Prepared yet vulnerable, a battle-tested New York confronts coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: A woman in a face mask walks in the downtown area of Manhattan, New York City, after further cases of coronavirus were confirmed in New York, U.S., March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - By the time the global coronavirus outbreak arrived in New York this week, the city was armed with hundreds of hospital beds, a growing stockpile of diagnostic testing kits and enough disinfectant to wipe down the entire subway system.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaunted health department had honed its response to the potential crisis in recent years by tamping down swine flu, Ebola and other epidemics before they could paralyse the nation's financial capital and most crowded metropolis.