New York illuminated to honor healthcare workers during coronavirus crisis
New York illuminated to honor healthcare workers during coronavirus crisisEduardo Munoz/REUTERS

New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed an order last night requiring all visitors to New York State to enter a two-week period of isolation upon their arrival.

The order applies to virtually all countries around the world, with the exception of just 31 which are defined as not having a high rate of coronavirus infection (including New Zealand and Thailand, for example).

Cuomo stated that: “This order will help to break the chains of contagion and will curb the future spread of the virus.”

Meanwhile, the global death toll attributed to the coronavirus has passed the million mark. According to John Hopkins University, the United States leads the world in the number of virus deaths with around 210,000 fatalities, and also has the greatest number of confirmed cases of the virus – more than seven million.

Brazil is second on the list of infamy with more than 140,000 coronavirus-related deaths, followed by India (95,000) and then Mexico (76,000 deaths). In Europe, the highest death toll is in the United Kingdom with over 42,000 deaths followed by Italy with around 36,000.

American media sources report that in recent days, there has been a spike in infection in areas of New York that are primarily populated by haredi Jews such as Brooklyn and Queens, which account for 23% of recent diagnoses of the virus. This is consistent with multiple studies that have revealed that densely-populated areas are those more likely to see high rates of contagion.