page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)
section_title: March
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state) / Government response / March
caption_attribution_description: English: Signs on floors near the cash registers at Walmart store in Newburgh, NY, USA, reminding customers to keep 6-foot social distancing to prevent transmission of COVID-19
context_page_description: The first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. state of New York during the pandemic was confirmed on March 1, 2020, and the state quickly became an epicenter of the pandemic, with a record 12,274 new cases reported on April 4. By April 10, New York had more confirmed cases than any other country besides its own, but since then the outbreak has been mostly controlled in the state. As of August 27, 2020, the state has reported over 7.9 million individuals tested, with 432,767 positive cases, and 25,312 deaths.
  New York had the highest number of confirmed cases of any state from the start of U.S. outbreak until July 22, when it was first surpassed by California and later by Florida and Texas. More than half of the state's cases have been in New York City, where nearly half the state's population lives.
  Despite the high number of cases in March and April, by May 7, New York had reduced the rate of increase of new cases to less than 1 percent per day, and since June 6 to less than 0.25 percent per day. Unlike many other states, New York has not seen a spike or "second wave" in the daily new case rate.
context_section_description: On March 2, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that people should ignore the virus and "go on with your lives + get out on the town despite coronavirus." At a news conference on March 3, New York City Commissioner of Health Oxiris Barbot said "we are encouraging New Yorkers to go about their everyday lives."
  On March 4, at another news conference, authorities described the epidemic caused by the virus and the pandemic as "caused by fear," and reassured the public that the situation would be under control given the capabilities of New York's health care system. Barbot issued a statement that "There’s no indication that being in a car, being in the subways with someone who’s potentially sick is a risk factor." On March 5 she said that New Yorkers without symptoms should not have to quarantine. The advice to continue taking public transportation given by city officials during the early stages of the pandemic potentially contributed to the intensity of the outbreak in New York City, though this has been disputed, and research has proved inconclusive.
  On March 7, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency. The following day, the Governor called for private testing due to demand outpacing the ability to test. The Governor called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to approve private testing and also approve automated testing. Responding to the rush on hand sanitizer buying in the state and reported price gouging, Cuomo announced on March 9 that the state would begin producing its own brand of hand sanitizers, bought from a third-party and bottled and packaged by prisoners in the state's correctional system.
  A number of schools and school districts announced closings or schedule modifications by March 8 due to the virus. Additionally, all school trips were canceled for those in New York City.
  On March 10, de Blasio said about COVID-19 that "[t]his disease, even if you were to get it, basically acts like a common cold or flu."
  On March 12, Cuomo announced restrictions on mass gatherings, directing events with more than 500 people to be cancelled or postponed and any gathering with fewer than 500 people to cut capacity by 50 percent. In addition, only medically necessary visits would be allowed at nursing homes.
  Cuomo announced that all Broadway theaters had been ordered to shut down at 5 p.m. that day, and that public gatherings in congregate spaces with more than 500 people were prohibited beginning 5 p.m. the following day. The legal capacity of any venue with a capacity of 500 people or fewer was also reduced by half to discourage large gatherings.
  As part of the announcement, Cuomo waived the requirement that schools be open for 180 days that year in order to be eligible for state aid. It was also announced this day that all SUNY campuses would be mandated to close by March 19 and move to a distance-learning model for the remainder of the semester. The next day, all public school districts in Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster counties in the Mid-Hudson Valley, which had reported their first cases earlier in the week, announced they would close for the next two weeks. The Warwick schools in Orange County added that they would remain closed through April 14, when their annual spring break would normally end.
  On March 13, all public schools in Herkimer County announced they, too, would close until April 14. The county B.O.C.E.S. program and all its participating school districts' superintendents met and unanimously voted for the decision less than a day after the first confirmed case had been announced in the county. That day, pressure from the teachers union (reported as "furious" about the schools remaining opened) and some city council members was mounting on the Mayor of New York City to close schools. De Blasio stated that he would keep the schools open, citing the need for meal programs to continue and child care to continue.
  The state's Civil Service Department postponed civil service exam scheduled for the weekend of March 14–15.
  On March 13, drive-through testing began in New Rochelle, W
caption: Social distancing markers on the floor of the Newburgh Walmart
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