Source: Noam Galai / Getty
In just a matter of weeks the Coronavirus pandemic has completely changed everyday life for Americans (thanks Trump!) and while we continue to get accustomed to our new way of life, police in New York City will help people get used to social distancing by ticketing anyone who breaks the rules.
Politico is reporting that the boys in blue will now begin issuing $500 fines to anyone who refuses to comply with social distancing though the fine is a “last resort” as Mayor Bill de Blasio has “authorized police officers to give them out to people who are ordered to disperse but fail to do so.” Fines will range from $250 to $500 for anyone found politicking with their peoples and refuse to leave when told to or even return to the scene of the crime after they leave.
Though New York City has become a ghost town since the Rona ran rampant through the city, some stubborn New Yorkers have been congregating and socializing as if thousands of people haven’t already died from the easily contracted virus.
“You’ve been warned and warned and warned again,” the mayor said during a Sunday press conference.
“They’re going to give people every chance to listen, and if anyone doesn’t listen, then they deserve a fine at this point,” de Blasio said. “I don’t want to fine people when so many folks are going through economic distress, but if they haven’t gotten the message by now, and they don’t get the message when an enforcement officer’s staring them in the face … that person then deserves the fine, so we’re going to proceed with that.”
If a deadly disease and a $500 fine isn’t enough to keep you from hanging out with your crew then you seriously need to rethink your priorities in life. Just sayin.’
New York alone accounts for a big chunk of the country’s coronavirus cases with 34,000 in the city and 60,000 in the state. The US in total has 144,000 cases and counting. So yeah, social distancing is a must for people living in the city that never sleeps and if dishing out fines helps then it is what it is.
So for the sake of your fellow New Yorkers, healthcare workers, and your own life, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and vote Donald “Science Denying” Trump out of office come November.
