NEW YORK (NYTIMES) – New York officials instituted a drastic set of measures to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus, placing an indefinite ban on most gatherings of more than 500 people, leading to the shuttering of Broadway shows and sharply impacting how New Yorkers work, eat and worship.

The restrictions announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday (March 12) came as the number of infections in the state tripled since Sunday, with dozens of new cases in New York City, where millions of residents typically rub shoulders with millions of visitors drawn by its sparkling cultural scene.

But on Thursday, many of those famed institutions – including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera – announced closings, bowing to the reality of a global epidemic and the government’s frantic efforts to confront it.

Shortly after the governor spoke in the state Capitol, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency in the city, which has nearly 100 cases of the virus.

For weeks, the mayor has sought to allay fears over the outbreak, resisting calls to close schools or cancel large-scale events such as the St Patrick’s Day Parade, and urging New Yorkers to continue to live their lives.

But his tone shifted dramatically on Thursday; at one point, he suggested that there would be 1,000 positive cases by next week as testing increased.

“We are going to lose some of our fellow New Yorkers,” the mayor said. “That, unfortunately, is inevitable.”

The emergency order will empower the mayor to take expedited measures to control the outbreak; he could, for example, implement a curfew, limit traffic to emergency vehicles or suspend certain laws.

As he signed the emergency order, Mr De Blasio apologised, saying he knew it would “have a serious impact on a number of businesses”.

“It’s not something we ever wanted to do,” the mayor said. “It’s something we have to do.”

Indeed, the actions of the governor and the mayor will profoundly alter life in New York.

Restaurants and bars were commanded to slash their occupancy by half. Famed arenas like Madison Square Garden will go dark. Rock concerts and classical concertos will be cancelled.

Nowhere was the impact expected to be more jarring than Broadway, a billion-dollar industry at the heart of New York’s tourist trade, which said it would be closed at least until April 12, though Mr Cuomo offered no assurances that he would lift his edict by then.

“Let the science and let the data make the decisions,” said Mr Cuomo, a third-term Democrat.

Mr De Blasio, a Democrat, echoed that, saying that the restrictions on crowds and businesses could last six months.

“It is going to be a long, painful episode,” he said.

Under the new “density reduction guidelines”, events with more than 500 people would be commanded to cancel or postpone.

Spaces with occupancies of less than 500 would be required to cut those attendance levels by 50 per cent.

Schools, mass transit, hospitals, shops, and public buildings are exempt, though Mr Cuomo said the State Capitol could be closed to visitors.

The coronavirus is particularly deadly for older people, and Mr Cuomo also said “only medically necessary visits” would be allowed at nursing homes, a policy that would isolate residents from loved ones, something he admitted sounded draconian.

But, he said, “If you care about someone in a nursing home, the last thing you want is to endanger that person.”

Both the governor and the mayor seemed resistant to closing schools, with Mr Cuomo citing the resilience of most children to the virus.

Mr De Blasio said closing schools creates other problems, as schools provide many children with free or reduced cost meals. The mayor also announced a moratorium on evictions in public housing complexes.

Across the Hudson, New Jersey officials were also urging and encouraging the reduction of crowds, with Governor Philip Murphy recommending that all public gatherings of more than 250 people be cancelled across the state.

The mayor of Jersey City, Mr Steven Fulop, announced that the city had set a curfew of 10pm on nightclubs and bars.

In Newark, Mayor Ras Baraka advised that all “non-essential public gatherings” of more than 50 people should be cancelled for the next 30 days.

Both states’ actions came amid a cascade of cancellations: Late on Wednesday night, the city’s annual St Patrick’s Day Parade, which typically draws two million people, was postponed after days of discussion between officials and organisers.

Professional baseball, soccer and hockey leagues suspended or postponed their seasons, following the lead of the NBA. College sports conferences cancelled season-ending basketball tournaments, including the Big East tourney, which was abruptly cancelled in the middle of a game on Thursday between St John’s and Creighton at Madison Square Garden. March Madness will not happen.

The state and city’s action also came on the heels of President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend travel from Europe for a month for foreign nationals, a move that could have a crippling effect on many of the city’s hotels, restaurants and tourist-reliant businesses.

On Thursday, some of those were calculating the potential loss of business.

“We certainly understand the action he’s trying to take,” Ms Melissa Fleischut, the president and chief executive officer of the New York State Restaurant Association, said of the governor’s actions.

“But we don’t know how our restaurants are supposed to manage through this crisis.”

She added that other types of businesses might be able to adapt to the coronavirus by allowing people to work from home, but that wasn’t an option in restaurants.

“We’re not a telecommuting business,” Ms Fleischut said.

The restrictions are among the most far-reaching imposed in the United States in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

In the 10 days since New York announced its first confirmed case of the virus, more than 325 people in the state have tested positive, with the highest concentration in a cluster in Westchester County.

On Thursday, officials in Albany reported their first cases, as did those in Western New York.

As efforts in the city have ramped up, Mr Cuomo also has tried to limit the spread of the virus in Westchester, creating a “containment area” in New Rochelle, closing schools, houses of worship and other large gathering spaces within around 2km of a synagogue believed to be the centre of the outbreak there.

On Thursday, the National Guard was delivering food and sanitising buildings in the area, even as 27 more cases were reported.

In Albany, the governor also seemed worried about the ability of the state’s hospitals to handle a likely surge of patients, saying that his staff was investigating using state-owned buildings as temporary medical centres.

He added that he did not want to repeat the experience of Italy, which has seen more than 1,000 deaths, and whose hospital system has been frayed by the crisis.

“You overwhelm the healthcare system,” the governor said. “That’s where you get into trouble.”

Mr Cuomo added that he may request that hospitals cancel elective surgeries, which take up about a quarter of hospital beds.

For his part, Mr De Blasio said the city was prepared to turn cafeterias and other spaces into impromptu medical wards if necessary, saying “the only analogy is war”.

“We don’t want to any of this lightly,” Mr De Blasio said. “This is difficult stuff.”

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