Fight To Stop Coronavirus In NYC Expected To Take 6 Months: Mayor

NEW YORK CITY – The battle to stop the spread of coronavirus in NYC could take six months, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday as he announced the city now has 53 positive cases and a multitude of events and organizations closed down.

"We have a long tough battle ahead," de Blasio said at a roundtable for ethnic media Wednesday.

"(Health Commissioner) Dr. Barbot said ... her assessment as a professional is that this will be until September, could be less, could be more, but I want to just let that hang in the air for a moment.

"Six months. We could be at trying to get this under control and starting to resume some kind of normalcy.'

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The mayor was speaking at the end of a day which saw the St. Patrick's Day Parade canceled for the first time since 1762, several universities and private schools temporarily closed or moved to on-line learning, many city businesses telling their workforces to work from home and a major sporting event announcing tournament games would be played without spectators.

Coronavirus In NYC: A Roundup Of What's Happened

The city's efforts to minimize the spread of the disease by limiting large congregations of people appeared to be working — usually packed subway trains were seen running almost empty Wednesday.

A usually packed Lorimer Street station at noon on Wednesday. (Anna Quinn/Patch)