Cuomo Urges Telecommuting, Staggered Hours To Fight Virus

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking business owners to stagger their employees' work shifts or let them work from home to reduce potential coronavirus exposures.

Cuomo said on MSNBC that he would ask for voluntary telecommuting.

The announcement came the day after Cuomo declared a one-mile-radius “containment area” in a suburban community with more than 100 cases of the virus.

Cuomo said on CNN that there were about 20 new confirmed cases in New York state, up from Tuesday's count of 173.

The strategy of staggering work hours to reduce rush-hour crowded was widely used during the 1918 influenza epidemic.