New Yorkers fined for social distancing violations
- Shea said tickets were issued to 43 people in parks and eight others elsewhere as New York leaders warned residents not to spark a second wave of infections.
- He insisted that the outbreak -- which has killed almost 20,000 people statewide -- was far from over.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told reporters that officers had issued 51 summonses on Saturday, mostly for social distance violations, as temperatures in America's COVID-19 epicenter registered upwards of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius).
Residents of the Big Apple, which has been shut down since mid-March, are allowed outside to exercise providing they maintain six-feet (two meters) of distance and wear a mask when around others.
New Yorkers can be fined up to $1000 for violating the orders, which many did as they descended on popular spots like Manhattan's Central Park and Rockaway Beach in Queens following a largely rainy week.
Shea said tickets were issued to 43 people in parks and eight others elsewhere as New York leaders warned residents not to spark a second wave of infections.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said he appreciated residents were bored but that they should not take "false comfort" from falling COVID-19 cases or from seeing other states reopen.
He insisted that the outbreak -- which has killed almost 20,000 people statewide -- was far from over.