The map below shows coronavirus cases in New York State are particularly concentrated in New York City and nearby suburbs, where
nearly half the state's population live. The city had reported more than
187,000 cases as of Friday.
There have been significantly more cases in New York City than other metropolises around the world, such as London, Paris, Shanghai and
Tokyo.
Shanghai, an economic and financial center as well as an international hub of commerce and tourism, is one of the Chinese cities
outside Hubei Province with a comparatively large number of COVID-19
cases.
But the number of confirmed cases in Shanghai, nine hours' drive from Wuhan, the epicenter of China's coronavirus outbreak, is only in
triple digits.
As of Friday, 657 cases had been reported in the city, including 318 imported from abroad. A total of 623 patients have recovered and
discharged from hospitals, while seven have died from the coronavirus
disease.Shanghai responded quickly in its initial handling, adopting
social distancing measures and mandatory mask wearing.
Shanghai launched a Level 1 emergency response – the highest level for a public health emergency – on January 24, four days after its first
confirmed case. The emergency response includes a 14-day quarantine and
medical observation for arrivals from key infected areas, health
screenings at roads leading to the city and the cancellation of large
public activities.The outbreak happened during China's Spring Festival,
when schools and businesses were on a pause. On January 27, Shanghai
declared the resumption of operations at schools at all levels and
enterprises would be postponed.
New York declared a state of emergency early on March 7, a week after the state's first reported case – a woman who traveled from Iran.
But U.S. politicians gave mixed messages to the public, initially suggesting the outbreak would be readily contained, until the city was
overwhelmed with the virus. The state's stay-at-home order came on March
20, and went into effect two days later.
While the state was reluctant to adopt social distancing measures and order non-essential business to close for economic concerns, its
decision not to track down suspected cases with widespread testing
contributed to the situation rapidly deteriorating.
