New York Says It Has a New Rule

Face coverings will be required in busy spaces while New York City officials said they would create an emergency food reserve and take other steps to safeguard residents' sustenance, the AP reports. Meanwhile, the mayor urged a cautious approach to reviving the economy. Here are the latest coronavirus developments in New York:

• Face coverings: New York residents will be required to wear face coverings when they are out in public and coming in close contact with other people, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. The new outbreak-fighting mandate will require a mask or face covering on busy streets, subways, buses or any situation where people cannot maintain 6 feet of social distancing. The order takes effect Friday, the governor said, and either a mask or a cloth covering such as a bandanna will work.
• Food plan: In a city where 1.2 million residents—including one in five children—already struggled at times to feed themselves, the number is expected to grow as an estimated half-million New Yorkers have lost or are likely to lose their jobs in the immediate future. "We will make sure everyone gets the food they need," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in unveiling a $170 million plan to help.
• Nursing homes: New York will start requiring nursing homes to report positive COVID-19 cases and deaths to family members within 24 hours. The upcoming executive order also will include adult homes and other assisted living facilities.
• The economy: Cuomo said getting people back to work safely before a vaccine is developed will require not only large-scale testing, but tracing the personal contacts of people who test positive and isolating infected people. But testing and tracing people in a state of 19 million is not possible without federal help, he said.

(More coronavirus stories.)