Weather: Cloudier as the day goes on, with strong wind and a high in the low 50s. Expect a mix of sun and clouds this weekend.
Alternate-side parking: Suspended through April 17. Meters are in effect.
Hospitalizations in New York are almost flat, but deaths keep rising.
As it had for several days, the story of the coronavirus in New York had two strands on Thursday: encouraging progress and devastating loss of life, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.
In the past two weeks, the number of virus patients hospitalized has grown more and more slowly, from over 20 percent a day at one point to single-digit percentage increases this week.
From Wednesday to Thursday, the number of hospitalizations increased by 200, to 18,279, or just 1 percent.
If the trend were to continue, the number of people in hospitals would soon start to decline — a sign that the virus had passed its apex.
But the number of people dying of the virus continues to grow. The state recorded 799 deaths from Wednesday to Thursday, another one-day high.
[Get the latest news and updates on the coronavirus in the New York region.]
The M.T.A. is taking workers’ temperatures to slow the virus.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees New York City’s subways, buses and two commuter railroads, said on Thursday that it had begun deploying medically trained teams to check transit employees’ temperatures when they arrive at work.
The move is meant to help the authority prevent the coronavirus from spreading further among its 74,000-person work force and keep the mass transit system from plunging deeper into a pandemic-fueled crisis it will have to overcome for the city’s economy to rebound.
As of Wednesday, at least 41 transit workers had died of the virus, around 1,500 had tested positive and another 5,600 were self-quarantined after showing signs of being infected.
The resulting crew shortages had caused over 800 subway delays on an already reduced schedule and had forced 40 percent of train trips to be canceled in a single day.
[Coronavirus in New York: A map and the case count.]
Retrieving bodies from homes is a 24-hour operation in N.Y.C.
Nearly 120 morgue workers and members of the military are working around the clock to retrieve the bodies of up to 280 people a day who are dying at home in New York City. Many of them probably died from the coronavirus but were not counted in the official death toll.
The chief medical examiner’s office is overseeing the grisly task, with the help of more than 100 troops from the Army, the National Guard and the Air National Guard, officials said. Many of those involved in the operation have special training in processing human remains.
Fifteen four-person teams are working during each 12-hour shift, driving mostly rented vans, said Aja Worthy-Davis, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office.
Fire Department data showed that 1,125 patients were pronounced dead in their homes or on the street in the first five days of April, more than eight times the 131 deaths recorded during the same period last year.
From The Times
‘A Tragedy Is Unfolding’: Inside New York’s Virus Epicenter
N.Y.’s Changed Streets: In One Spot, Traffic Speeds Are Up 288%
Meanwhile, in the Suburbs: Leaf Blower Drama
What New York Looks Like Now: A Photo Journey
Want more news? Check out our full coverage.
The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.
What we’re reading
On a mission to save Chinatown’s imperiled businesses. [Grub Street]
Live From New York … it’s “SNL at Home.” [Vulture]
What we’re watching: Annie Correal, Andy Newman and Brian Rosenthal, all of The Times’s Metro desk, discuss the coronavirus on “The New York Times Close Up With Sam Roberts.” The show airs tonight at 8, tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. [CUNY TV]
And finally: A virtual social weekend
The Times’s Melissa Guerrero writes:
Although most performance spaces, museums and community centers are closed, people are finding creative ways to connect through virtual events and programs. Here are two highlights from this week’s virtual weekend events guide.
Race and resiliency in community care
At 1 p.m. today, join a collaborative tweet chat on community care with the New York City-based Asian-American Feminist Collective and the bookstore Bluestockings. The conversation will explore themes from the collective’s new zine, “Asian American Feminist Antibodies: Care in the Time of Coronavirus.”
“The zine was a way for us to practice rapid response in a way that’s driven by longer-term movement visions,” Rachel Kuo, one of the organizers, said. “We wanted to try and make sense of this moment through histories of how race markedly shapes disparate experiences of disaster, as well as highlight community resiliency, interdependency and care in the midst and wake of crises.”
Follow the hashtag #FeministAntibodies for the conversation, and visit the collective’s Twitter page for more details.
Nether Meant: An evening in Minecraft
Elsewhere, a live-music venue, nightclub and art space in Brooklyn, is hosting a music festival — in a video game.
Starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, participants can enter the world of Minecraft and attend Nether Meant, a virtual music festival. The event will be headlined by the band American Football and will include performances from Anamanaguchi, HANA and others.
Staged in a digital replica of Elsewhere, Nether Meant is free, but participants can purchase V.I.P. passes to gain access to special areas and in-game merchandise. All proceeds from the passes will benefit coronavirus relief efforts at Good360, a nonprofit organization. Those who can’t join the game can watch the festival on the Twitch live stream.
“After a month in quarantine, as weird as it sounds, it actually feels like I have plans to go to a concert with my friends,” Jake Rosenthal, co-founder of Elsewhere, said. “A bunch of our staff, who as you know have been home without work since the shutdown began, will also be there, so it’s this big coming together for mutual support after a long time of being apart from our community.”
For more information on how to participate, visit the event page.
It’s Friday — make virtual plans.
Metropolitan Diary: Running buddy
Dear Diary:
I am 95, and I still like to take a daily constitutional. I walk slowly, with a walker.
As I leave my home in Riverdale, I turn right — south, that is — and walk along the tree-lined street. There is not much traffic. The doormen all know me, and we exchange friendly greetings.
Imagine my surprise one day to see a turkey walking alongside me. We were in perfect step. I don’t know whether the turkey was keeping step with me or I with him. In any case, I enjoyed the company.
After a while, the road curved in an easterly direction. That is where the turkey left me to go east into the park.
I turned around and took big steps. I was in a rush to tell of my adventure.
— Inge Hershkowitz
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