COVID-19 pandemic in New York City

COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
The USNS Comfort passing by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor on March 30, 2020
Confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in the greater New York City area, as of July 3, 2020
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	New York City, New York, United States New York Metropolitan Area (depending on criteria of study)
First outbreak	Wuhan, Hubei, China
Index case	Manhattan
Arrival date	mid-December[1] (first case found January 1)[2]
Confirmed cases	535,700 (CSA; June 4, 2020)[3] 2,726,785 (NYC; April 13, 2023)[4]
Hospitalized cases	213,475[4]
Deaths	45,194 (38,795 confirmed, 6,399 probable)[4]
Government website
www.nyc.gov/coronavirus

The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirmed as early as February. By March 29, over 30,000 cases were confirmed, and New York City had become the worst-affected area in the United States. There were over 2,000 deaths by April 6; at that stage, the city had more confirmed coronavirus cases than China, the UK, or Iran. Bodies of the deceased were picked up from their homes by the US Army, National Guard, and Air National Guard.

Starting March 16, New York City schools were closed. On March 20, the New York State governor's office issued an executive order closing "non-essential" businesses. The city's public transportation system remained open, but service was substantially reduced. By April, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers were out of work, with lost tax revenues estimated to run into the billions of dollars. Low-income jobs in the retail, transportation, and restaurant sectors were especially affected. Over the course of the year, average residential and commercial rents both declined more than 10% in Manhattan, and vacancies surged.

The first phase of reopening began in June 2020 with reduced occupancy ceilings. Schools reopened in September. The police department was ordered to enforce public health measures and conduct emergency inspections at private schools. Spikes in infection rates were observed in some neighborhoods, prompting tighter restrictions in ZIP codes that were identified as "cluster" areas. Public schools were closed again to in-person learning in November, as the seven-day rolling average positivity rate continued to rise over 3%. Indoor dining was suspended again on December 14. COVID-19 vaccinations began at nursing homes on December 21. Public health researchers estimated that 44% of all metro New York residents had been infected by December 31.

Face masks in public areas were mandated throughout New York State by an executive order on April 15, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the deadliest disasters by death toll in the history of New York City.^[5][6][7] As of August 19, 2023^[update] the city's confirmed COVID-19 deaths exceeded 45,000 and probable deaths exceeded 5,500.^[4]

As of July 11, 2022^[update], New York City has administered 17,956,430 COVID-19 vaccine doses.^[8]