Here’s what you need to know:
- A 5-year-old has died of a mysterious illness linked to the coronavirus.
- N.Y.C. will limit crowds at two parks amid concerns over unequal social-distance policing.
- The M.T.A. will provide buses to protect the homeless from bad weather this weekend.
- Are you a health care worker in the New York area? Tell us what you’re seeing.
A 5-year-old has died of a mysterious illness linked to the coronavirus.
A 5-year-old died in New York City on Thursday from what appeared to be a rare syndrome linked to the coronavirus that causes life-threatening inflammation in children, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.
It is the first known death in New York believed to be related to the mysterious new syndrome, which officials said began appearing in recent weeks.
Mr. Cuomo said Friday that 73 children in the New York area had been reported to be afflicted with the illness, which doctors have labeled “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome.”
He said the state Health Department was investigating whether other deaths of children were caused by the syndrome.
“This would be really painful news and would open up an entirely different chapter,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Because I can’t tell you how many people I spoke to who took peace and solace in the fact that children were not getting infected.”
According to the most recent breakdown from the state, three children younger than 10 had died of the virus, out of more than 21,000 fatalities.
N.Y.C. will limit crowds at two parks amid concerns over unequal social-distance policing.
Last weekend, a kind of split-screen photo montage of New York City circulated widely on social media.
One image showed a dense crowd of mostly white people sunbathing in Hudson River Park in Manhattan, apparently flouting social-distancing rules. Another showed a police officer beating a black man in a confrontation that began over an attempt to enforce those rules.
Many people pointed to the two images as evidence that the police were engaged in a racist double standard.
The notion gained further traction Thursday after the Brooklyn district attorney revealed that 35 of the 40 people arrested in the borough for social-distancing violations as of May 4 were black.
On Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would address both concerns.
Mr. de Blasio said that the police would limit crowds at two piers at Hudson River Park and another popular park, Domino Park in Brooklyn, starting this weekend.
And concerning the lopsided race numbers in arrests, Mr. de Blasio wrote on Twitter that while summons and arrests were tools for saving lives, “The disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values. We HAVE TO do better and we WILL.”
The M.T.A. will provide buses to protect the homeless from bad weather this weekend.
With cold and rainy weather expected in the Northeast over the next few days, New York City’s transit agency announced on Friday night that it would provide stationary buses outside some end-of-the-line subway stations this weekend as shelter for homeless people.
The M.T.A., which operates the city’s subway and bus system, began shutting down the subway system overnight on Wednesday, forcing those who otherwise would have ridden throughout the night to accept shelter offered by city employees or find their own.
The M.T.A. is providing 40 buses at 30 stations, and the vehicles will be controlled by the Police Department after they are dropped off, the transit agency said.
In a statement announcing the move, transit officials reiterated that the M.T.A. is “not a social services agency” and stressed that the buses were a short-term solution. They called on the city, which requested the buses, to “to step up and take responsibility for providing safe shelter for those individuals experiencing homelessness.”
Are you a health care worker in the New York area? Tell us what you’re seeing.
As The New York Times follows the spread of the coronavirus across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, we need your help. We want to talk to doctors, nurses, lab technicians, respiratory therapists, emergency services workers, nursing home managers — anyone who can share what’s happening in the region’s hospitals and other health care centers.
A reporter or editor may contact you. Your information will not be published without your consent.
Reporting was contributed by Michael Gold, Andy Newman, Sarah Maslin Nir, Joel Petterson and Matt Stevens.
