to be prepared for a possible shelter-in-place order, saying a decision will be made in the next 48 hours.

“We are deeply concerned about the direction and trajectory” of coronavirus infections, he said.

De Blasio said the city would be sending alerts to all cellphones at 6 p.m. EDT offering an update, NBC New York reported. The mayor also warned against price gouging by retailers, saying the city imposed more than 500 fines on Monday.

More than 1,600 people have tested positive for the virus in the tri-state area, with 267 in New Jersey and 41 in Connecticut, according to NBC New York. At the national level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,226 cases as of Tuesday afternoon, with 75 deaths. Worldwide, 197,223 cases have been recorded.

The mayor’s update came hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) warned that cases of the virus in the state may not peak for another 45 days and said the state may require up to 110,000 hospital beds to deal with the virus. De Blasio said the city will be able to test 5,000 people a day for the virus by the end of the week.