Mr. Levine renewed his calls for the city to shut down almost all places of gathering, including movie theaters, gyms, courthouses and schools. Mr. Stringer also called for a city shutdown because it was clear “we need more aggressive social distancing.”By noon, Mr. Johnson joined the campaign, calling for the closure of schools, restaurants and bars. “We must be bold, but we must also be prepared,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement. “We need to make sure impacted businesses like bars are able to survive and employees are taken care of until we’re back to normal.”Mr. Johnson, a Democrat, said that grocery stores, bodegas, pharmacies and banks should remain open. He said all levels of government should intervene to ease the losses of business owners, provide financial assistance to impacted workers and help parents with child care.

Source: New York Times March 15, 2020 15:56 UTC