Alarmed by a spike in coronavirus infections in a few Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, New York City officials will start issuing fines in those areas to people who refuse to wear masks, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
De Blasio said he was sending teams of hundreds outreach workers and contact tracers to nine Brooklyn and Queens ZIP codes that have seen an upswing in positive COVID-19 tests in hopes of avoiding harsher enforcement measures.
Those workers will be handing out masks, but also insisting that people put them on if they are in a place where they could be within 6 feet of other people.
“Anyone who refuses to wear a face covering will be told that if they don't put one on they will be fined, and anyone who still refuses will be fined. That will happen aggressively," de Blasio said.
“We don't want to fine people. If we have to, we will," he added.
The Democratic mayor warned he could order further crackdowns including the closing of nonessential businesses and bans on gatherings if things don't improve. Private schools and child care centers could be closed if people refuse to comply with coronavirus guidelines, de Blasio said.
“It is a situation at this point that is very serious and we need to have all options on the table," de Blasio said.
The nine ZIP codes accounted for 25% of the city's positive tests in the last two weeks though they are collectively home to just 7% of the city's population, city Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said.
De Blasio spoke as public schools in the city welcomed some elementary school students back to their classrooms for the first time since March. He said there is so far no evidence of the virus spike affecting public schools in the areas where positive test rates have risen because the communities that are experiencing higher rates of infection don't send their children to public schools.
The mayor and the city's police department have had a fraught relationship over coronavirus enforcement with residents of some predominantly Hasidic sections of the city.
In the spring, police officers were brought in to break up large weddings and public funerals that brought hundreds of largely unmasked people together in those neighborhoods, while applying a lighter touch when dealing with crowds in city parks.
This time there is little question about where the city is seeing infections spike.
One zip code in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn has recorded more than 400 new coronavirus cases since Sept. 1. By comparison, the Corona section of Queens, which was ground zero for the New York City outbreak in the spring, has seen just 62 new cases despite having a third more population.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, speaking in Albany as de Blasio held his daily coronavirus briefing in New York City, also addressed the increase in virus cases in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods inside and outside of the city.
“This is a concern for their community," Cuomo said. "It’s also a public health concern for surrounding communities. And I’ve said from Day One, these public health rules apply to every religion. Atheists. It just applies to every citizen in the state of New York, period.”