There is a glimmer of good news in the fight against COVID-19: trucks filled with doses of the vaccine are rolling out, and healthcare workers and nursing home residents could begin being inoculated as early as tomorrow. But that is where the good news ends. The COVID numbers are rising at an alarming rate, in new cases, ICU admissions and deaths. In some hospitals around New York City, ICU staffed beds are at 90% of capacity and above, with one hospital reporting 123% of staffed ICU beds at 123%. Manhattan City Councilman Mark Levine is Chair of the Health Committee, and he's been fighting for a much wider shutdown of the city to stop the coronavirus spread. He joins In Focus to talk about why he believes tomorrow's shutdown of indoor dining is important and necessary, why wider measures might need to be taken as we face what many are calling the darkest days of COVID, and why those little closed-in huts we see popping up outside of restaurants really should be considered indoor dining.
Shutting Down to Save Lives
PUBLISHED 10:37 PM EST Dec. 13, 2020