(Reuters) – New York City will begin closing streets to traffic and ban close contact sports in city parks to help combat the coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.
He called the street closures a pilot program and said sports like basketball would be banned in city parks, first on a voluntary basis as long as people comply, in rules agreed with New York City officials, the governor said.
Cuomo has emerged as a leading national voice on the coronavirus, which has claimed more victims in New York than any other state. New York has reported 210 deaths and 25,667 cases, nearly half the 53,541 reported cases in the United States as of 1 a.m. ET (0600 GMT).
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
