This powerful act of solidarity, which lasted several minutes, came about after a call on social media to #clapbecausewecare.
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"That gave me chills!" Chris Henken, who recorded video of the applause, tweeted.
Accounting for nearly a quarter of the nation's COVID-19 cases, New York City is battling to keep its hospitals from being overwhelmed. Health care workers are already facing overcrowded emergency rooms, and a nurse recently died from coronavirus after working nonstop for weeks at a hospital
The virus is also taking a toll on the New York City Police Department. More than 500 NYPD personnel have come down with COVID-19, including 442 officers, and two employees have died.
Also included in the umbrella of essential workers are sanitation crews, grocery store workers, delivery drivers and more.
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