New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on NBC's Today Show, “I think an honest conversation about shelter-in-place has to happen,” noting the decision “can only be made with the State of New York,” adding he will be speaking with the New York governor later today.
When asked if he will recommend to the governor that the city do a shelter-in-place while the city faces a growing coronavirus pandemic, de Blasio said he is “almost” to that point – saying “we have a little more to make sense of” first, including how to get people food and medicine, “but it has to be considered seriously starting today.”
Some context: On a local radio program today, de Blasio said his shelter-in-place comments Tuesday were intended to "mentally, emotionally, humanly prepare people for something that well might be happening soon," but he added that he doesn't accept media accounts that he and the governor are arguing over this. He reiterated that the city and state are working closely together.
Yesterday after earlier comments from the mayor on the potentiality of a decision on a possible shelter-in-place, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office said "any blanket quarantine or shelter in place policy would require state action and as the governor has said, there is no consideration of that for any locality at this time."