The order requires market owners to sell or otherwise remove all live birds and conduct a thorough cleaning and disinfection of their facilities—even if bird flu wasn't detected

The order affects roughly 80 markets in New York City and in several nearby counties. Gov. Kathy Hochul described it as a “proactive” step to help curb the spread of bird flu.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state is temporarily shutting down all live bird markets in New York City and Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk Counties through February 14 after inspectors discovered seven cases of bird flu in poultry.