New York to deploy National Guard to coronavirus containment area

New York is sending in the National Guard to a containment area in Westchester County amid what Gov. Andrew Cuomo describes as the state's "greatest public health challenge" in the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Cuomo in a news conference on Tuesday announced the containment zone that will be established in New Rochelle, where the governor said there is "probably the largest cluster in the United States of these cases." New York has confirmed 108 coronavirus cases in Westchester compared to 36 in New York City.

Within this containment area with a radius of one mile, the National Guard will deliver food to homes and clean public spaces, Cuomo said. "Large gathering facilities" including schools in the area will be closed for two weeks. No travel restrictions will be imposed.

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"This will be a period of disruption for the local community," Cuomo said. "I understand that. ... It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster in the country, and this is literally a matter of life and death."