New York City is closing schools on Monday, and restaurants, bars and other venues a day later in an effort to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said he decided to act because “our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality”.
Separately, the US is extending its European travel ban to include the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The US has confirmed 69 deaths linked to the pandemic and 3,774 infections.
New York City – which has the population of more than eight million – has recorded five deaths. Each of the victims – aged 53 to 82 – had underlying health conditions, officials say.
China is the third largest country in the world by area and the largest country in the world by population. Properly known as the People’s Republic of China, the political territory of the country includes Tibet and Hong Kong. The capital is Beijing.
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George’s Channel.
Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2016, 4.8 million people live in the Republic of Ireland, and 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.
A strong Irish culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music and the Irish language. The island’s culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, and golf.
New York is a state in the northeastern U.S., known for New York City and towering Niagara Falls. NYC’s island of Manhattan is home to the Empire State Building, Times Square and Central Park. The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan with the borough of Brooklyn. The iconic Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor. To the east, Long Island has beaches, the Montauk Lighthouse, the ritzy Hamptons and Fire Island.
New York City (NYC) is located in the U.S. state of New York. The city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world with approximately 23 million people in its combined statistical area.
New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, hosting the headquarters of the United Nations, as well as the New York Stock Exchange.
Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a country in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern side of the island. Around 40% of the country’s population of 4.9 million people resides in the Greater Dublin Area.
The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom.
The state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the Irish government and Northern Ireland Executive have co-operated on a number of policy areas under the North/South Ministerial Council created by the Agreement.