NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Thousands of New Rochelle residents are waking up Thursday on virtual lockdown as a containment zone begins in the Westchester County city amid a coronavirus outbreak.
The containment zone will be set up when New York National Guard troops arrive Thursday morning and effects all within a one-mile radius around the Young Israel synagogue. Three public schools shut down Wednesday in anticipation.
Because many students at William Ward Elementary, Albert Leonard Middle School, and New Rochelle High School receive free breakfast and lunch at the schools, the city government started handing out bagged lunches Wednesday at community centers.
In an interview with PIX11 Morning News, Mayor Noah Bramson clarified the containment is not a quarantine zone. “No one is prohibited from leaving,” he said.
While families are free to come and go from their homes, large gatherings are banned inside the zone. Bramson said it would be “unwise” if more than 50 people gathered together.
When the National Guard troops arrive Thursday they will help oversee the cleaning of buildings, help the infirmed and assist in delivering meals to students who are not in the public school system, but still rely on school meals.
“There’s no reason for fear, there’s no reason for panic,” Bramson said.
The town of 80,000 is at the epicenter of the East Coast coronavirus outbreak. Residents Wednesday expressed anxiety and weariness of how the measure will affect local business and more.
As of Wednesday, Westchester County accounted for 121 of the state’s 216 confirmed coronavirus cases.
