Coronavirus Pandemic Prompts NYC To Cancel All Public Events In June: Pride March, Puerto Rican Day, Salute To Israel Parades All On Hold
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - As New York City continues its battle against the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced permits for June events would be cancelled.
That means the Pride March, Puerto Rican Day and Salute to Israel parades are all cancelled, for the moment. De Blasio said they may be rescheduled for later in the year.
"This year is the 50th anniversary of the Pride parade, and it's a very, very big deal. That march is such an important part of life in New York City, but this year in particular was going to be something that was a historic moment. Look, we're going to miss all three of them June, but they will be back, and we'll find the right way to do it working with all the event organizers," de Blasio said.
WATCH: Mayor Bill de Blasio Announces Cancellation Of June Events
De Blasio said it's not yet clear that the events can't happen later in the year.
"I think everyone does want to consider, from what I've heard, the option of going and looking at opportunities, you know, late in the summer or into the fall. And we'll know a lot more in the coming weeks, according to these indicators I go over each day, and how we see this disease act and how we all act," de Blasio said.
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"As the days have passed, it has become more and more clear that even with a decline in the spread of COVID-19, large-scale events such as ours are unlikely to happen in the near future," said Maryanne Roberto Fine, NYC Pride Co-Chair. "We understand that we need to reimagine NYC Pride events - and have already begun to do just that."
"In many places around the country, Pride parades and festivals offer LGBTQ people a chance to gather with their community and feel free to fully express themselves. For this reason, it is disappointing -- but ultimately, appropriate -- to see many of these events canceled. As we see our way through the COVID-19 crisis, we cannot be too careful. We know that LGBTQ people are at a greater risk of both the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, so we as a community must do all we can to stay safe and healthy. But, like we always do, the LGBTQ community will continue to find strength in our community -- even if we have to do it virtually for now," said Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David.
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De Blasio said New York City has enough PPE and ventilators to get through this week, except for surgical gowns. He said the city has received enough fabric to produce 400,000 gowns, which it hopes to make by May 23, if not sooner. He appealed to the federal government to send more gowns.
"We are far from out of the woods. We're just in better shape than we were at the worst point," de Blasio said.
De Blasio said there were now 350 ambulances from across the country operating in New York City, noting an influx of another 100 in the last week. Some 790 EMTs and paramedics from 19 states had come to the city to help.
De Blasio again called on President Donald Trump to say he supports direct aid to state and local governments in the next stimulus package.
"You are absolutely silent. I'm challenging you to open your mouth. I think I may be the first person in history to challenge Donald Trump to speak up. He's not shy," de Blasio said. "Mr. President, you're the only one who's missing an action right now. Why don't you step up and say this is the right thing to do. And you would be doing something for this whole country in our time of need."
As for the three daily coronavirus indicators:
- Hospital admissions down to 212 from 317
- Number of people in ICU up to 853 from 849
- Percentage of people who tested positive to 34%, down from 38%
"So, this is not a perfect daily report but it's getting better, and it's damn close to what we're looking for. Let's see if we can keep pushing. Everyone, keep doing what you're doing so we can get this tracking to start moving consistently in the right direction, and that's going to give us the chance to really start to make the moves towards a more normal life," he said.
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