Bill de Blasio Will Ride Subway to Show It’s ‘Safe’ as Restaurants Remain Shuttered

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) promised to ride the subway to demonstrate that it is “safe” and encourage others to do so as restaurants in his city remain largely shuttered over the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, despite the fact that less than two percent of all cases are traced back to restaurants.

Speaking to a Streetsblog reporter, the Democrat mayor accepted what has been dubbed the “Streetsblog challenge.”

“I agree with you that it is important to let people know the subways are safe,” de Blasio said. “I like the idea of having a period of time to really emphasize to people that they’re safe by being out there, so I accept that good idea.”

“We will figure out when the right time to do it is, and we will invite you along,” he told the reporter.

Meanwhile, restaurant owners in his city are unable to offer indoor dining services due to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-NY) decision to shut the businesses down, citing unstable hospitalization rates in the region. Indoor dining was capped at 25 percent capacity prior to Cuomo’s announcement:

Indoor dining will close in New York City starting Monday.

Hospitalizations have not stabilized, and with a rising infection rate and NYC’s density, this means that indoor dining is too high of a risk.

Takeout, delivery and outdoor dining will continue.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 11, 2020

Contact-tracing data revealed that less than two percent of coronavirus cases could be traced back to restaurants:

Here’s a chart that says COVID isn’t spreading at restaurants and yet we’re closing restaurants. Keep cheering, media fan club.

— Karol Markowicz (@karol) December 11, 2020

Dozens of restaurants have closed their doors throughout the city due to the heavy financial strain of the lockdowns.

Last week, the mayor urged New Yorkers to cancel their holiday travel plans “now,” begging them to stay home:

NYC Mayor's Office / YouTube

“Everyone needs to wear your mask, practice social distancing. If you have travel plans, canceled them now. Stay home for the holidays,” he said.

“Stay close to the very few loved ones who are close by,” he added. “This is what we need to do to get through this last push until the vaccine is more widely distributed and we turn the tide.”