Studies show coronavirus outbreak in New York is sourced from Europe

NY Post

Two separate studies show that the coronavirus outbreak in the New York City area – by far the most deadly in the US – originated from Europe, not China, according to a report.

Researchers conducting one of the studies have detected seven separate lineages of viruses that have arrived in the New York City area and they expect to find more, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The two studies are being conducted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the New York University School of Medicine.

Despite examining different examples of the outbreak, researchers from both teams reached largely the same conclusions about its origins, the Times reported.

“The majority is clearly European,”

Travelers likely carrying the virus had already been arriving in New York from Europe before Jan. 31, when President Trump limited entry by foreign nationals who’d been in China and March 11, when the president announced plans to block travelers from most parts of Europe, the Times reported.

On March 19, the newspaper reported that travelers arriving from Europe – where outbreaks in Italy and Spain were severe – were being asked at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport only if they had been to China or Iran, not if they had visited the hardest-hit nations in Europe.

“People were just oblivious,” Dr. Adriana Heguy of the NYU research team told the Times.

I expect the comment thread to be filled with ad hominem excoriation of the Times, but Fox News and the NY Post found reason enough to republish it. Which is why its here. Flame On.

Development still goes on during coronavirus outbreak

NY Post

The Big Apple’s construction trades workers are still showing up for work — sometimes even while sick — putting new pressure on City Hall to close down job sites as it battles the spread of coronavirus, The Post has learned.

The developments come as construction union officials and sources told the paper that de Blasio is eyeing a shutdown of the industry, like what happened in Boston.

“If we knew that, they’d be escorted off the site if they were not going voluntarily,” said city Building Trades Employers Association president Lou Coletti, which represents 1,200 unionized contractors across the five boroughs.

He emphasized such action could only apply to union jobs.

“I had a bad fever the other day. I’m fine now, but I still gotta come to work,” a 45-year-old superintendent told a Post reporter while working a construction site of a high-rise near Union Square.

“We have extra wash stations, we’re taking precautions, but we can’t stop [working] unless the city stops us,” the person added. “There are contracts and unions; there’s a lot of things involved, but we all wish someone would make that decision already.”

Across the five boroughs, construction workers kept going about their business as usual.

“We have to take care of what we gotta take care of,” quipped Mario Morales, 33, who was working another job site in Manhattan. “We gotta work. We have our masks; we’re washing our hands, and taking the precautions.”

Some lawmakers — including Brooklyn Councilmen Brad Lander and Carlos Menchaca — are calling for the city to halt construction projects in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked if the Mayor Bill de Blasio supports a construction moratorium, his spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said in an email, “this is one of the many things we’re discussing. We’ll let you know as soon as we have update.”