Wealthy NYC businesses board up their stores to defend against civil unrest as virus decimates the NYPD and an emergency call goes out to health workers while the city virus death toll rises

High-end stores throughout New York such as Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana are boarding up their windows in anticipation of civil unrest as the death toll in the city reached 1,867 on Friday with 305 new deaths.

The wealthy businesses had already been ordered closed along with bars and restaurants as part of the shelter in place protections but they are now taking further steps to secure their property and products as the city's police department suffers high numbers of officers calling in sick with the coronavirus raging through its ranks.  

New York City cases spiked to 57,159 on Friday night with 5,350 new cases, as the national total rose to 277,999 confirmed cases and 7,164 deaths.  

Boarded up windows and empty streets have transformed the city that never sleeps into a war zone with city officials sending out on an emergency alert to New Yorkers' cellphones on Friday calling on health workers to present themselves for battle against the coronavirus outbreak on the front lines in the city's overstretched, overwhelmed and under resourced hospitals.   

The alert came amid warnings that New York City will run out of crucial supplies by the end of next week and that Sunday will be 'D-Day' in terms of assessing what is needed for the weeks going forward. 

Some high end stores like Dolce & Gabbana on Mercer Street boarding up with plywood windows and entrances to prevent looting in Manhattan as pictured on Saturday, March 28, as the NYPD reports that it has been hard hit by the coronavirus

View of a boarded up Louis Vuitton store in the SoHo neighborhood of NYC on April 1 as stores close during the crisis

An inspirational message is painted on a boarded up business as New York City attempts to slow down the spread of coronavirus through social distancing on Thursday. Some stores have boarded up to protect against civil unrest and looting

Healthcare workers wheel the body of deceased person from the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease on Thursday. The city sent an emergency alert to all cellphones on Friday asking for more workers

Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo and Louis Vuitton were among the Manhattan stores to cover up their windows with plywood in the past week as the crisis in the city worsened despite streets being empty of customers or even passersby. 

The rows of boarded up buildings create a stark reminder of the newly unemployed workers who lost their jobs after the scale of the outbreak caused stores, bars and restaurants to shut their doors for the foreseeable future.  

Some businesses attempted to light the mood on the closures, despite the rows of plywood covering their entrance, painting messages of support and encouragement that the coronavirus will be beaten. 

Throughout Manhattan, the unsightly coverings are offset with the words of motivation.  

'We are all in this together,' one reads. 'Stay save. Save lives.' 

Louis Vuitton in Soho was among the storefronts to leave its customers a messages on the wooden boards guarding its property reading: 'The journey that was paused will eventually start again, Louis Vuitton wishes you & your loved ones health & safety.’ 

Some high end stores like Jimmy Choo on Greene Street boarding up with plywood windows and entrances to prevent looting in Manhattan despite the NYPD reporting that crime levels have been down since the shelter in place order emptied streets

Brunello Cuccinelli on Madison Ave is boarded up as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States Thursday

A message is displayed on a boarded up Louis Vuitton storefront in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City on Wednesday

Boarded up storefronts are seen in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City on Wednesday. Many wealthy businesses have covered up their windows to protect against civil unrest and looting as the coronavirus crisis in the city worsens

Upper East Side residents walk passed The Supply House Restaurant located at 1647 2nd Avenue in Manhattan which is closed and boarded up due to COVID-19 pandemic. Bars and restaurants have shuttered up as residents continue to shelter 

The boarded up windows appear as the New York Police Department reveals the extent to which its force its being ravaged by the virus with one detective and seven civilian workers dying in recent days. 

The NYPD was forced to beg the government to send more masks for officers, only for the White House to turn it into a publicity stunt with the catchy name 'Operation Blue Bloods' and boast about its own response.

On Monday, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan had sent a desperate email to the White House pleading for more protective gear.

Shortages of masks have left officers at an increased risk of contracting the infection, as they are left with no choice but to make house calls across the city without any protective equipment.

The city's cops have been sacrificing their own health during the pandemic in order to protect New York residents.

As of figures released Thursday, 6,498 uniformed members of the NYPD were on the sick report, amounting to 18 percent of the workforce, while 1,354 uniformed members and 169 civilian members have tested positive. 

There have been concerns raised that the NYPD’s aggressive policing – like sending people to packed city jails over nonviolent offenses – may risk spreading coronavirus as advocates worry an overly hawkish response will be dealt to the city’s low income and minority population. 

With more than 1,400 NYPD employees diagnosed with coronavirus and ten dead, some worry authorities' attempt to help citizens could actually hurt them.

'The police are themselves both at risk of getting sick and at risk of spreading the disease to others,' Alex Vitale, who leads the Policing and Social Justice Project, told The Intercept. 

'Police need to practice social distancing,' Vitale added. 

On Friday, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea revealed that two more NYPD officers died of coronavirus. 

School Safety Agent Luis Albino died Friday after spending 20 years with the department. He was most recently assigned to the Bronx. 

Auxiliary Police Lt. Pierre Moise (pictured) also died of coronavirus, pushing the number of NYPD employees to die of the disease to ten

The NYPD Police Commissioner announced two more employees died of coronavirus this week, including Luis Albino (pictured)

Auxiliary Police Lt. Pierre Moise, who joined the force in 1994 and worked in Brooklyn, also passed away. 

Over the weekend, NYPD officers arrested three people in Brooklyn after they allegedly 'failed to maintain social distancing.'

While violating social distancing is not a crime itself, the individuals arrested faced charges like unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration.  

These arrests, and the person-to-person contact that comes with it, happened after Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened to fine residents who were ignoring emergency social distancing orders. 

People found violating such orders could face a fine of $250 to $500. 

Similarly, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned he would make social distancing 'a law' and called on the NYPD to ante up enforcement. 

'The NYPD has to get more aggressive. Period,' Cuomo said. 

But more forceful police officers could mean more infections.

Concerns from businesses that they need to board up their store are, as yet, unwarranted with reports of less crime in the city despite the marked difficulties of the NYPD to patrol the streets to the same extent with their own diminishing force. 

According to data released by the NYPD for the last month, between March 16 and March 22, there was a 17 percent drop in major felonies while grand larceny was down 31 percent and misdemeanor assaults by 21 percent when compared to the same time last year. 

Along with views of boarded up businesses, residents are now faced with the image of all New Yorkers covering their faces when they leave their homes as advised by Mayor Bill de Blasio in his Thursday press conference.  

The city's new advice came just before President Trump announced at his own Friday press briefing that the Centers for Disease Control was now recommending that Americans wear non-medical cloth masks - but pressed that it wasn't a mandate.

'So it's voluntary, you don't have to be doing it,' the president said from the briefing room podium. 'This is voluntary, I don't think I'm going to be doing it.'

For days, top experts, including members of Trump's coronavirus taskforce said they were debating whether or not to put out a mask recommendation.

One concern is that Americans not working in the medical field would scoop up masks needed to protect doctors, nurses, first responders and others on the front lines.

Some high end stores like Fendi on Greene Street boarding up with plywood windows to prevent looting

A sign that say "CLOSED We will miss you. Thanks for you support!" is posted at the door of PQR Pizza Quadrata Romana located at 1631 2nd Avenue in Manhattan on March 23. Bars and restaurants closed their doors on March 17

An Upper East Side resident walks passed PQR Pizza Quadrata Romana located at 1631 2nd Avenue in Manhattan which is closed and boarded up due to COVID-19 pandemic. Stores are protecting their property during the closures

Medical staff move bodies from the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center to a refrigerated truck in Brooklyn as the death toll in the city continues to climb. On Friday there were 305 more deaths bringing the total to 1,867 with a total of 57,159 cases

For days, Trump suggested that Americans could simply wear scarves to get by.

But on Friday he said the CDC was putting out the new recommendation for masks.

'From recent studies we know that transmissions from individuals without symptoms is playing a more signifcant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood, so you don't seem to have symptoms and it still gets transferred,' the president explained.

'In light of these studies the CDC is advising the sue of non-medical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measure,' he said. 

Earlier on Friday, the city's mayor Bill de Blasio called on President Trump to create a mandatory enlistment for healthcare workers in order to sufficiently staff hospitals. 

During a press conference on Friday afternoon, de Blasio called on the president to do 'what no president had ever done before' and force medical staff from around the US to come to New York to fight. 

He says the theoretical army of doctors could then be deployed anywhere in the country to fight the virus where it strikes most viciously. 

The call was followed by an emergency alert issued to all cell phones in New York that pleaded with healthcare workers to come on board 'to help healthcare facilities in need'.  

De Blasio also announced he has given the NYPD permission to raid businesses that are hoarding vital medical supplies. 

Workers at Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, bring out 5 dead body's. Hospital workers faced with the grim task hurriedly brought the dead to store in a refrigerated truck at the back of the hospital

Brave staff in Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan are charged with bring out dead bodies to a refrigerated truck

Over a 30 minute period on Friday, healthcare workers brought out five bodies from Mount Sinai West Hospital Manhattan