Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement today on the scope and stakes of the COVID-19 outbreak and the urgency for New Yorkers to stay inside, flatten the curve, and slow the spread of the virus - a message amplified in an additional video statement here.
"Combatting the further spread of this virus on a local and statewide level centers on two components - testing, where we are moving well relative to the federal constraints and inaction, and restrictive measures to reduce congestion, where we are not. We are still behind where we should be, relative to the scope and stakes of this crisis.
"The Governor recently said that between 40 and 80 percent of New Yorkers will contract COVID-19. Globally, in some areas we have seen a fatality rate of around 0.5 percent in places with the most proactive responses, in others around 3 percent with inadequate response. To many, these numbers may seem like abstractions - but in reality, they represent real, human cost and dire call to action.
"With a low mortality and a low contract rate, experts estimate that under 20,000 lives could be lost in New York City through this crisis - a number comparable to casualties from a very bad flu, where sadly, we may have lost neighbors who had other conditions as well. With high rates, that number could be more than 200,000 in New York City alone. While one life lost is tragic, hundreds of thousands are hard to even conceive. This is a sobering but clear call to action, one we can and must meet with urgency and purpose.
"The difference between realizing the best case and the worst is us, is our actions, is our social responsibility. We can all do the right thing, following the new restrictions and imploring those we know to do the same. We can beat the projections, we can flatten the curve, we can save lives, and we have a moral obligation to do what we can."
Back to press reports