Coronavirus: New York creates ‘containment area’ around cluster in New Rochelle

• By Bill Chappell/NPR

New York is creating a “containment area” around a community in New Rochelle, in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus in an area that quickly became the state’s largest source of COVID-19 infections, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.

“New Rochelle is a particular problem,” Cuomo said, describing the area as a cluster of cases.

“The numbers have been going up, the numbers continue to go up, the numbers are going up unabated — and we do need a special public health strategy for New Rochelle,” Cuomo said.

In Albany giving another update on #Coronavirus. WATCH: https://t.co/IDybwlF7JR

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 10, 2020

A synagogue in the city has become the epicenter of an outbreak in Westchester County — which accounts for 108 of New York state’s 173 coronavirus cases.

As of Tuesday, that synagogue is also at the center of a circle that extends for a 1-mile radius, marking the state’s containment area.

The governor is calling on the National Guard to help maintain the containment area. Cuomo said the troops will be deployed “to deliver food to homes, to help with the cleaning of public spaces.”

The new policy will take effect Thursday and remain in place through March 25.

To reduce contacts between the containment area and the outside world, a new coronavirus testing facility will also be placed inside the area in New Rochelle.

“This is an evolving situation,” New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said. “We have moved from a containment strategy to more of a mitigation strategy.”