The coronavirus containment area in New Rochelle is in effect today, and the National Guard has arrived to distribute food along with other essentials.

Members of the Air National Guard and Army National Guard reported to the MLK Community Center/Westchester Community Opportunity (WestCOP) on Lincoln Avenue to help clean and sanitize large public places and help with food distribution.

MORE: A list of area schools, universities and events closed amid COVID-10 outbreak

The food they are helping with today has been donated and bagged up by the Feeding Westchester organization

The containment area is within a one-mile radius from the Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue, where the Westchester outbreak began.

There are several New Rochelle schools that are in the containment area that are now closed, and of the more than 6,000 who are now home. The food distribution is particularly important to the about 3,000 New Rochelle students who normally get free breakfast and lunch at school. So to ensure those students continue to get those meals for the next two weeks, distribution centers are being set up.

There hasn’t been many people that have come here so far and officials believe it because some people are actually afraid of catching the coronavirus. Nope of the biggest barriers we have is the fear that the people have about coming out

One of the ideas is to possibly deliver these meals and that is something the guardsmen would help with.

Officials stress that the order does not mean people can’t come or leave the area, and that it does not mean the one-mile area will be blocked off. The ban means that there can be no large gatherings within that area for the next two weeks. We are taking things day by day. People in the organization , including myself woke up with anxiety and fear, but the work needs to get done. Our goals is that we are going to try and provide as much resources now because we don’t know what happening the next day or the next couple weeks,”  says Danial Bonnet, Director of WestCOP.