“This approval will expedite wait time and improve New York’s ability to more effectively manage the coronavirus situation as it unfolds,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement.For many, Sunday night, life was continuing as usual — with some small adjustments. Some said they were reducing handshakes and hugs, while others said they were contorting themselves on the subway to keep from touching the poles. Street entertainers were asking to be paid by credit card rather than with cash.

Meryam Khodja, 27, a regular commuter into New York who was at the Port Authority on Friday, rattled off a list of people who were worried about the disease: “My sister, her boyfriend, my boyfriend, his mom, my parents,” she said.

Ms. Khodja had hoped to see “Aladdin” on Broadway, she said, but that plan was abandoned after her boyfriend said that sitting in a packed room with strangers was too much of a risk.

And then there was Keyur Patel, 21, who runs a newsstand near Herald Square in Manhattan.

Mr. Patel keeps hand sanitizer and a bowl of water for washing his hands inside his stall. When a sneezing customer makes a purchase, Mr. Patel said, he makes sure to wait until that person has walked away before vigorously washing his hands.

“I don’t know if they’re sick or not, but they do buy Kleenex,” he said. “This one, Kleenex, has been selling a lot.”

Some museums have seen a dip in the number of visitors.

“Attendance is only slightly below what we modeled for the year during the past couple of weeks, although we are mindful that the rapidly changing environment may deter some travel plans,” said Kenneth Weine, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.