NYC mayor urges residents to 'prepare for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order'

NEW YORK -- New York City residents should be prepared for the possibility of a shelter-in-place order within days, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday, March 17.

De Blasio said no decision had been made yet, but he wants city and state officials to make a decision within 48 hours, given the fast spread of the coronavirus.

"New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the possibility of a shelter in place order,” de Blasio said at a news briefing.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office immediately pushed back on the idea of a shelter-in-place order for the city, reiterating that it cannot be done without the state's permission and that "there is no consideration" of issuing one.

Officials in six San Francisco Bay-area counties issued a “shelter-in-place” order that went into effect Tuesday, requiring nearly seven million residents to stay inside and venture out only for food, medicine, or exercise for three weeks.