- In an appearance on Morning Joe, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a full "shelter in place" model similar to the one being implemented in California.
- But de Blasio cannot make such an order on his own.
- When he told New Yorkers to prepare to shelter in place within 48 hours earlier this week, he was rebuked by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.
- Cuomo has insisted that a national or multi-state order would need to come together in order to avoid people crossing state lines to avoid a de facto lockdown.
"We have to recognize at this point that we're running out of options," de Blasio said.
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio went on "Morning Joe" on Friday to call for a drastic measure to combat the coronavirus oubreak he doesn't have the authority to make.
"We have to go to a shelter-in-place model," he told the hosts on MSNBC.
Earlier this week, de Blasio told New Yorkers that they should prepare for a shelter in place order within 48 hours.
de Blasio's comments were quicky rebuked by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, and later by the governor himself in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.
Cuomo has been adamant that a multi-state or, preferably, federal order to shelter in place would be far more effective in order to keep people from crossing state lines to avoid it.
On "Morning Joe" Friday, de Blasio painted a dire picture of the city's preparedness for COVID-19.
"We don't have masks, we don't have ventilators... at the beginning of April we will run out of basic medical supplies," the mayor said.
He also lambasted the Trump administration's response.
"The federal government basically doesn't exist at this moment," he lamented.
de Blasio praised California's "Safer at Home" model for sheltering in place, and tried to end on a sober but optimistic note on the urgency for more drastic action.
"80% of those who contract this illness will have symptoms similar to cold or flu. They will last it out, they will have no lasting impact," de Blasio said. "But the 20% with preexisting conditions … some of those folks will be in grave danger if we cannot provide them sufficient care.
"We're going to lose a lot of lives [without swift action]."