Members of the White House coronavirus task force are urging people who leave New York City to quarantine for 14 days as a precautionary measure to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“Everybody who was in New York should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread to others,” Dr. Deborah Birx, a task force member, said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“No matter where they have gone, whether it’s Florida, North Carolina,” she added.
Watch the video below:
Dr. Birx: “We remain deeply concerned about New York City and the New York metro area. About 56% of all the cases in the United States are coming out of that metro area.”
— ABC News (@ABC) March 24, 2020
“Everyone who was in New York should be self-quarantining for the next 14 days.” https://t.co/S9smybIrKE pic.twitter.com/MUslPREr64
Birx’s message comes as New York City has emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. The latest data finds that there are more than 25,000 confirmed cases in the state — or roughly half of the total cases in the United States.
Additionally, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced on Tuesday that he was looking at implementing a mandatory 14-day quarantine for people entering his state from New York.