Why New York is the epicenter of the American coronavirus outbreakCNN, Mar 26, 2020
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The first and most obvious explanation for the severity of the area's outbreak is that New York is the largest and most densely populated city in the US, and coronavirus tends to spread in dense places. "That spatial closeness makes us vulnerable," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.
New York City had an average of just over 27,000 people per square mile, according to the 2010 Census. That's more than double the density of Chicago and Philadelphia and more than three times the density of Los Angeles.
At all times of day, New Yorkers pack together on the subway, bump into each other on sidewalks and brush knees at bars and restaurants -- all while potentially contagious. They live in crowded apartment buildings, squeezing up stairs or into elevators with neighbors. The transit system connects people across all five boroughs, so most people don't own cars that might otherwise separate people.
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Slow early responseNew York state had its first case of community spread, meaning its origin was not known, on March 2 in New Rochelle, a suburb of New York City. By March 11, there were 216 confirmed cases in the state, and that number rose to 613 by March 14.
Cuomo and de Blasio limited gatherings of over 500 people on March 12 but resisted disrupting life too much.
"We are going to very quickly put out guidance about having to reduce crowds and audiences while still having a certain amount of activity," de Blasio said at the time.
As coronavirus cases continued to rise exponentially, that activity no longer became sustainable. New York ordered all schools closed by March 18, when it already had 2,300 cases. Cuomo ordered non-essential workers to stay at home beginning March 22, when there were over 15,000 cases.
More:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/us/new-york-coronavirus-explainer/index.html
