Worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City: Analysis of response gaps and challenges at the public policy and community levels

Abstract

This review was aimed to probe into factors that resulted in worsening of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in New York City, USA. Extensive review of available information sources, such as scientific literature, COVID-19 data generating websites, expert opinions as well as government briefings and simultaneous measures, were carried out to fulfil the objectives of this paper. Data was arranged in tabular form. Gaps in responding to the pandemic were identified. There was lack of proactivity in measures taken by governments which is due to neo-liberal capitalism on one hand and lack of coordination among three tiers of government on the other. Cosmopolitan features of the city also made it prone to devastating spread of pandemic. Crowded mega cities with incompetent governments in implementing timely public health measures for prevention of spread of COVID-19 are at potential threat of high disease spread across the globe.