New York City saw a 75% rise in burglaries at businesses during the second half of March as the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to close and people stayed at home.

The Wall Street Journal cited NYPD data that said the rise in burglaries occurred from March 12, the day Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 crisis, through the end of the month.

There were 254 burglaries at commercial locations reported to the NYPD during that period; there were 145 burglaries during the same timeframe in 2019.

"We knew with the closing of many stores that we could see an increase and, unfortunately, we are," NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri told the Journal.

On the positive side, major crimes such as assaults, murders, and rapes are down because of the stay-at-home restrictions that have been placed on New Yorkers.

New York has the highest number of cases (122,031) and deaths (4,159) in the U.S.; New Jersey has the second-highest number of both confirmed cases (37,505) and deaths (917).