“New York’s subways, trains, and buses are our very lifeblood,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York and the Senate minority leader. They have emphasized that it is important to keep the system operating so health care workers can get to work. But the M.T.A. “They are a barometer of the regional economy, a much more immediate barometer for things to come,” said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative research group. The draconian measures are meant to curb the spread of the virus in New York City, where the number of confirmed cases climbed to over 1,000 on Tuesday.

Source: New York Times March 17, 2020 20:31 UTC