New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced an order to close schools in the nine areas with the biggest surges in coronavirus cases on Tuesday.

Cuomo's order is to take effect a day earlier than what Mayor Bill de Blasio had proposed.

On Sunday de Blasio announced that non-essential businesses and public and private schools in nine areas in New York are to be closed as authorities try to curb a rise in coronavirus infections.

The areas are in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and have a testing positivity rate of over three per cent over a seven-day period. These areas include parts of Far Rockaway, Borough Park, Midwood, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay and Kew Gardens.

Cuomo said that schools, religious gatherings and public spaces had been identified as areas where there could be high transmission of the virus.

"I said to the parents of this state I will not allow your child to be sent to any school that I would not send my child. Period. You have my personal word on that," Cuomo said.

Cuomo said it was troubling that not all of the schools in those hotspot clusters have been tested so the authorities do not have all the data on them.

"Better safe than sorry. I would not send my child to a school in a hotspot cluster that has not been tested."

"We are going to close the schools in those areas tomorrow, and that's that."

Cuomo also announced that religious institutions, which he acknowledged "have been a problem", will be closed unless they strictly adhere to two conditions.

First, the community must agree to the rules, follow them and be a full partner in enforcing the rules. Secondly, there had to be "real enforcement" of the regulations.

"If I do not have the agreement from the religious community, directly, as a starting point, then we will close down the religious institutions. If they do agree to do it in partnership, then I want a real enforcement capacity. We are not going to make the same mistake twice."

(With input from agencies)