NEW YORK CITY — There will be no more "I dos" in New York City until the novel coronavirus is over, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.

"The Marriage Bureau is closed until further notice," de Blasio said on "The Brian Lehrer Show," noting that it could be weeks or months until it reopened. "This is going to be a long battle," he said.



To keep up to date with coronavirus developments in NYC, sign up for Patch's news alerts and newsletter. More than 250,000 city employees have been sent to work from home and among them the workers who issue marriage licenses and hold civil marriage ceremonies at the City Clerk's office in downtown Manhattan.

De Blasio called New York City the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis as he reported 26 people had died and about 4,000 tested positive. He called on the Trump Administration to mobilize the U.S. Army and immediately send medical supplies to city hospitals, on the brink of running out.