A crowd of people who were filmed cheering on a group of healthcare workers has been criticised after they failed to adhere to social dist...
A crowd of people who were filmed cheering on a group of healthcare workers has been criticised after they failed to adhere to social distancing guidelines in the coronavirus-hit New York City.
The clip, originally shared on Instagram, features dozens of people outside Lennox Hill Hospital in Manhattan applauding and cheering for healthcare workers.
As they gather at crosswalks, the pleased staff film the show of gratitude on the cellphones and some even pose for pictures.
Video shows crowd in Manhattan cheering for healthcare staff in the street in a 7pm tradition
New Yorkers are seen clapping in a show of appreciation on all four sections of a crosswalk
While at times some of those gathered manage to stay a couple of meters apart by spilling into the road, as a bus and cars drive through the intersection honking horns, spectators are forced to move back onto the crowded sidewalk.
Experts have recommended people stay sixfeet apart in order to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Businesses are also controlling the number of people allowed inside, and are asking people to line up standing at least two meters apart, sending crowds around the block in many places.
But in the video shared from the 7pm gathering that has become a tradition outside the New York City hospital after similar success initiatives in the likes of Italy and the UK, people crowd the intersection.
'It's great but not a lot of social isolating going on there,' one Facebook user commented on the video shared on Facebook.
Some people appear holding signs as they stay across the street from the hospital workers
As they gather at crosswalks, the pleased staff film the show of gratitude on the cell phones and some even pose for pictures
Another person wrote: 'Yes, need to thank the frontliners ... however, shouldn't folks not be gathering together so closely? The pandemic is already that serious in NYC! The frontliners don't need any more on their hands.... please!'
More social media users agreed: 'It is not to drown the party but it is not that thousands are dying in NY and there is no supply to care for the sick and how all these nurses and Docs have time to go out like this?
'And so many people to close each other on the street ???? No way, wow, how much truth huh?'
In New York City there were more than 76,870 cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday morning with more than 4,000 people dead.
New York state has been one of the worst places to be hit in the United States, with Louisiana and Michigan also emerging as hotspots for the virus as the number of cases and deaths in those areas increase.
Globally, the US has the highest rate of infections, with approximately 400,000 Monday morning.
One woman breaks out a tambourine to add to the celebratory spirit in the streets of NYC
As a bus and cars drive through the intersection honking horns, spectators are forced to move back onto the sidewalk and decrease their distance.
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