Cuomo’s circular logic

It’s not a quarantine. It’s not a lockdown. It may not have much of an impact in the scheme of things. But Gov. Cuomo’s Tuesday announcement of a “containment zone” in New Rochelle, set to start Thursday, is a modest measure that could slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Let’s hope it works.

Within the one-mile circle centered on the synagogue where confirmed Covid-19 cases seem to be clustered, the governor is limiting large public gatherings, shuttering schools and having the National Guard disinfect facilities and deliver food over a two-week period.

We say “seem to be” because testing for infections has been far from uniform; Westchester has been under a diagnostic microscope. That may partially explain why New York City, pop. 8.6 million, has half the confirmed cases as

New Rochelle, pop. 80,000. When and only when testing ramps up in a big way can epidemiologists and elected officials get a clearer picture of the contours of the outbreak.

As for Cuomo’s attempt to stop New Rochelle residents from passing the virus around, they could help hold down infections in one town. But no one is seeking to prevent anyone from entering a place of business or going to the movies or a dinner party or a concert or the mall, much less from hopping on the train to go into the city for work, which means no one should expect the virus to stay put.

Indeed, it’s already confirmed to have popped up throughout the city, in numbers that are artificially low because testing is so spotty.

Such are the limits of powerful politicians trying to corral a resilient microbe.