CIO asks DOJ to add emergency standard for workers, suggests N95 masks for those with elevated risks

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss the U.S.'s response to the coronavirus.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday urged people to work from home as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread across the U.S. and the death toll continues to rise.

“For a business that can allow more employees to telecommute, we want you to do that,” he said at a press briefing. “We simply want to reduce the number of people on mass transit just to open up some more space.”

“The challenge,” he continued, “is people just packed like sardines” in New York City, where he said it can be much easier to transmit disease among tight crowds.

New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot, who joined the mayor on stage, directed New Yorkers to seek out the city’s mental health counseling services if they are feeling anxious or depressed over the outbreak.

“New Yorkers are hearing every day about new cases all over the world. They are hearing about an increasing death toll from this virus. I wanted to just take a moment to say these times, it’s normal and to be anticipated that some people may be frightened, some people may be sad,” Barbot said. “And I want to remind New Yorkers that NYC Well is a resource during these times.”

Detailing the city’s plan to contain the virus, de Blasio said nurses are being deployed to “every public school building” this week, to help identify cases sooner in the event of an outbreak at any school. “All public schools will have nurses this week that don’t have them currently,” he said, adding that schools are regularly being supplied with soap and paper towels.

For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO:

» Subscribe to CNBC TV:
» Subscribe to CNBC:
» Subscribe to CNBC Classic:

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.

Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news:
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn:
Follow CNBC News on Facebook:
Follow CNBC News on Twitter:
Follow CNBC News on Instagram:

#CNBC
#CNBC TV

Closing Bell,CNBC,business news,finance stock,stock market,news channel,news station,breaking news,us news,world news,cable,cable news,finance news,money,money tips,financial news,stock market news,stocks,coronavirus outbreak china,coronavirus deaths,symptoms coronavirus,china lockdown,china hospital coronavirus,coronavirus SARS,coronavirus market stocks,coronavirus vaccines,virus outbreak travel,virus bats,coronavirus masks n95,