Governor Cuomo Announces New York Has Issued First-in-the-Nation Criteria to Healthcare Professionals Defining COVID-Related Inflammatory Illness in Children. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-new-york-has-issued-first-nation-criteria-healthcare-professionals
Criteria Establishes New Name for Syndrome and Definition of What Symptoms Healthcare Providers Should Look For
State is Investigating 110 Reported Cases & 3 Deaths Related to COVID Illness in Children with Symptoms Similar to an Atypical Kawasaki Disease and Toxic Shock-Like Syndrome
New York State is Leading a National Effort to Understand and Combat this New Syndrome
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced New York has issued first-in-the-nation criteria to healthcare professionals establishing an interim case definition for COVID-related inflammatory illness in children. The criteria establishes a new name for the syndrome - pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome - and a definition of what symptoms healthcare providers should look for. Case definitions also help standardize tracking and reporting and can help ensure a better health outcome.
The State is currently investigating 110 reported cases in New York where children - predominantly school-aged - are experiencing these symptoms possibly due to COVID-19. The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers, including a 5-year old in New York City, a 7-year old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County.
"We're still learning a lot about this virus and we must remain vigilant because the situation is changing every day," Governor Cuomo said. "We now have 110 cases of COVID-related inflammatory illness in children and I expect this is only going to grow. We are leading the national effort to better understand and combat this new emerging syndrome, and we want to make sure everyone is informed and is looking out for the symptoms of this illness in children."
New Yorkers should seek immediate care if a child has:
Predominant Symptoms:
Prolonged fever (more than five days)
Severe abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting
Bloodshot eyes
Skin rash
Other Symptoms:
Change in skin color - becoming pale, patchy and/or blue
Difficulty feeding (infants) or is too sick to drink fluids
Trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly
Racing heart or chest pain
Lethargy, irritability or confusion
New York State is leading a national effort to understand and combat this illness related to COVID-19 in children. Governor Cuomo has directed hospitals statewide to prioritize COVID-19 testing for children displaying symptoms similar to an atypical Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome. Today, the State Department of Health is hosting a statewide webinar tomorrow for all healthcare providers to discuss the symptoms, testing and care of reported inflammatory disease in children related to COVID-19.
The State Department of Health is also partnering with the NY Genome Center and Rockefeller University to conduct a genome and RNA sequencing study to better understand COVID-related illnesses in children and the possible genetic basis of this syndrome.
At the direction of Governor Cuomo, the State Department of Health has issued an advisory about this serious inflammatory disease, called "Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19," to inform healthcare providers of the condition, as well as to provide guidance for testing and reporting. Health care providers, including hospitals, are required to report to the Department of Health all cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with COVID-19 in those under 21 years of age.
Though most children who get COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms, in the United Kingdom, a possible link has also been reported between pediatric COVID-19 and serious inflammatory disease. The inflammatory syndrome has features which overlap with Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome and may occur days to weeks after acute COVID-19 illness. It can include persistent fever, abdominal symptoms, rash, and even cardiovascular symptoms requiring intensive care.
Early recognition by pediatricians and referral to a specialist including to critical care is essential. Molecular and serological testing for COVID-19 in children exhibiting the above symptoms is recommended. The majority of patients have tested positive for COVID-19, some on molecular testing for SARS-COV-2, others on serological testing.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Fifth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening May 15th. Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Fifth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening May 15th
Central New York Joins North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening After NYS on Pause Orders Expire on May 15th
Business Guidance for Phase One of the State's Reopening Plan is AvailableHere
Initial $3 Million in Grants Available to Businesses to Manufacture Emergency Medical Supplies and Equipment
Announces President Trump has Expedited $3.9 Billion in Funding for the MTA at the Request of the Governor
Confirms 2,390 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 343,051; New Cases in 45 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that as of today, Central New York has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan when NYS onPAUSE orders expire on May 15th, joining the North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. If the trend continues, these fiveregions can begin opening businesses for phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
The Governor also announced an initial $3 million in grants are available to businesses to manufacture emergency medical supplies and equipment.Companies interested in growing or starting a medical supply business should go to www.esd.ny.gov.
Governor Cuomo also announced that President Trump has expedited $3.9 billion in funding for the MTA at the request of the Governor.
We are doing this in a calibrated way and monitoring the data, facts and metrics every single day and using the lessons we've learned from others who have already gone through this.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
"All the arrows are pointed in the right direction and now the question becomes focused on reopening - people have to get back to work and the state needs an economy - but we have to make sure we don't reopen too soon," Governor Cuomo said. "We are doing this in a calibrated way and monitoring the data, facts and metrics every single day and using the lessons we've learned from others who have already gone through this. And right now, based on our criteria we have five regions that are poised to reopen beginning tomorrow, and as they start to reopen certain businesses we will continue to monitor the level of activity and make sure it doesn't create a second wave of this virus."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,390 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 343,051 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 343,051 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,509
15
Allegany
44
0
Broome
383
1
Cattaraugus
64
3
Cayuga
60
0
Chautauqua
44
1
Chemung
132
0
Chenango
112
0
Clinton
81
3
Columbia
327
9
Cortland
33
2
Delaware
67
1
Dutchess
3,474
45
Erie
4,671
65
Essex
32
0
Franklin
17
0
Fulton
144
4
Genesee
175
1
Greene
207
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
86
2
Jefferson
69
1
Lewis
12
1
Livingston
106
3
Madison
255
2
Monroe
2,019
60
Montgomery
69
1
Nassau
38,743
156
Niagara
710
20
NYC
188,545
1,295
Oneida
698
12
Onondaga
1,423
28
Ontario
129
20
Orange
9,771
78
Orleans
145
3
Oswego
78
2
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,115
7
Rensselaer
423
3
Rockland
12,596
53
Saratoga
415
5
Schenectady
597
10
Schoharie
47
0
Schuyler
8
0
Seneca
49
0
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
230
0
Suffolk
37,544
239
Sullivan
1,168
33
Tioga
108
0
Tompkins
136
0
Ulster
1,495
14
Warren
227
4
Washington
215
1
Wayne
89
5
Westchester
31,792
181
Wyoming
77
0
Yates
22
0
May 14, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Fifth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening May 15th. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-26
Central New York Joins North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening After NYS on Pause Orders Expire on May 15th
Business Guidance for Phase One of the State's Reopening Plan is Available Here
Initial $3 Million in Grants Available to Businesses to Manufacture Emergency Medical Supplies and Equipment
Announces President Trump has Expedited $3.9 Billion in Funding for the MTA at the Request of the Governor
Confirms 2,390 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 343,051; New Cases in 45 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "Phased opening does not mean the problem has gone away. It means we have controlled the problem because of what we did and because of our individual responsibility and individual actions and that has to be maintained and I would urge local governments to be diligent about the business compliance and about individual compliance. Then if you see a change in those numbers react immediately. React immediately. If you allow this virus to get ahead of us we will have a problem. So we'll have of the data. React immediately."
Cuomo: "At the same time the states need help from the federal government and that's a topic that's being discussed now. Washington must act. It must be smart. It must be fast. New York State has a $61 billion hole. Well what does the State fund? The State funds local governments, fund schools, funds health care. ... If local governments get cut then you cut police and firefighters. Why would you ever want to cut essential frontline personnel at this time makes no sense."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, earlier today Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that as of today, Central New York has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan when NYS on PAUSE orders expire on May 15th, joining the North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. If the trend continues, these five regions can begin opening businesses for phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
The Governor also announced an initial $3 million in grants are available to businesses to manufacture emergency medical supplies and equipment. Companies interested in growing or starting a medical supply business should go to www.esd.ny.gov.
Governor Cuomo also announced that President Trump has expedited $3.9 billion in funding for the MTA at the request of the Governor.
Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,390 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 343,051 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 343,051 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,509
15
Allegany
44
0
Broome
383
1
Cattaraugus
64
3
Cayuga
60
0
Chautauqua
44
1
Chemung
132
0
Chenango
112
0
Clinton
81
3
Columbia
327
9
Cortland
33
2
Delaware
67
1
Dutchess
3,474
45
Erie
4,671
65
Essex
32
0
Franklin
17
0
Fulton
144
4
Genesee
175
1
Greene
207
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
86
2
Jefferson
69
1
Lewis
12
1
Livingston
106
3
Madison
255
2
Monroe
2,019
60
Montgomery
69
1
Nassau
38,743
156
Niagara
710
20
NYC
188,545
1,295
Oneida
698
12
Onondaga
1,423
28
Ontario
129
20
Orange
9,771
78
Orleans
145
3
Oswego
78
2
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,115
7
Rensselaer
423
3
Rockland
12,596
53
Saratoga
415
5
Schenectady
597
10
Schoharie
47
0
Schuyler
8
0
Seneca
49
0
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
230
0
Suffolk
37,544
239
Sullivan
1,168
33
Tioga
108
0
Tompkins
136
0
Ulster
1,495
14
Warren
227
4
Washington
215
1
Wayne
89
5
Westchester
31,792
181
Wyoming
77
0
Yates
22
0
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks with ASL interpretation is available on YouTubehere and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good afternoon, everyone. It's our pleasure to be at the Upstate Medical Center today. Let me thank all the nurses and doctors here for their extraordinary work and what they've done. Doctors and nurses from Upstate Medical Center made themselves available all across the state and they were really fantastic so we thank them all very much. It's a pleasure to be with Mayor Walsh and County Executive McMahon. I thank them for being here. I think President Dewan for his hospitality.
We have with us today from my far right Dr. Howard Zucker, our State HealthCommissioner who has been doing outstanding work. To my right Michaela Kennedy Cuomo, the youngest of my three. I thank her very much for being here. She was going to come with us yesterday but she had an appointment with her pillow that could not be broken despite an executive order. To my left Secretary Melissa DeRosa, to her left Gareth Rhodes.
First again I want to thank all the nurses and doctors here and all across the stateand the country who have done just truly, truly extraordinary work. Thank you for being with us this afternoon. This morning I wanted to make sure I could watch the hearing that was going on in Washington to see if there was anything that we could learn.
Today is day 75. It feels like a lifetime but it's 75 days since we had our first case. You can see so far so good in terms of the continuing decline in the total number of hospitalizations in the state, on the three-day rolling average also. The number of intubations is down and that's really good news. The number of new cases which is what we're watching, these are the new cases statewide, new diagnoses, people who are in hospitals who test positive or people who walk in the door who test positive. It's much, much better than it was. The number of lives lost is also down,still terrible and tragic but headed in the right direction so all the arrows are pointed in the right direction. We're basically right back to where we were before we started this horrific situation.
The question then becomes reopening. It's not a question of reopening or not. Everybody wants to reopen. We have to get back to work. People need apaycheck. The state needs in an economy. People have lives to live so everybody wants to reopen. The question is how you reopen and from the national experts,global experts, make sure you don't reopen too soon. What they mean to be saying buy too soon is you have to reopen intelligently and you have to reopen in a calibrated way. Nobody says don't reopen. They say just be intelligent about the way you reopen.
Follow the data, follow the science, follow the facts, follow the metrics. We know enough now to know what happens, that every action has a reaction. If we do this then this will happen. We've lived this enough. So based on what we know make sure we're being intelligent, not emotional, not political, not based on feelings but based on facts. Learn the lessons of other people who have gone through this.Other states have gone through it. Other countries have gone through it. There are experiences that we can learn from. Educate yourself and be smart. Be smart.
Check the data on a daily basis and we have the data on a daily basis. We've put together a very elaborate reporting system on testing data, on hospital data from all across the state. That data is now available on a daily basis and you can track that data and know exactly where you are. It's like taking your blood pressure every morning. It's like getting your cholesterol count every morning. You can know exactly where you are every morning. Not just for the elected officials, not just for government. This is all about what people do. This is about what citizens do and what the elected officials are trying to do, what I'm trying to do is to inform the citizens so they can better protect themselves and they know what decisions they should make and that's why all the information we're accumulating we're making it in a very transparent way and I hope people get up in the morning, they have theircup of coffee and they go online to find out where their county is, how are they doing and calibrate their behavior that way.
The State has developed a very elaborate dashboard of relevant local information. They told me they were designing a dashboard. I got very excited about it. I sent them a picture of what I think is one of the really iconic dashboards - 1967 Corvette, arguably the most beautiful dashboard. I said they should consider that design when they were doing a state dashboard. They came back with this design - it's the New York State dashboard. How it in any way mirrors the dashboard from a 1967 Corvette I have no idea but, how can government be expected to have the same artistic design that we had 50 years ago? So here's the State dashboard. You notice the iconic design and curves and art that was used in it but it has all the information even if it's not the most artistic and it has all the information for all the regions statewide. So every region can compare themselves to other regions in this state.
Right now by the criteria that we have which is basically from the federal CDC, we have certain regions that are poised to reopen tomorrow, other regions where the numbers do not suggest they're in a position to reopen. This is all based on the metrics and the numbers. How many hospitalizations do you have? Are the cases going up? Are they going down? Do you have your testing in place? Do you have your testing in place? Obviously we have different rates of infection across the state, hence the variance in opening times.
The big responsibility is now going to fall to local government to manage this situation and my advice to local governments are in terms of priority: daily monitoring of numbers daily monitoring of numbers, and daily monitoring of numbers are the first three priorities. Know the facts. Know what you're dealing with. You know what activities you engaged. You know how you increased the level of activity. We're measuring the effect of that activity. Make sure you monitor it every morning, every morning. Make sure the businesses that open are in compliance with the guidelines that are opening. Make sure individuals comply. You're going to say it's a reopening, people are going to say hallelujah, run out of their house, they're going to want to get out, they're going to want to do things.
Phased opening does not mean the problem has gone away. It means we have controlled the problem because of what we did and because of our individual responsibility and individual actions and that has to be maintained and I would urge local governments to be diligent about the business compliance and about individual compliance. Then if you see a change in those numbers react immediately. React immediately. If you allow this virus to get ahead of us we will have a problem. So we'll have of the data. React immediately.
At the same time the states need help from the federal government and that's a topic that's being discussed now. Washington must act. It must be smart. It must be fast. New York State has a $61 billion hole. Well what does the State fund? TheState funds local governments, fund schools, funds health care. If the State has no budget then schools get cut, hospitals get cut, local governments get cut. If local governments get cut then you cut police and firefighters. Why would you ever want to cut essential frontline personnel at this time makes no sense.
Washington has already acted. They've done a lot of businesses incentives great. But we need our healthcare institutions. We need our schools. We need our police and firefighters. I spoke with President Trump this morning. We spoke again about the State funding issues. He heard me out. I've also asked him to expedite certain payments and he's expediting a $3.9 billion payment to the MTA which is a very large transportation agency in the state which desperately needs funding because the ridership is way down and the President cut red tape and actually sent the first installment today so I'm grateful for that and I thank him.
The House meantime has proposed the bill. The bill does a lot of good. It fundsstate and local aid, $500 billion to make up for those shortfalls. It funds testing. Everybody talks about testing tracing, testing tracing. Those operations have to be put in place and New York State will wind up hiring thousands of tracers. We need funding to do that. I understand it's our obligation. States are in charge, governors are in charge, but we need help with funding.
The House bill repeals the SALT tax change that was made in Washington about three years ago and that tax change that they made cost New York State billions. The House bill repeals that change which is a significant, significant benefit to this state and ironically the states that were most hurt by SALT are the states that have of the most pain from the COVID virus. So repealing SALT actually is in my opinion the best thing you can do to help the states that are now battling the COVID virus.In New York State the SALT repeal increased our taxes12 to $15 billion, just New York State. We know pay 12 to $15 billion more every year to the federal government believe it or not so that would be a major boost but Washington has to act.
No delay, no special interests getting priority or special treatment here, and when we're doing these corporate bailouts make sure we don't make the mistake we made in 2008 where we gave corporations large bailouts and the corporations took the money and paid themselves with the money. I was Attorney General at the time. I brought cases against corporations that took the bailout and gave themselves all a pay raise. Why should the American taxpayers now bail outcorporations unless they're going to rehire workers. I'm afraid you're going to see corporations that will not hire bank the same number of employees. They're going to use this pandemic as a way to restructure or get lean. If a corporation is going to take government money they should rehire the same number of workers they had before. I did an op-ed in the Washington Post to that effect but I believe that should be a condition across the board. Any corporation that gets money from the government, from the people should hire back the same number of workers. If you want to lay off workers don't expect the taxpayer to subsidize you laying off workers.
It is a moment in our modern history where we can get out of this partisan gridlock, hyperpolitical moment. Now is the time. My position - funding for state governments is not a Democratic position. There's an organization called the National Governors Association. It's Democratic governors, it's Republican governors, the chairman is a Republican governor, I'm the vice chairman, and the NGA, National Governors Association, in a bipartisan way is urging Washington to pass the relief for state and local governments. So there's no red or blue here. It's red white and blue.
Also at the same time we went through all this pain. People talk about reopening. Iwant to set the bar higher. It's not about just going back to where we were. Let's use this as a moment to grow and to get better. Let's learn from the pain that we went through and I talk about reimagining New York and let's use this as a moment to reimagine our education system, our telecommuting, our telemedicine, a better public transportation system, a better public health system. Take this experience and grow from it. Life will knock you on your rear end. That's true but do you get up and do you get up smarter? And that's the moment where we're at. One of the lessons we learned, they were speaking about in the hearing today. We should never again be in the position where we don't we have medical equipment. Where we're facing a pandemic, we're facing a major public health issue, and we don't even have basic equipment for nurses and doctors? And so much of it came from China? And governors such as myself are trying to figure out who do we know in China, to get masks for nurses in our hospitals. I mean it was terrible, what we went through. It's a matter of national security. And I want to make sure that we in New York are actually leading the way.
Let us start manufacturing here, in this country, in this state, masks and gowns and drugs, the ventilators, and the tests we need, and let New York start and we already have. But we should never again as a nation have to scramble the way we scrambled. We are now aggressively courting businesses, incentivizing businesses to build, to manufacture, medical equipment here in this state. And the state will partner with corporations to do that. So if you want to start, grow your business, expand your business manufacturing masks and gowns is not the most difficult situation technologically. The volume is the problem, the quantity. But we want to develop that here in this state. And then with this virus we must remain vigilant because we're still learning. Facts are in many ways still continuing to change on us. And while we're learning the virus is still learning also.
We have a situation that is serious and concerning, which is these COVID-related illnesses in children. Department of Health is now looking at a 110 cases of a COVID-related illness in children. It's similar to what they call Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome. We've lost a 5-year-old, a 7-year-old and an 18-year-old girl to this disease. New York State and Department of Health are at the forefront, nationally if not internationally in looking at this. And the Department of Health, good work of Dr. Zucker, they've had a number of telephone conferences, web conferences. 16 other states now see cases that they're investigating, once Department of Health explained what they've been looking at, six European countries are now looking at the same situation. And I expect this is only going to grow. Parents should beware, and parents should be informed of this. The key is prolonged fever. And then you see on the chart the other symptoms that parents should look for. Also it tends to present in children who were exposed to the COVID virus and actually now have the antibodies from the COVID virus or still test positive for the COVID virus. So if you have a child who has a fever, who you think may have been exposed to the COVID virus, a person who had the virus, we found out later came down with it and you see the symptoms, then you should take action. New York State has published today online the first-in-the-nation criteria for healthcare professionals to isolate, define, identify this syndrome and test for it. But it is very important - right now we have it affecting children from less than one year old, so infants to 21 years old, okay? When you look at over the 100 cases, that's the span, which is obviously a very frightening development. There's information on the website.
Last point, point of personal opinion. I'm the Governor of the State of New York and I take that responsibility very seriously. I'm honored to be governor. I work at seven days a week, 24 hours a day. But in many ways before being governor, I am a son. I'm a brother and uncle and I'm a father. As a parent, as a father, I just want to make sure I'm communicating especially this last situation to the people of the state and beyond. This virus has been ahead of us every step of the way. I can't tell you how many quote, unquote facts I was told that then changed, right? When the virus started the virus was coming from China, everybody was looking at China - turns out the virus came from Europe. Nobody told us. When this first started if you had the disease and recovered, you then had antibodies and you were immune. My brother had the virus, recovered, so we have the antibodies. We were told, "Well then you're immune from getting it again," and we had plans to have people who tested for the antibodies, they could go back to work because they were immune and the facts changed, "You know what maybe they're not immune, maybe they're only a little immune or they're partially immune." \Then we were told, children are not affected by the virus - that was the only good news by the way in the whole first evaluation. "Children aren't affected. Okay, now maybe children are affected. And we just didn't know it." Okay, well what do we know now? Well we're studying 100 children from one to 21." Okay, Michaela, my daughter is 22. "Well we only have people up until 21, so she's okay." Yeah until we have someone who's 22 or 23 or 24.
So, the facts change. I have done my best to give people the information that I know. But I want you to have the same caution flag that I live with. The facts in this virus have changed. And I believe they will continue to change. So, take this all with a grain of salt. My basic point is, do not underestimate this virus. It has beaten us at every turn and it has surprised us at every turn. Don't take it lightly. Don't underestimate it. I believe the facts will change as we go forward. The more we learn about the virus, the more the facts change, and the worse it gets. There has been no news since we started this where we were actually too cautious or too concerned. All the news has been bad as far as I'm concerned.
So, with all this information, with all government is doing - hearings in Washington, all this - you know who's going to protect you? You are. You know who's going to protect Michaela, 22-years-old? Michaela being informed. Michaela understanding. I like to think, with a little advice from a parent, that she discounts 99%, but maybe 1% of the advice communicates. Michaela's graduating from college this year, they closed the college. She said you know, a lot of people are having parties and they're having graduation-like events. Should I go? At 22, you can't tell them anything 22. I couldn't tell them anything at 21, 20, 19. I said here's the facts, this is what we know. Is it worth the risk to do it? Michaela's made all the right decisions, but every parent, every child, it's your job to understand and protect yourself. I just urge caution because everything I say, I tell you everything I know, but I'm also telling you there are things we don't know yet. How do you protect yourself from those things?
Just be cautious, be diligent. Wear a mask, wear gloves, stay away from gatherings - I know they're inconvenient, but God forbid, you know, just God forbid. I've talked to too many families who've lost people. I've talked to too many people who've lost people who were not supposed to be lost to this virus. When this started, this was just about vulnerable people - senior citizens, comorbidities. Yeah, then how do you lose a 40-year-old who had no symptom of anything, right? Children were not affected. Yeah, until children are affected.
So, caution to everyone. Whatever I know, I will communicate. But again, it's about you protecting you and I heartily recommend caution and diligence.
May 15, 2020.
ICYMI: Governor Cuomo Is a Guest on MSNBC's the Rachel Maddow Show. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/icymi-governor-cuomo-guest-msnbcs-rachel-maddow-show
Governor Cuomo: "I would like to go back to last November, December, when we first heard about this in China and say, to the country, say to the world, a pandemic anywhere is a pandemic everywhere. When you hear that there is a virus spreading in China, beware, because it may very well have gotten on a plane yesterday, and is on its way to you."
Cuomo: "That's where you have to rewind the tape, to get this right. We were talking about it in China in November, December, January. Here, by the time we did the China travel ban, it was already gone. It left China. It went to Europe. The cases we have here in New York, the east coast, they came from Europe. We were all looking at China, the virus had already left China by the time we moved. So, that's what I mean when I say we've been behind from day one, and day one started in China.'
Last night, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show to discuss New York's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
AUDIO of the Governor's interview is available here.
A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is below:
Rachel Maddow: Sir, I am grateful for your time tonight. Thank you for being here.
Governor Cuomo: Pleasure, thanks for having me, Rachel.
Rachel Maddow: I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this was the 75th straight day on which you have given a coronavirus briefing including Saturdays and Sundays and no days off since the first cases in New York. Is that right?
Governor Cuomo: It feels just like yesterday, doesn't it? No, it's 75 days.
Rachel Maddow: Let me ask, I was really struck today when you said there has been no news since we started this where we were too cautious or too concerned. All of the news has been bad. 75 days into this, with everything that you have been through and that New York has been through, if you could go back and tell Governor Cuomo 75 days ago, one key piece of information, or two key pieces of information, what do you wish you could tell yourself then?
Governor Cuomo: Yeah, I wish I could go - Actually, if I could modify the request a little bit, Rachel, I would like to go back to last November, December, when we first heard about this in China and say, to the country, say to the world, a pandemic anywhere is a pandemic everywhere. When you hear that there is a virus spreading in China, beware, because it may very well have gotten on a plane yesterday, and is on its way to you. That's where you have to rewind the tape, to get this right. We were talking about it in China in November, December, January. Here, by the time we did the China travel ban, it was already gone. It left China. It went to Europe. The cases we have here in New York, the east coast, they came from Europe. We were all looking at China, the virus had already left China by the time we moved. So, that's what I mean when I say we've been behind from day one, and day one started in China.
Rachel Maddow: One of the things that you have said over the past 24 hours is, as one of the main sort of takeaways, one of the real lessons that we've learned here, is that we need to make critical medical supplies in the United States. We need domestic manufacturing capacity for the things we need to deal with, to keep ourselves safe and to be able to treat people in this epidemic context. Do you think that if we had that kind of manufacturing capacity, from the get-go, that it would have changed the overall contours of the epidemic, that it would have saved a considerable number of lives?
Governor Cuomo: You know, Rachel, there's going to be so many lessons from this situation, how it started, where the notice was from, et cetera. On the equipment, I don't know if it would have saved lives. I know it was a tremendous waste of time, tremendous waste of money, it was chaos compounded, that we can't find enough masks and gowns, in this country. And then you have 50 states, 50 governors, trying to buy everything from China, and trying to find brokers between the U.S. and China, and states bidding against other states to buy the same masks from China. I mean how did we get to this position? And it was masks, it was gowns, now it's testing agents, the reagents, we can't find, they're coming from other countries. Well, so I don't know if it actually would have cost additional lives. I know you had nurses and doctors going to emergency rooms without the right precaution. I know that they suffered from the lack of PPE. I hope, I hope, I hope that we didn't actually lose any lives because of it.
Rachel Maddow: Of course, as you note, the shortages continue. And it's not, it's not been the same shortages of the same equipment all along. Right now, it does feel like testing really is still constrained, both in New York, and around the country, by shortage of specific things that you need to be able to carry out tests and to process them. I wanted to ask you about that in light of your order to New York State nursing homes that they need to start testing all of their staff twice a week or they're putting their licenses at risk. I know that you've sent out more than 100,000 test kits to nursing homes to help them meet that mandate. But you know that it needs to be a lot more than that. Are you confident that there will be enough tests for nursing homes to be able to do that, and that they will be able to get their hands on them?
Governor Cuomo: I'm confident Rachel that there will be enough tests to do the employees of the nursing homes twice a week. That's going to be our top priority because that is the top priority. That's the most vulnerable people in the most vulnerable situation. That's how we were introduced to this virus, right? In Seattle, Washington. So we can make that happen. We're ramping up testing all across the board. We're now doing more testing per capita in New York than any state in the country and more per capita than any country in the globe so we've been aggressive ramping up the testing and we will do more. I sent 110,000 kits but that's just for the nursing homes to conduct those tests themselves. They can also go to the drive-throughs. We have drugstores that now are doing the tests so there are a lot of other testing mechanisms.
But you're exactly right. The PPE shortage has now become a testing supply shortage and we had a period where we went back and forth the states with the federal government, who's responsible for what, and the federal government was saying the states have to test. But the states couldn't get the tests and the laboratories in the states couldn't get the supplies from the national manufacturers because the national manufacturers had an international supply chain that went back to China. I mean you couldn't, if you wrote this in a movie, they would say you went too far.
I then had a conversation with the President and we came up with a rough division of labor where the federal government is going to do the supply chain issues to the national manufacturers. The states will then do the actual administration from the laboratories in those states. But that supply chain still needs more work. We still are unprepared to do what we have to do in testing. It's a scramble once again. Now, on testing, Rachel, no one anticipated ever a testing capacity of this magnitude. So we're building the airplane while we're flying it but we're doing it on a 50-state basis which gets back to your point in the opening. Every state has to come up with the entire system to do this. Whether it was PPE, or now testing and the reagents and the vials, so there has to be a better way than we're doing it but every state is doing what they can.
Rachel Maddow: Do you feel like if we do have a second wave, and again, waves hit different states and different localities at different times and New York is in a different place than some of these other states that are reopening right now even when they're very high up their curves and not coming down yet. I understand there is a heterogeneousexperience of this in this country but if we do get a big national second wave of this in the fall and New York finds itself back in the thick of it and other states that have been hit hard find themselves back in the thick of it, do you have hope that we would have a national unified response where everybody is pulling in the same direction at least for the second wave? Or do you think it's still going to be all a states for themselves again?
Governor Cuomo: No, there's no reason to think that you're going to have a different response from the federal government. The federal government charted its course and we know what that course is. Now, I spent as you know eight years in the ClintonAdministration. I was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. I did all of the emergency management, participated in it during that time, so I come from a very different school, right? And I do believe the federal government, this was a federally declared emergency, right? That normally means the federal government is the lead agent and I believe you could have a more muscular, more intelligent federal government's response here rather than leaving it to 50 states.
Today they did the CDC guidelines as you mentioned but how could any state really open without CDC guidelines? There had to be one national definition of what is safe. You know, safe can be defined. There are numbers. What's the increase in the number of deaths, the increase in the number of tests, what's the infection rate, what's the RT, what do you call safe, come up with a definition, then say to the states, here is the definition. That's what we're doing in New York now. We have one definition of safe based on numbers, 62 counties, okay, this is what we define as safe. Counties, you can work as hard as you can to get to that definition but there should have been a national definition of safe that the states then had to follow. You want to call it CDC guidance? Fine. The supplies, PPE, test kits, I think that should have been handled federally. Let the federal government purchase it on behalf of the states. Why are states competing with each other? The number of tests - set what is safe and appropriate for the number of tests and help provide the supplies for that number of tests in that state. Tracing - what's the right number of tracers? And let's nationalize the protocol, what does tracing mean, nationalize the training, and then let the states execute by those national standards. That's what the federal government could have done - they didn't do it. They left it to these 50 different states with no real guidance or national standard. You're right - New York, the curve is coming down, you take New York out, the curve is going up, Rachel. And they're opening, by what standard? So, I don't think that's going to change for the second wave if there is a second wave because that's the federal course and the ship has sailed.
Rachel Maddow: Governor, one of the things that's happened in states that don't have as many cases as New York - and nobody has had as many cases as New York - but in the heartland of the country, we saw states and counties, even cities, that didn't have very many cases but then did have very large outbreaks, hundreds and hundreds of cases that were associated with specific workplaces, and it's mostly been these meat processing plants, places like South Dakota and Minnesota and Iowa and Nebraska, and there doesn't seem to be a standard for how those outbreaks get handled, how information gets handled, how they gets ultimately contained, how communities can prepare themselves when that sort of thing happens in a workplace. You in New York have a processing plant that has a significant number of cases in rural New York, in Oneida, Green Empire Farm, they have 169 cases there among 340 workers. I don't feel like we're coming up with a national standard for how to deal with something like that, but as a governor who's dealt with more of this crisis than anybody else, how are you going to tackle that problem at that one food processing plant and do you expect that it will be one of several?
Governor Cuomo: Short answer is yes, I do expect that, and this has nothing to do with meat, right? I know they're meat processing plants but a lot of people has said, "Well what is there about meat?" It's not about the meat. It's not about the agricultural farm; it's about the density, it's about the gathering, it's about the size, and all it takes is one - the rule of one works, Rachel. All you need is one person who is infected in a mass gathering, a large gathering, with density, and they become a super-spreader - another term I'd never heard before but now I never want to hear again. We had the first hot spot in the United States - it wasn't in New York City, it was in New Rochelle, Westchester County, suburban county. And it had nothing to do with the demographics, it was one person who was positive, who went to a couple of gatherings that had 100, 200 people at the gatherings and now you had the hot spot in the nation. The processing plants, you have 1,000 workers, you have one who gets infected, and now it's fire through dry grass. So look, we learned the hard way here in New York, but again, go back to the facts, go back to the science, go back to the testing and the tracing, the hospitalization rate, the infection rate, we know how to isolate, it just has to be done. It has to be standardized and executed. And that's what we're doing in New York - it would be nice if we had a national standard to all of this so it wasn't states informally sharing best practices. You know, I talk to other governors and we share information, but you could have had a national standard and all the states then can follow the national standard, and it would have been nice if there was funding that went along with that, but this will happen in other parts of the country, I'll bet you tonight that you'll see it pop up wherever you have density and gatherings and it only takes one, the rule of one.
Rachel Maddow: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo - sir, I hope when we speak again, whether it's sometime 75 days from now or sometime sooner than that, we're speaking in very different circumstances. This has been a heck of a marathon for you, sir, and thanks for taking time to be here and continued good luck.
Governor Cuomo: Thanks - well, I hope to speak to you before it's over, Rachel, because I'm too big a fan and that is too long a period of time.
Rachel Maddow: I hear you - don't tell your brother.
Governor Cuomo: He knows.
May 15, 2020.
Governor Cuomo, Governor Murphy, Governor Lamont, Governor Carney Announce Multi-state Agreement on Beaches Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-governor-murphy-governor-lamont-governor-carney-announce-multi-state-agreement
Acting on a commitment to coordinate regional policies in response to COVID-19, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, and Delaware Governor John Carney today announced a multi-state agreement to reopen public and private beaches with certain restrictions in place effective, Friday, May 22. This approach will better align the states' policies ahead of the summer months.
"With Memorial Day weekend fast approaching and warmer weather on the way, we want to make sure New Yorkers and residents of our neighboring states are able to safely enjoy outdoor recreational activities," Governor Cuomo said. "We have been coordinating with other states throughout this entire pandemic, and we have worked on an agreement allowing beaches to be open with proper social distancing and other public health protections in place so we can begin establishing a new normal without jeopardizing the progress we've already made."
Governor Murphy said, "A trip to the beach is a treasured past time for New Jerseyans on Memorial Day weekend just as it is for residents in our neighboring states. By aligning our social distancing policies for beaches, we can bring some semblance of a 'new normal' to our region ahead of the first weekend of the summer season."
Governor Lamont said, "Our beaches are some of our most beautiful and treasured assets. We want to make sure they are enjoyed up and down the East Coast in the safest possible way, especially as the Summer Season begins. Working together as states to make sure they can be enjoyed responsibly makes sense."
Governor Carney said, "Summer at the beach is a huge part of life for so many Delawareans. As we ease our way into a new normal, we're trying to find ways for Delawareans to safely to enjoy the outdoors and the company of their families."
May 15, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Five Regions Will Begin Reopening Today. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-five-regions-will-begin-reopening-today
NYS on PAUSE Extended Until May 28 for Regions That Do Not Open Today; Region Can Enter Phase One of Reopening as Soon as it Hits Benchmark
Outlines Additional Guidelines for Phase One Businesses as They Begin to Reopen
Announces Multi-State Agreement on Beaches and Outlines Specific Conditions for New York Beaches to Reopen
Confirms 2,762 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 345,813; New Cases in 44 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced five regions will begin reopening today. The Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions have met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan. NYS on PAUSE will be extended until May 28 for all regions that do not reopen today - Western New York, the Capital Region, the Mid-Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island. When a region meets all seven metrics required for reopening, that region may immediately enter phase one of reopening.
"Throughout this entire pandemic New Yorkers have stepped up to the plate and done a great job of working together to bend the curve, and today half the regions in the state will begin to reopen," Governor Cuomo said. "These regions have met the seven criteria needed for reopening, and as soon as other regions hit those benchmarks they can begin phase one of reopening as well. As we move forward with this process, it is up to all of us to understand our personal responsibility - that's how this worked from day one and that's how we will continue to slow the spread of the virus and start our new normal."
Governor Cuomo also outlined additional guidelines and protocols for phase one businesses as they begin to reopen:
Residential/Commercial Construction:
All workers must have masks and wear them when within six feet of another worker
Employers must provide masks to all employees
No congregate meetings
Retail Business Owners - Curbside Pickup
Employee and purchaser in vehicle must wear a mask, gloves preferred
Hand sanitizer must be made available
Retail Business Owners - In-Store Pickup
Requires ordering ahead - pre-arranged orders
Social distancing required in store
No more than 50 percent of maximum occupancy
Patrons must wear masks
Store employees must wear masks, gloves preferred
Hand sanitizer must be made available
These regions have met the seven criteria needed for reopening, and as soon as other regions hit those benchmarks they can begin phase one of reopening as well.
Governor Cuomo
The Governor also announced a multi-state agreement with New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware to reopen beaches for Memorial Day Weekend. The Governor outlined specific conditions New York beaches must meet to reopen. State and local beaches and lakeshores in New York State may open the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend on the following minimum conditions:
Mandating no more than 50 percent capacity by ensuring controlled exits/entrances and limiting parking
Prohibiting group contact activities, including sports (e.g. volleyball, football)
Keeping areas of social gathering closed (e.g. designated picnic areas, playgrounds, pavilions, arcades, amusement rides)
Enforcing social distancing measures for both employees and visitors
Requiring masks to be worn by all employees and visitors when social distancing is not possible
Closing concessions
Ensuring staff levels are adequate to achieve these measures and enforce crowd control.
City, town and county beaches may open on the same conditions subject to local government home rule:
Local government must fully enforce minimum rules and may impose additional conditions
If local governments do not enforce minimum rules, the beach will be closed
Locals must notify the public by Wednesday, May 20 of their intention to open
Beaches can open on Friday before Memorial Day Weekend, May 22, 2020
Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,762 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 345,813 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 345,813 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,538
29
Allegany
44
0
Broome
390
7
Cattaraugus
64
0
Cayuga
61
1
Chautauqua
45
1
Chemung
133
1
Chenango
113
1
Clinton
85
4
Columbia
333
6
Cortland
33
0
Delaware
67
0
Dutchess
3,498
24
Erie
4,782
111
Essex
32
0
Franklin
17
0
Fulton
145
1
Genesee
175
0
Greene
209
2
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
87
1
Jefferson
71
2
Lewis
12
0
Livingston
106
0
Madison
256
1
Monroe
2,091
72
Montgomery
72
3
Nassau
38,864
121
Niagara
743
33
NYC
190,357
1,812
Oneida
713
15
Onondaga
1,440
17
Ontario
133
4
Orange
9,825
54
Orleans
147
2
Oswego
80
2
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,121
6
Rensselaer
428
5
Rockland
12,637
41
Saratoga
421
6
Schenectady
603
6
Schoharie
47
0
Schuyler
8
0
Seneca
49
0
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
231
1
Suffolk
37,719
175
Sullivan
1,189
21
Tioga
110
2
Tompkins
136
0
Ulster
1,511
16
Warren
228
1
Washington
217
2
Wayne
91
2
Westchester
31,943
151
Wyoming
77
0
Yates
22
0
May 15, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Five Regions Will Begin Reopening Today https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-fi-0
NYS on PAUSE Extended Until May 28 for Regions That Do Not Open Today; Region Can Enter Phase One of Reopening as Soon as it Hits Benchmark
Outlines Additional Guidelines for Phase One Businesses as They Begin to Reopen
Announces Multi-State Agreement on Beaches and Outlines Specific Conditions for New York Beaches to Reopen
Confirms 2,762 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 345,813; New Cases in 44 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "We're opening Phase 1 in those five regions today. ... We expect to see an increase but that increase has to be monitored and has to be controlled. We've talked about the infection rate, the rate of transmission. When the rate of transmission hits 1.1, you're headed towards a bad place so monitor that rate daily and correct immediately if you see an increase in those numbers."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, earlier today Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced five regions will begin reopening today. The Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions have met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan. NYS on PAUSE will be extended until May 28 for all regions that do not reopen today - Western New York, the Capital Region, the Mid-Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island. When a region meets all seven metrics required for reopening, that region may immediately enter phase one of reopening.
Governor Cuomo also outlined additional guidelines and protocols for phase one businesses as they begin to reopen:
Residential/Commercial Construction
All workers must have masks and wear them when within six feet of another worker
Employers must provide masks to all employees
No congregate meetings
Retail Business Owners - Curbside Pickup
Employee and purchaser in vehicle must wear a mask, gloves preferred
Hand sanitizer must be made available
Retail Business Owners - In-Store Pickup
Requires ordering ahead - pre-arranged orders
Social distancing required in store
No more than 50 percent of maximum occupancy
Patrons must wear masks
Store employees must wear masks, gloves preferred
Hand sanitizer must be made available
The Governor also announced a multi-state agreement with New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware to reopen beaches for Memorial Day Weekend. The Governor outlined specific conditions New York beaches must meet to reopen. State and local beaches and lakeshores in New York State may open the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend on the following minimum conditions:
Mandating no more than 50 percent capacity by ensuring controlled exits/entrances and limiting parking
Prohibiting group contact activities, including sports (e.g. volleyball, football)
Keeping areas of social gathering closed (e.g. designated picnic areas, playgrounds, pavilions, arcades, amusement rides)
Enforcing social distancing measures for both employees and visitors
Requiring masks to be worn by all employees and visitors when social distancing is not possible
Closing concessions
Ensuring staff levels are adequate to achieve these measures and enforce crowd control.
City, town and county beaches may open on the same conditions subject to local government home rule:
Local government must fully enforce minimum rules and may impose additional conditions
If local governments do not enforce minimum rules, the beach will be closed
Locals must notify the public by Wednesday, May 20 of their intention to open
Beaches can open on Friday before Memorial Day Weekend, May 22, 2020
Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,762 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 345,813 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 345,813 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,538
29
Allegany
44
0
Broome
390
7
Cattaraugus
64
0
Cayuga
61
1
Chautauqua
45
1
Chemung
133
1
Chenango
113
1
Clinton
85
4
Columbia
333
6
Cortland
33
0
Delaware
67
0
Dutchess
3,498
24
Erie
4,782
111
Essex
32
0
Franklin
17
0
Fulton
145
1
Genesee
175
0
Greene
209
2
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
87
1
Jefferson
71
2
Lewis
12
0
Livingston
106
0
Madison
256
1
Monroe
2,091
72
Montgomery
72
3
Nassau
38,864
121
Niagara
743
33
NYC
190,357
1,812
Oneida
713
15
Onondaga
1,440
17
Ontario
133
4
Orange
9,825
54
Orleans
147
2
Oswego
80
2
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,121
6
Rensselaer
428
5
Rockland
12,637
41
Saratoga
421
6
Schenectady
603
6
Schoharie
47
0
Schuyler
8
0
Seneca
49
0
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
231
1
Suffolk
37,719
175
Sullivan
1,189
21
Tioga
110
2
Tompkins
136
0
Ulster
1,511
16
Warren
228
1
Washington
217
2
Wayne
91
2
Westchester
31,943
151
Wyoming
77
0
Yates
22
0
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks with ASL interpretation is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning. Happy Friday. You guys look tired today but don't worry; it's Friday. Young guys need stamina. Friday, you'll have the weekend off. Oh, no, you won't. That's right.
Let's take a look and see where we are today. Total number of hospitalizations down, the way we like to see it. Rolling average down, the way we like to see it. Change in intubations down, the way we like to see it. Number of new cases up. We don't like to see that but it's only up a tick and again these numbers tend to bounce but it's been a slow decline and there's no doubt about that and you see there's been several plateaus in the decline. We are very curious to find out where that numbers winds up, how low the new cases go.
We've done a lot of research as you know. Those new cases, mostly coming from people who are at home so we're talking about homes spread, more than at work, more than first responders, more than essential personnel. That's the hardest place to control the spread is when a person's literally at home. There are very few precautions. It's all about personal behavior. That's where those cases are coming from.
Number of deaths is down but still painful, 132. We are right about where we were when we started this. Number of lives lost if you go right back to March 27 and that's when we really first started this miserable journey.
Good news again if you look at New York, our curve is down. Congratulations, New Yorkers. And actually the curve in the rest of the nation is up so while cases are increasing across the country the number of cases in New York are actually going down and that's remarkable in some ways because we had more cases than anyone else -not because there is anything particular in the air in New York but because we had people coming from Europe bringing the virus at a time when no one knew the virus had moved from China to Europe and we had 3 million Europeans come January, February, March before we did the ban on European travel and those flights came to the East Coast and they landed at JFK Airport which was one of the funnel airports if you remember. So the problem had nothing to do with us but we were then tasked with resolving it and New Yorkers stepped up to the plate and have done a great job.
Question now is on reopening. We're going to open half the regions in this state today, five regions out of 10. They are the regions that meet the numerical criteria. There's no politics to this judgment. There is no arbitrary nature to this judgment. It's all on the numbers - seven criteria which basically measure the infection rate, hospitalization rate testing rate, et cetera, and that's how the decision is made.
For those regions that don't qualify to open today we're extending what's called the New York Pause order which is the closedown of services and institutions that have been closed down. If a region hits its benchmark at any time regardless of the pause order then that region can open.
We're opening Phase 1 in those five regions today. Just some points on each of those industries, residential, commercial, construction will open, indoor construction and outdoor. Masks must be worn by employees when they're six feet from one another so they must all have masks. The employer must provide the masks. Any gloves, any equipment that the employees need on that work site must be provided by the employer. There's no congregant meetings. For retail businesses curbside pickup starts. The employee and the purchaser in the vehicle must be wearing a mask. Anyone in the vehicle must be wearing a mask. Gloves are preferred but they're not mandated and the employer, the store owner must make hand sanitizer available. If curbside pickup is not practicable then in-store pickup is available, but it is in-store pick up. It is not in-store shopping. In-store pickup because curbside is not practicable requires ordering ahead, social distancing in the store, no more than 50 percent maximum occupancy of that store for people coming there to pick up. Patrons must wear a mask. Store employees must wear a mask. Gloves are preferred. Hand sanitizer has to be made available.
For an individual's behavior, people ask well what am I supposed to be doing as an individual? I'm not a store owner. I don't work construction. I understand as an employee what my requirements are but just what do I do in normal life? When you're in public and you're within six feet of another person, wear a mask. That is a requirement. Curbside or in-store pickup, wear a mask and socially distance. Store owners should not let you in the store for an in-store pickup if you don't have a mass. The exception is less than two years old or some people for medical reasons can't wear a mask. In a construction or manufacturing setting the employee must wear a mask whenever they can't socially distance and the employer has to meet certain precautions which they said they would when they reopen under this.
In private people ask what should I do. Well, then you have our best advice but in private is private, what you do in your home, what you do with your family, what you do with your personal relationships, your friendships. We've talked about exposure to senior citizens and how you should be careful to vulnerable populations but there were no government requirements on what you do in your home, et cetera.
The responsibility for local officials and what we call the regional control center, local officials have to enforce business compliance and social distancing. These businesses are opening subject to saying they will comply with safety precautions. Local officials have to make sure they are followed as well as social distancing guidelines for individuals. The regional control center will have a daily morning meeting where they review and monitor the infection, testing and hospitalization rates and I can't stress this enough. We're starting to turn the valve. One of my favorite graphics, not saying a heck of a lot, starting to turn the activity valve, watch what happens to the infection rate, testing rate, hospitalization rate. If those numbers start to move, slow down on the activity level. That requires you to monitor the impact of this increase in public activity.
You will see an increase. We expect to see an increase but that increase has to be monitored and has to be controlled. We've talked about the infection rate, the rate of transmission. When the rate of transmission hits 1.1, you're headed towards a bad place so monitor that rate daily and correct immediately if you see an increase in those numbers.
Beaches, we've talked about coordinating with other states and this has happened in other parts of the country, other parts of the world also. We are one multistate region. What one state does will affect other states. That is probably nowhere more clear than when it comes to opening beaches. One state doesn't open beaches, another state does open beaches, you will see people flood to that state. Georgia opened barber shops, people drove from out of state to Georgia to get a haircut. If New Jersey opens beaches or Connecticut opens beaches and we didn't open beaches, you would see a flood of people to Connecticut and New Jersey and our relationship and responsibility to our other neighboring states is important. We want what's best for New York, but we want what's best for New Yorkers. It's not in New York's interest to have New Yorkers going to a Jersey beach which is now going to be overcrowded because you have people from New York and New Jersey going to that beach. It's not in our interest to have people going to Connecticut beaches if those beaches are then going to be overcrowded. We've worked with New Jersey and Connecticut. We've come up with an agreement that accommodates all needs and it was done in good faith.
The agreement is New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware will all be opening beaches for the Memorial Day weekend. States will have different, specific rules about what happens on that beach. It will all be plus or minus, but they're all basically in the same ball park. They're opening Friday of Memorial Day weekend. State beaches, that includes local beaches, lake shores. It does not include pools, pools are closed. No more than 50 percent capacity and that will be done at parking areas, entrance areas, exit areas, et cetera. No group contact activities. No volleyball, no football, nothing like that. Areas of social gathering will be closed, picnic areas, et cetera. Playgrounds, pavilions, arcades.
Social distancing will be enforced for employees and for visitors. Masks must be worn by employees and visitors must have masks and wear them when they can't socially distance. At this point, concessions will not be operating. We don't want long lines of people waiting for concession stands and we'll ensure that staff levels are adequate to enforce these measures.
On the beaches that are controlled by cities, towns, counties, municipal beaches, municipal lakes, the local government can decide to open or stay closed. If they choose to open, they must adopt the state's requirements at a minimum and the chief executive can decide to do that. If they want to impose additional requirements above and beyond the state requirements, they are free to do that. That will be done by a home rule message and those decisions should be made by the locals by Wednesday, May 20 so we can plan accordingly. If a locality doesn't open beaches, we need to know that because then we'll have more demand on state beaches in that area. If they do open beaches, we need to know that also just to understand the flow, the traffic, and where we have to staff up. Again, the state beaches will be open the Friday before Memorial Day.
Last point, reopening must be smart. We have to keep this in focus. Remember, learn from the lessons that are around us. We've seen other countries open. We've seen cities open. We've seen them then close because the activity level went up too high too fast. We see countries like Germany that are reopening, but they're seeing that infection rate going up and they're monitoring it very closely. We expect the rate to go up, but it has to go up at a rate that we can control, right? The risk is the activity level increases quickly and then the virus spreads quickly, you overwhelm the health system, et cetera. This has to be monitored very closely.
A lot of it is going to fall on the local governments. We need them to really step up here on the compliance for businesses and individuals. The testing and tracing is one of the key monitors on that dashboard. They all meet the minimum testing and tracing requirements, but they have to do it, also. It has to be done every day. That is the logistical operational challenge. We're working with them to do that, but that has to be done every day. The monitoring of all the indicators, again, and quick reaction.
These indicators will be online for everyone, not just for local governments. They're on the website. I would suggest everyone look at them. Look at them for their county, their region, so they know exactly where they are every day. They're updated daily. How this goes is up to all of us. Stone to stone across the morass as my father used to say. You're going through a morass and we are in a morass, there's no doubt about that. Find the stone, find firm footing, and step onto that stone. Then you find the next stone, then you find the next stone. That's what we've been doing. This reopening is the most data-driven, fact-specific, science-driven reopening that has been done, period. It's all about the numbers and the facts. That's right. Second stone is, now you start to reopen. Do it intelligently, and do it with discipline, and not with emotion. And government has to be there and government has to perform. But to be up to all of us, it means it has to be up to each of us at the same time, right. That is very important here, that each of us understands our responsibility and that's how this has worked from day one.
Government, government, government. It's not about government. It's about what people have decided to do in this situation. How did we bend that curve? When they write the history books they're going to write about how New York turned that curve. And that was done by New Yorkers. It was not a governmental that act. No government could tell 19 million people, "Stay at home. Don't go to work. Wear a mask. Socially-distanced." That's not government action, that's social action. Those are people who choose to do the responsible thing. I think because we gave them the facts, but they reacted intelligently. They responded responsibly and we have to continue that.
You know with this virus, I just want to say on a personal level, and I want to make sure everybody understands this - -the facts here have been changing and the facts have only been getting more negative. This started that it was only going to attack vulnerable people, seniors, people with co-morbidities. I was speaking to a doctor today about a young person who passed away of a stroke, from Covid. No underlying conditions, nothing else. It was a stroke. No respiratory illness. Well, what happened? Well apparently, the virus can affect the heart, and the liver, and other organs besides the lungs, and we didn't know that.
Children weren't going to be infected. Accept now we're studying 100 cases where children are in fact affected by the virus and some of them very serious. And that 100 cases, I'll wager that's going to only go up and it's going to be much more widespread than anyone thinks. So, the amount of personal responsibility here to keep oneself safe, to keep one's family safe, I cannot stress highly enough, do not underestimate this virus and do not play with this virus.
I can be asymptomatic and not know that I have the virus. But I can put my hand down on this table today, you can come touch this table three hours from now and pick up the virus. I can walk into a store to pick up a package, not know that I have the virus, put my hand on stainless steel counter, you can come in the store the next day, put your hand on that counter and pick up the virus. I don't care how diligent the store owner is and how many masks you wear - that's how powerful this virus is. "Well it's only old people." No - tell that to the families who have a 8-year-old and 7-year-old in the hospital. Tell that to the 21-year-old girl's family, where the 21-year-old girl passed away. Everyone is vulnerable to this virus - everyone. And government can't keep you safe. Only you can keep yourself safe. But when you keep yourself safe and I keep myself safe, that's the way we keep all of us safe. That's the story of life, and that's the story of where we are today and that's the story of being New York tough, which is tough, but it's smart and united and disciplined and it's being loving and responsible for one another.
May 16, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Horse Racing Tracks Statewide and Watkins Glen International Racetrack Will be Allowed to Open Without Fans as of June 1st. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-horse-racing-tracks-statewide-and
Westchester and Suffolk Counties are Now Eligible to Resume Elective Surgeries and Ambulatory Care
Calls on U.S. Senate to Pass Coronavirus Relief Bill
Confirms 2,419 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 348,232; New Cases in 52 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced horse racing tracks across the state and Watkins Glen International Racetrack will be allowed to open without fans as of June 1st. The state will issue guidance on how they can open safely reopen in the coming week.
Governor Cuomo also announced Westchester and Suffolk Counties are now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The Governor previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 49 counties can now resume elective surgeries:
Albany
Herkimer
Rensselaer
Allegany
Jefferson
Saratoga
Broome
Lewis
Schenectady
Cattaraugus
Livingston
Schoharie
Cayuga
Madison
Schuyler
Chautauqua
Monroe
St. Lawrence
Chemung
Montgomery
Steuben
Chenango
Niagara
Suffolk
Clinton
Oneida
Sullivan
Columbia
Onondaga
Tompkins
Cortland
Ontario
Ulster
Delaware
Orange
Warren
Dutchess
Orleans
Wayne
Essex
Oswego
Westchester
Franklin
Otsego
Wyoming
Fulton
Putnam
Yates
Genesee
Now we're getting a little more nuanced in our analysis and starting to look for economic activities that we can start without crowds and gatherings.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also called on the U.S. Senate to pass the coronavirus relief bill that was passed by the House last night. The bill includes $500 billion for states and $375 billion for locals; Medicaid funding for the most vulnerable; increased SNAP food assistance; 100 percent FEMA federal assistance; funding for testing; and repeals SALT to help states most affected by COVID-19.
"The numbers have been steadily decreasing and we're now right about where we were when we started, but we want to make sure we don't go back to the hell that we've gone through," Governor Cuomo said. "We have a smart phased reopening plan that has been reviewed by experts, and half of the state is in the process of reopening. Now we're getting a little more nuanced in our analysis and starting to look for economic activities that we can start without crowds and gatherings - in this state we can do that with horse racing tracks and car racing at Watkins Glen and we're going to do that starting June 1st."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,419 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 348,232 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 348,232 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,572
34
Allegany
44
0
Broome
413
23
Cattaraugus
65
1
Cayuga
63
2
Chautauqua
48
3
Chemung
134
1
Chenango
115
2
Clinton
91
6
Columbia
338
5
Cortland
34
1
Delaware
68
1
Dutchess
3,527
29
Erie
4,867
85
Essex
32
0
Franklin
18
1
Fulton
148
3
Genesee
178
3
Greene
211
2
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
91
4
Jefferson
71
0
Lewis
13
1
Livingston
107
1
Madison
258
2
Monroe
2,192
101
Montgomery
75
3
Nassau
39,033
169
Niagara
770
27
NYC
191,600
1,243
Oneida
751
38
Onondaga
1,469
29
Ontario
139
6
Orange
9,879
54
Orleans
163
16
Oswego
83
3
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,127
6
Rensselaer
438
10
Rockland
12,688
51
Saratoga
423
2
Schenectady
613
10
Schoharie
47
0
Schuyler
8
0
Seneca
50
1
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
233
2
Suffolk
37,942
223
Sullivan
1,217
28
Tioga
112
2
Tompkins
138
2
Ulster
1,537
26
Warren
228
0
Washington
218
1
Wayne
92
1
Westchester
32,097
154
Wyoming
78
1
Yates
22
0
May 16, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Horse Racing Tracks Statewide and Watkins Glen International Racetrack Will be Allowed to Open Without Fans as of June 1st. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-27
Westchester and Suffolk Counties are Now Eligible to Resume Elective Surgeries and Ambulatory Care
Calls on U.S. Senate to Pass Coronavirus Relief Bill
Confirms 2,419 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 348,232; New Cases in 52 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "What can you do, or what economic activity is willing to reopen without a crowd, right? They're talking about this in terms of sports. You're going to have baseball without a crowd but it can still be televised - great. If you can have economic activity without a crowd, that's great. We can do that in this state with horseracing tracks, and we're going to do that. There will be guidelines for the actual participants, but no crowds, no fans. But for the industry itself, for the televised viewers, that can still work. That is also true with Watkins Glen, that can operate and there's a big viewership for Watkins Glen."
Cuomo: "Let's put the politics aside. If there's ever a moment in this government, in this country, where it's not about politics, this is the moment. For Senators to be talking about I'm not going to bail out blue states because the blue states have more coronavirus cases, shame on you. Shame on you to look at the death toll in this nation and say I want to count how many people passed away by their political party and I'm more interested in states where Republicans live than where Democrats live. We're not Democrats and Republicans, we are Americans. That's what comes first and in a time of crisis we've always been Americans."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced horse racing tracks across the state and Watkins Glen International Racetrack will be allowed to open without fans as of June 1st. The state will issue guidance on how they can open safely reopen in the coming week.
Governor Cuomo also announced Westchester and Suffolk Counties are now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The Governor previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 49 counties can now resume elective surgeries:
Albany
Herkimer
Rensselaer
Allegany
Jefferson
Saratoga
Broome
Lewis
Schenectady
Cattaraugus
Livingston
Schoharie
Cayuga
Madison
Schuyler
Chautauqua
Monroe
St. Lawrence
Chemung
Montgomery
Steuben
Chenango
Niagara
Suffolk
Clinton
Oneida
Sullivan
Columbia
Onondaga
Tompkins
Cortland
Ontario
Ulster
Delaware
Orange
Warren
Dutchess
Orleans
Wayne
Essex
Oswego
Westchester
Franklin
Otsego
Wyoming
Fulton
Putnam
Yates
Genesee
The Governor also called on the U.S. Senate to pass the coronavirus relief bill that was passed by the House last night. The bill includes $500 billion for states and $375 billion for locals; Medicaid funding for the most vulnerable; increased SNAP food assistance; 100 percent FEMA federal assistance; funding for testing; and repeals SALT to help states most affected by COVID-19.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Morning. Happy Saturday. Saturday crew is here, light crew, short stick crew. Let me give you the facts, everybody knows everyone here. From my far right, Dr. Malatras, Dr. Zucker. To my left, Melissa DeRosa, secretary, secretary Ms. Melissa DeRosa. To her left, budget director Rob Mujica. Today is Saturday. I know it'sSaturday because I don't wear a tie on Saturday. That's how I know it's Saturday. It's a little convoluted reasoning, but it's not the first time.
The total number of hospitalizations are down, again. It's interesting to look at the curve, how fast we went up, and how relatively slow the decline has been. That shows you the problem of having a spike, spike happens quickly, but resolves slowly. Net change in hospitalizations is down, net change in intubations is down, number of new cases per day is also down, 400, which sounds like a large number, but this is on a statewide population of 19 million, 50,000 hospital beds. The number of lives lost, 157. That number has been stubborn. You can see May 10th it was 161, and these are, for all basically in the margin of error, if you will. This system is not that precise. I believe when they actually go back, weeks from now, and calculate the total number of deaths, at-home deaths, et cetera, you'll see a variation in this number. Again, we're right about where we were when we started. We just want to make sure we don't go back to the hell that we've gone through.
And when we talk about reopening, that's a discussion. We have half the state now, in terms of regions, which is now in the process of reopening. We have a dashboard that tells people where their region is, what's going on, what the hospital rates are doing, what the infection rates are doing, so everyone has information to inform themselves and to have conversations with their local government. We have a smart, phased reopening plan that has been reviewed by great experts in the field, and we feel very good about that. We're getting a little more nuanced in our analysis, looking for economic activities that you can start without crowds and without gatherings. Remember, the problem here are crowds and gatherings. So, what can you do, or what economic activity is willing to reopen without a crowd, right? They're talking about this in terms of sports. You're going to have baseball without a crowd but it can still be televised - great. If you can have economic activity without a crowd, that's great.
We can do that in this state with horseracing tracks, and we're going to do that. There will be guidelines for the actual participants, but no crowds, no fans. But for the industry itself, for the televised viewers, that can still work. That is also true with Watkins Glen, that can operate and there's a big viewership for Watkins Glen. I may take my car to Watkins Glen. I've done it before.
Update on elective surgeries, we're going to open Westchester and Suffolk counties for elective surgeries and ambulatory care. We want to make sure people who need medical services are getting medical services. There was a period where hospitals were basically dealing with COVID patients. We are past that period. If you need medical attention, if you need a medical procedure, you should get it, right? And the hospitals are safe places to go. To the extent people are worried about going to a hospital, there is no reason. The caveat is always, as we reopen, this is a new phase. This is an unknown phase. Nobody can tell you exactly what happens because nobody has been here before. That's stone to stone across the morass, take a step that you know is a firm step and watch and see what happens.
What happens depends on what we do. That's why this has been such a unique situation, not for government, but for society. What will happen? Well tell me what you're going to do and I will tell you what will happen. Well, how can that be? Because you're in control of what happens. How you act will determine what happens to you, literally. Will I get infected? It depends on what you do. Will we have a higher infection rate? It defense on what we do. You increase economic activity, we expect to see an increase in numbers. We don't want to see a spike. "Well, will there be a spike?"
It depends on how people react and it depends on their personal behavior. Are they wearing masks? Are they using hand sanitizer? It's getting warmer. There's going to be a natural increase in activity anyway. People are going to come out of their homes. They've been there for a long time, the weather is warmer, they'regoing to come out. How do they act when they come out? That is the big question mark. Have the reopening with all those question marks? I sit there and have the conversation with experts, "What's going to happen? What's going to happen?" They say, "You tell me how people react and I'll tell you what's going to happen." But I don't know how people are going to react. Well, then I can't tell you what's going to happen.
So, if people are smart, then yes, you will see some increase in the numbers, but you won't see a spike. You've seen spikes in other countries that have opened. You've seen spikes in states that have opened. We have an intelligent, and I believe the most intelligent system, but it is still reliant on what we do. It is reliant on human behavior, so be smart and be diligent, and don't under estimate this virus.
Local governments will do their part. I've spoken to all the local government officials. They're going to be doing compliance. They're be doing compliance on businesses that are opening. They have to follow the protocols. They're going to be doing compliance on enforcement, wearing the masks, etcetera, but still it's going to come down to what individuals do.
The only other big question mark on where we go longer term is what the federal government does. We have a significant economic problem in this state. It's the collective of all the individual economic problems. When you add up the collective,it's $61 billion to the state of New York. "Well, we don't really care about the state budget. That has nothing to do with me." I know that's what you may say, but it's actually not correct. The state budget is very relevant to you, because what the state budget funds, we don't do space exploration in the state. We fund schools, we fund hospitals, and we fund local governments. That's the state budget. A lot of words, but it funds schools, it funds hospitals, and it funds local governments. Local governments fund police, fire, all the heroes that we talk about. Hospitals, that's nurses, that's doctors, that's emergency room staff.
The house passed a bill yesterday, which is a smart bill which finally provides funding for state and local governments.
The House the bill yesterday, which is a smart bill, which finally provides funding for state and local governments. They funded businesses, they funded millionaires, they funded corporations, who did they forget? They forgot the police, the firefighters, the working Americans. What a shock, right?
The House bill also has Medicaid funding. It increases food assistance. 100% federal reimbursement for FEMA costs. Funding for testing which is so important. Everyone says testing, testing, testing. Fine, we'll get it up and running, but we need funding. It repeals the SALT tax penalty to the state of New York. 14 billion dollars. 14 billion dollars which was a theft in the first place.
After the House passes a bill, it goes to the Senate. That's where the bill is now. To the Senate, they should respond quickly. I understand from their point of view, they say well we funded businesses, we funded millionaires. Yeah, good, that's nice. How about working Americans? That's what the Senate should think about. How do you actually help the American people? My two cents, they shouldn't delay. They shouldn't be captive of special interests. I don't care who gave you money to run for office, you still work for the people.
No corporate bailouts. Don't bailout corporations and then have them turn around and lay off American workers. Don't let them use government money to subsidize employee layoffs. Don't do that, that would betray the trust of the American people. That's what happened in the 2008 bailouts. They bailed out the banks and the banks turned around and gave each other bonuses. I was Attorney General. I brought actions against AIG. I brought actions against banks like the Bank of America who took taxpayer money and then gave themselves a raise. Don't give corporations money so they can then lay off workers in their restructuring to get lean. Then the American taxpayer is going to have to pay for the people who are laid off. I'm afraid if this isn't raised sooner rather than later that's exactly what these corporations are going to do.
Let's put the politics aside. If there's ever a moment in this government, in this country, where it's not about politics, this is the moment. For Senators to be talking about I'm not going to bail out blue states because the blue states have more coronavirus cases, shame on you. Shame on you to look at the death toll in this nation and say I want to count how many people passed away by their political party and I'm more interested in states where Republicans live than where Democrats live. We're not Democrats and Republicans, we are Americans. That's what comes first and in a time of crisis we've always been Americans. The great leaders, Democrats and Republicans have always said that. Go back and look at the great Republicans, go back and look at the great Democrats and see how they operated and try to be great in this moment, Senator and Congressperson.
If you don't want to look at former politicians, go back back to the Good Book which said the same thing that the great politicians said. I wonder where they got itfrom? They got it from the Good Book. Everybody says they read the Good Book, Mark 3:25. "If the house is divided against itself, the house cannot stand." Read the Good Book and do what's right for the American people and let's be together, tough, smart, united, disciplined and loving.
May 17, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces New York State Has Doubled Testing Capacity to Reach 40,000 Tests Per Day, Encourages Eligible New Yorkers to Get Tested For COVID-19 https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-new-york-state-has-doubled-testing
New York State Now Has More Than 700 Testing Sites
Launches New Website for New Yorkers to Find Nearest COVID-19 Testing Sites
New Partnership with CVS to Bring Testing to More Than 60 Pharmacies Across the State
Reminds New Yorkers in Need of Emotional Support to Call 1-844-863-9314 to Schedule a Free Appointment with a Mental Health Professional
State Has Distributed More Than Three Million Free Bottles of NYS Clean Hand Sanitizer to Date
Video of Governor Cuomo Being Tested for COVID-19 is Available Here and in TV Quality Here
Confirms 1,889 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 350,121; New Cases in 46 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo announced that New York State has doubled testing capacity to reach 40,000 diagnostic tests per day, and encouraged eligible New Yorkers to visit a new website to find a nearby testing site. Today's announcement comes three weeks after the Governor announced an agreement for New York State to work with the federal government to grow New York's daily testing capacity from 20,000 tests a day to 40,000 tests a day.
The state's diagnostic testing criteria now includes all individuals who would return to the workplace in phase one of the state's reopening plan. New Yorkers eligible for diagnostic testing now include:
Any individual who has COVID-19 symptoms;
Any individual who has had contact with a person known to be positive with COVID-19;
Any individual who is subject to a precautionary or mandatory quarantine;
Any individual who is employed as a health care worker, nursing home worker or first responder;
Any essential worker who directly interacts with the public while working; and
Any individual who would return to the workplace in phase one of the state's reopening plan.
The Governor also announced the launch of a new website where New Yorkers can easily find the nearest COVID-19 testing sites. New Yorkers can visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-testing and enter their address to view a list and a map view of the nearest testing sites. The state has also partnered with Google Maps to display testing site results. New Yorkers can search "COVIDtesting near me" on Google Maps to easily find the nearest testing sites.
New York has worked aggressively to build a massive statewide sample collection network and is now testing more than any state or country per capita, but our new problem is we have more sites and capacity than we're actually using.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also announced New York State is partnering with CVS to bring testing to more than 60 CVS pharmacies across the state. Each site will be able to conduct 50 or more tests per day.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers in need of emotional support to call the New York State Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 to schedule a free appointment with a mental health professional. New Yorkers can access additional mental health resources at headspace.com/ny.
The Governor also announced that the state has distributed over three million free bottles of NYS Clean hand sanitizer to date, including:
More than 275,000 bottles to the MTA
188,492 bottles to NYCHA
More than 117,000 bottles to food banks
32,512 bottles to farms via CCEs
24,060 bottles to BOCES
"Throughout this entire pandemic, testing was key to controlling the virus and now it will be key to monitoring the virus as we begin reopening in regions across the state," Governor Cuomo said. "New York has worked aggressively to build a massive statewide sample collection network and is now testing more than any state or country per capita, but our new problem is we have more sites and capacity than we're actually using. The more New Yorkers get tested, the better -- and we are going to ensure to all individuals who will return to the workplace in phase one of our reopening plan have access to testing, and we are launching a new website to make it easier for New Yorkers to find nearby testing sites."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,889 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 350,121 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 350,121 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,579
7
Allegany
44
0
Broome
414
1
Cattaraugus
65
0
Cayuga
63
0
Chautauqua
48
0
Chemung
134
0
Chenango
117
2
Clinton
92
1
Columbia
340
2
Cortland
34
0
Delaware
69
1
Dutchess
3,543
16
Erie
4,954
87
Essex
33
1
Franklin
18
0
Fulton
171
23
Genesee
180
2
Greene
212
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
91
0
Jefferson
71
0
Lewis
16
3
Livingston
110
3
Madison
258
0
Monroe
2,258
66
Montgomery
75
0
Nassau
39,136
103
Niagara
792
22
NYC
192,593
993
Oneida
760
9
Onondaga
1,501
32
Ontario
146
7
Orange
9,943
64
Orleans
167
4
Oswego
84
1
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,136
9
Rensselaer
439
1
Rockland
12,758
70
Saratoga
428
5
Schenectady
620
7
Schoharie
47
0
Schuyler
9
1
Seneca
51
1
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
234
1
Suffolk
38,117
175
Sullivan
1,231
14
Tioga
113
1
Tompkins
139
1
Ulster
1,552
15
Warren
232
4
Washington
219
1
Wayne
96
4
Westchester
32,224
127
Wyoming
78
0
Yates
23
1
May 17, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces New York State Has Doubled Testing Capacity to Reach 40,000 Tests Per Day, Encourages Eligible New Yorkers to Get Tested For COVID-19. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-ne-2
New York State Now Has More Than 700 Testing Sites
Launches New Website for New Yorkers to Find Nearest COVID-19 Testing Sites
New Partnership with CVS to Bring Testing to More Than 60 PharmaciesAcross the State
Reminds New Yorkers in Need of Emotional Support to Call 1-844-863-9314 to Schedule a Free Appointment with a Mental Health Professional
State Has Distributed More Than Three Million Free Bottles of NYS Clean Hand Sanitizer to Date
Video of Governor Cuomo Being Tested for COVID-19 is Available Here and in TV Quality Here
Confirms 1,889 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 350,121; New Cases in 46 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "We set an initial goal, March 13 - seems like a lifetime ago, but it actually was right over a month. Six thousand tests a day, we were going to try to do and that sounded like a very ambitious goal. We then got to 10,000 tests a day, then got to 15,000 test per day, 20,000 thousand tests. I then met with the President and we talked about an institutional agreement between states and the federal government, where the federal government would help with the supply chain and getting materials to the national labs and the states would be responsible for organizing their labs. We said we were going to try to double our capacity at that time on April 21 or thereabouts and everybody said, 'Oh, you're being too aggressive, you can't do it, you can't do it.' I said, 'well, can I tell you, that's who I am.'"
Cuomo: "We're at doubling the goal. We're now at 40,000 tests per day. So that's May 17. We started with about 6,000 tests. So, we now have a really significant number of tests that we can do so much, so that per capita we are doing more than other countries -significantly more. Diagnostic tests by population, New York is 7.1. Italy is second, 4.1. Canada, USA, nationally is doing 3.3. We're double the national average. So, thank you to the Department of Health team and everybody who has been working so hard to do that. When you compare us to other states in the nation again we're double the percentage. Not raw numbers because we're bigger than many states, but by percentage we're much, much higher and this is a very big advantage for us because testing originally was used to control the virus."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo announced that New York State has doubled testing capacity to reach 40,000 diagnostic tests per day, and encouraged eligible New Yorkers to visit a new website to find a nearby testing site. Today's announcement comes three weeks after the Governor announced an agreement for New York State to work with the federal government to grow New York's daily testing capacity from 20,000 tests a day to 40,000 tests a day.
The state's diagnostic testing criteria now includes all individuals who would return to the workplace in phase one of the state's reopening plan. New Yorkers eligible for diagnostic testing now include:
Any individual who has COVID-19 symptoms;
Any individual who has had contact with a person known to be positive with COVID-19;
Any individual who is subject to a precautionary or mandatory quarantine;
Any individual who is employed as a health care worker, nursing home worker or first responder;
Any essential worker who directly interacts with the public while working; and
Any individual who would return to the workplace in phase one of the state's reopening plan.
The Governor also announced the launch of a new website where New Yorkers can easily find the nearest COVID-19 testing sites. New Yorkers can visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-testing and enter their address to view a list and a map view of the nearest testing sites. The state has also partnered with Google Maps to display testing site results. New Yorkers can search "COVID testing near me" on Google Maps to easily find the nearest testing sites.
The Governor also announced New York State is partnering with CVS to bring testing to more than 60 CVS pharmacies across the state. Each site will be able to conduct 50 or more tests per day.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers in need of emotional support to call the New York State Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 to schedule a free appointment with a mental health professional. New Yorkers can access additional mental health resources at headspace.com/ny.
The Governor also announced that the state has distributed over three million free bottles of NYS Clean hand sanitizer to date, including:
More than 275,000 bottles to the MTA
188,492 bottles to NYCHA
More than 117,000 bottles to food banks
32,512 bottles to farms via CCEs
24,060 bottles to BOCES
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Happy Sunday. Glad to see you all here, Sunday crew. Hope you're getting overtime, double overtime, triple overtime. I'm on comp time. I have enough comp time to take off nine years now. I've added it up.
Let's look at the facts today. Total hospitalizations is down, good news. Net change is down, intubations is down, and new COVID hospitalizations are down. So, it's a good day across the plate. It is interesting, and we've always been talking about this and been looking at this. It is interesting to see how the decline has actually been relatively flat. Remember, we always talked about we knew how sharp the incline was, what was the decline going look like, what was the contour of the mountain going to look like? Look how long it takes on the way down compared to on the way up. That's why those spikes are dangerous. Once you have the spike, coming down from the spike is a prolonged period of time. Number of deaths are down, 139. At a different time and place, if I had that news to deliver, that would be incredibly shocking to people. Only in this environment is it not shocking. And relative to where we were, it's good news.
Again, we're right about where we were when we started. We just want to make sure we never go back to where we were. The question is reopening, not reopening or not. Everybody wants to reopen. Nobody wants to reopen more than I do. The question is how. We've said the five upstate regions are reopening. We have said there's a dashboard with all the facts and data that are driving these decisions. There's been a shift in the Capital Region and in Western New York where on the seven metrics, on the metrics, they are now qualified for reopening. There is still a need to increase tracing, the number of people who are prepared to do tracing, and that is a pure administrative function. And we'll be working with both the Capital Region and Western New York to get that tracing up but that is a purely administrative function. In the Capital District, we have - we need 383 tracers. We need an additional 166 identified. Western New York, we need 521. We'd need an additional 352. We'll be talking to the regional heads today to find those additional personnel and get them trained and get them ready. But that's the only function that has to be performed for those regions to open. And again, that's something that we anticipated, and that's just administrative and working together with the regions. We can get that done. So, that's good news.
Today is day 78. Day 78, 78 days, a long time or a short time? You can argue both. When you shut down everything and you've gone through the trauma that we've gone through, 78 days is a long time. And people are feeling it, and they're feeling it in a number of ways. We've talked about it, but I don't know that any of us have really explored the depths of the mental health issues that have been created inadvertently through these 78 days. We've been so anxious about the day to day and operationally oriented, we've been talking about hospitalizations, talking about death, talking about infection rates, but there's also a more subtle but very present mental health crisis that has been going on. Don't underestimate the trauma that this has created for people. Out of the blue comes this virus, something we've never seen before. You're living a science fiction movie. It's been incredibly anxiety producing, traumatic, disturbing, and we've felt and seen all along evidence that this is creating a significant mental health challenge for people.
Look at some of these numbers now that people are reporting. The number of Americans who are reporting serious mental distress, up to 38 percent, doesn't even discriminate by age. Eighteen to forty-four. It's a multiple of what its ever been and this something that I think deserves more attention than it has gotten because it's very real. How are you? It's a simple question that we ask. How are you, really? The Mental Health Coalition is working on a project, my brother-in-law Kenneth Cole, his daughter, my niece, Katie Cole - who is a tech genius - are working with the Mental Health Coalition and they're working on a website How Are You, Really? They ask people to answer that question and share their feelings and their thoughts.
Not just "how are you." How are you? Oh I'm doing fine. Thank you. How are you? I'm okay. How are you? You know, pretty much alright. Getting by. Yeah, but forget that answer. How are you, really means let's get to a different depth in the question and a different depth in the answer. How are you, really? You can't be fine. It's not a trite answer. We're going through hell. How are you when you're going through hell? Not good. That's what happens when you're going through hell. I'm not good. I'm anxious, I'm stressed. I'm nervous. I'm afraid. I'm afraid. I'm living a science fiction movie. I am afraid. That's how I am. We're not comfortable talking about that. That's not the normal social back and forth.
The "how are you doing?" question is almost a throwaway. The expected response is "fine." It's almost a rhetorical question. "How are you doing?" Fine, good. How are you doing, really? And let's talk about it and let's be aware of it. Government can do a lot and groups can do a lot, we can also do a lot in our own lives, with our own families. I'm trying with my family on the telephone, the ones I have in person. How are you doing, really? Really, let's talk about this. I want you to understand how I feel and the stress I feel and how are you doing, really? It sounds simple but I think it can be very constructive individually. I know it's been helpful for me and this how are you really can actually provoke a good conversation, so I would suggest people look at it.
For people that have issues, we have a support hotline where we've asked mental health professionals to volunteer their time to connect by FaceTime or on the telephone. We've had a tremendous response, use it. This is nothing to be ashamed of ever in life, but especially now. Of course there's going to be mental health issues and of course people are going to have stress that they need to work through and anxiety that they need to work through. Nothing to be ashamed of ever, but especially now. Also at headspace.com, that has been very helpful and we thank them for their support.
On the reopening strategy, we've said all along that it's data driven and a big piece of the data driven strategy is the testing component. We've all been talking about this testing, especially diagnostic testing, which has been very important. In the beginning, the challenge was what is diagnostic testing? How do we ramp up diagnostic testing? This is a scale that this nation has never done before. How do we do it? How do we do it quickly? It involved the federal government, it involved the state governments. FDA had to approve tests. We then had to get our labs up and running.
We set an initial goal, March 13 - seems like a lifetime ago, but it actually was right over a month. Six thousand tests a day, we were going to try to do and that sounded like a very ambitious goal. We then got to 10,000 tests a day, then got to 15,000 test per day, 20,000 thousand tests. I then met with the President and we talked about an institutional agreement between states and the federal government, where the federal government would help with the supply chain and getting materials to the national labs and the states would be responsible for organizing their labs. We said we were going to try to double our capacity at that time on April 21 or thereabouts and everybody said, "Oh, you're being too aggressive, you can't do it, you can't do it." I said, "well, can I tell you, that's who I am."
We're at doubling the goal. We're now at 40,000 tests per day. So that's May 17. We started with about 6,000 tests. So, we now have a really significant number of tests that we can do so much, so that per capita we are doing more than other countries -significantly more. Diagnostic tests by population, New York is 7.1. Italy is second, 4.1. Canada, USA, nationally is doing 3.3. We're double the national average. So, thank you to the Department of Health team and everybody who has been working so hard to do that. When you compare us to other states in the nation again we're double the percentage. Not raw numbers because we're bigger than many states, but by percentage we're much, much higher and this is a very big advantage for us because testing originally was used to control the virus.
Now testing is really going to be very helpful in monitoring the virus. We're all talking about what is the spread of the virus when you increase economic activity. Well, how do you know what the spread of the virus is? Testing, testing, testing. Not only do we have a large capacity to process the tests, we also have put together a network of testing sites all across the state and we have a new agreement with CVS which has a tremendous network across this state where they're going to be bringing on testing capacity so we thank them very much for that.
But we have now 700 testing sites. Okay? So we can do more tests and we have 700 testing sites across the state which means there's a testing site near you. So many sites that it doesn't fit on a map. That's how many sites. That's what a map looks like when you plot all the sites. It's meaningless, unless you like those blue things all over the state. So it's 700 testing sites.
What's the new problem? The new problem is we have more sites and more testing capacity than we're using. Okay? That's a good problem but that is the next. From hurdle to hurdle, right? Stone to stone. I see it more like from hurdle to hurdle down the track. Now we have more testing capacity and more sites than we're actually using. We have drive-in sites that can do 15,000 per day. We're doing about 5,000 per day. The more tests, the better for the state, the better for society, the better for your family, the better for you.
Who can get a test today? Any individual who thinks they have a Covid symptom. Covid symptoms, coughing, sneezing, fever. What else? Sneezing, coughing, chest pain, cough - because Covid symptoms are basically like flu symptoms. If you think you have symptoms get a test. Get a test. It's up to you. Any individual who has had contact with a person who you find out had Covid, right? You get that phone call. Oh, I was with you last night at a party. Turns out I tested positive for Covid. Okay. you now qualify for a test. You lose your sense of smell. You lose your sense of taste. That's a symptom of Covid. Any individual who is on quarantine, precautionary or mandatory, any healthcare worker, any nursing homeworker, any first responder can go for a test today. Any essential worker who interacts with the public. Food delivery personnel, person working in a retail store, they're all eligible and we're increasing it today. Any individual who would return to work in Phase 1, construction, manufacturing, curbside retail, okay?
But again, it's anyone who thinks they have covid symptoms. So, it's a tremendously large universe of people who can get tested. And all you have to do is go to a website, find the testing site near you, and get a test. And it is a fast and easy thing to do. Now, we've been working on this for a period of time. And first we ought to get the testing capacity up, then we had to get the sites up, then we wanted to make it easy, then we increased eligibility. And we just don't have enough New Yorkers coming to be tested.
So, I've been asking people, have you been tested? No. Why not? Well, they can't say it's inconvenient, because we have 700 sites. They can't say they're not eligible, because if you have any symptoms you're eligible. There is a general proclivity where -- and I don't mean any disrespect to the medical profession. My sister is a doctor. But some people just don't like to go to the doctor and don't like to get tested. On a personal level, they love doctors. How can you not? But there's a reluctance to go to a doctor's office, which I understand. I am not good when it comes to this. I don't do the scheduled, all the scheduled check-ins that I'm supposed to be doing. And it's sort of like do I really want to know? Do I really want to go and be poked, and prodded, and investigated, and have a test and then worry about what the test says? It's just being honest. So, I am not good at this. But this test is not an invasive test. There is no pain to this test. There is nothing about this test that should intimidate people from not taking this test. It is fast, it is easy. It is so fast and so easy that even a governor can take this test. That's how fast and easy it is. And for you doubting Thomases, which is what you all are, gender neutral, because by profession you are doubting Thomases. I am going to show you how fast and easy it is to take a test and demonstrate why there should be no reluctance.
This is Dr. Elizabeth Dufort, who is in the appropriate PPE wear. Nice to see you, doctor. You make that gown look good.
Doctor Dufort: Head up a little bit.
Governor Cuomo: Head up.
Doctor Dufort: Close your eyes.
Governor Cuomo: Close my eyes? Why do I need to close my eyes? You can question the doctor. That's okay. Why do I need to close my eyes?
Doctor Dufort: For comfort, it might make you tear a little bit.
Governor Cuomo: Okay, if I fall asleep?
Doctor Dufort: Then we'll have you sit down.
Governor Cuomo: that's it?
Doctor Dufort: Yeah.
Governor Cuomo: That's it? Nothing else?
Doctor Dufort: That's it.
Governor Cuomo: Told you. Thank you very much, doctor.
That is the whole test. I'm not in pain. I'm not in discomfort. Closing my eyes was a moment of relaxation. There is no reason why you should not get the test. And you don't even have to be New York tough to take that test. You do have to be smart to get that test, and you have to be united, and you have to be disciplined for the period of time that you close your eyes. And you have to love yourself, and love your family, and love New York.
May 18, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Sixth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Tomorrow. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-sixth-region-hits-benchmark-begin
Western New York Joins Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
State Department of Health has Granted Erie County Medical Center a Waiver to Restart Elective Procedures
Announces New Efforts to Bring More Tests to Nursing Home Facilities to Help Meet New Guidelines Requiring All Nursing Home Employees Be Tested Twice Per Week
Encourages Major Sports Teams to Plan Reopening Without Fans
Confirms 1,250 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 351,371; New Cases in 44 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo announced that Western New York has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan starting tomorrow, joining the Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. Western New York has now identified enough contact tracers to meet the state's guidelines, and the tracers are being trained today in preparation for Western New York entering phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced the State Department of Health has granted Erie County Medical Center a waiver to restart elective procedures.
The Governor also announced new efforts to bring more tests to nursing home facilities to help these facilities meet new guidelines mandating that all nursing homes and adult care facilities test all personnel for COVID-19 two times per week. The state is connecting nursing home facilities with labs to get more tests to these facilities, and so far the labs have reserved at least 35,000 tests per day just for this purpose. The state is also sending 320,000 test kits to nursing homes statewide this week.
The Governor also encouraged major sports teams to plan reopening without fans and offered the state's help on this effort.
Even with the highest number of cases in the country, New Yorkers responded with great unity and discipline and have done a phenomenal job in reducing the spread of the virus and flattening the curve.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
"Even with the highest number of cases in the country, New Yorkers responded with great unity and discipline and have done a phenomenal job in reducing the spread of the virus and flattening the curve," Governor Cuomo said. "Reopening is now our big topic of discussion, and we are making these decisions based on the facts, science and data, but we still need New Yorkers to continue to do their part to ensure those numbers don't go back up as regions and businesses reopen."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,250 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 351,371 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 351,371 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,610
31
Allegany
44
0
Broome
423
9
Cattaraugus
67
2
Cayuga
65
2
Chautauqua
49
1
Chemung
134
0
Chenango
118
1
Clinton
94
2
Columbia
346
6
Cortland
35
1
Delaware
69
0
Dutchess
3,552
9
Erie
4,993
39
Essex
33
0
Franklin
18
0
Fulton
182
11
Genesee
180
0
Greene
213
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
92
1
Jefferson
71
0
Lewis
17
1
Livingston
110
0
Madison
258
0
Monroe
2,303
45
Montgomery
75
0
Nassau
39,225
89
Niagara
818
26
NYC
193,230
637
Oneida
772
12
Onondaga
1,520
19
Ontario
148
2
Orange
9,965
22
Orleans
167
0
Oswego
84
0
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,141
5
Rensselaer
444
5
Rockland
12,777
19
Saratoga
434
6
Schenectady
629
9
Schoharie
48
1
Schuyler
10
1
Seneca
51
0
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
235
1
Suffolk
38,224
107
Sullivan
1,246
15
Tioga
113
0
Tompkins
141
2
Ulster
1,557
5
Warren
234
2
Washington
219
0
Wayne
97
1
Westchester
32,323
99
Wyoming
79
1
Yates
25
2
May 18, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Sixth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Tomorrow. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-28
Western New York Joins Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
State Department of Health has Granted Erie County Medical Center a Waiver to Restart Elective Procedures
Announces New Efforts to Bring More Tests to Nursing Home Facilities to Help Meet New Guidelines Requiring All Nursing Home Employees Be Tested Twice Per Week
Encourages Major Sports Teams to Plan Reopening Without Fans
Confirms 1,250 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 351,371; New Cases in 44 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "On reopening overall, we're opening regions that have hit the data points, hit the metrics. Western New York has one metric that they have to hit which is the number of tracers. They need 521 tracers. They've identified 525. Great piece of work that they did over the weekend. I want to thank the Mayor, I want to thank the County Executive, all the regional officials who found people to serve as tracers. They're going to be trained tomorrow, and that means all the metrics will be hit and Western New York will open tomorrowIt's been a long painful period but we start to reopen tomorrow."
Cuomo: "We have done a phenomenal job in reducing the spike, reducing what could have been cataclysmic - you see that incline on that curve. No one could tell you when we were in the midst of that incline where would stop or if it would stop. We had the highest number of cases in the country. New Yorkers responded with great unity and great discipline, and that's why that curve turned."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo announced that Western New York has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan starting tomorrow, joining the Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. Western New York has now identified enough contact tracers to meet the state's guidelines, and the tracers are being trained today in preparation for Western New York entering phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced the State Department of Health has granted Erie County Medical Center a waiver to restart elective procedures.
The Governor also announced new efforts to bring more tests to nursing home facilities to help these facilities meet new guidelines mandating that all nursing homes and adult care facilities test all personnel for COVID-19 two times per week. The state is connecting nursing home facilities with labs to get more tests to these facilities, and so far the labs have reserved at least 35,000 tests per day just for this purpose. The state is also sending 320,000 test kits to nursing homes statewide this week.
The Governor also encouraged major sports teams to plan reopening without fans and offered the state's help on this effort.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Governor Cuomo: Good morning. Good to be with all of you today. Pleasure to be in Buffalo. You know the people who are with me but just in case, you have been living under a rock to my far right, Robert Mujica, Budget Director of the State of New York, to my immediate right, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul who has done a great job statewide but she's taken a special role in coordinating Western New York, so we thank her very much for what she's done. To my left, Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor, to her left, Gareth Rhodes who's been working with us through this crisis. It's a pleasure to be at Roswell, Dr. Candace Johnson, thank you very much for the hospitality. Just thinking about our trip to Cuba and your great accomplishment. It was fun, it was fun, and it was productive. And it's always a pleasure to be with my friend, my partners, the great Mayor of the city of Buffalo, Byron Brown and the great County Executive of Erie County Mark Poloncarz - thank you for everything you've been doing to get us through this.
I'm pleased to report that I took a COVID test yesterday and I am negative from that test. So, that is good news. You take one of those tests, it's very easy. I showed people how easy it was yesterday. And when you find out you're negative, it's actually a nice sense of relief. I didn't have any symptoms or anything, but you know, you don't need to have symptoms and you can have the COVID virus. So, you take the test they tell you you're negative, 24 to 48 hours. And it is peace of mind. There's no reason why people shouldn't be getting testing - we actually have now more testing capacity than we are using at many of our sites. And we've expanded the number of people who are eligible for testing - anyone who has any symptom for a COVID virus, any symptom includes basically the symptoms you would have if you had the flu. Same symptoms, if you have any symptoms, get a test. Get a test. Protects you, protects your family, protects your colleagues, so get a test. If you were exposed to a person who you find out is positive for COVID, get a test. Get a test. Takes 30 seconds - we have 700 locations across the state. So, there's no reason why you shouldn't do it - you go right to the web. It shows you right where the location is, you can sign up and go.
Let's give you some facts on today. Number of hospitalizations are down. So, that's good news, not down a lot but down - I'll take it. Net change is down; net change in intubations is down. The number of new cases per day is down by one. Not great. But I'll take it - it's going in the right direction. So, that is good news. The number that breaks my heart every day - the number of deaths is still painfully high at 106, but it is down. And in this world where we're looking for good news on a daily basis, that is good news. Although in our thoughts and prayers are those 106 families today.
And if you look at where we are, we have done a phenomenal job in reducing the spike, reducing what could have been cataclysmic - you see that incline on that curve. No one could tell you when we were in the midst of that incline where would stop or if it would stop. There was no global expert who said if you do this if you close this and close this and close this, then we can tell you with certainty it can it will stop the spread of the virus, nobody said that. All they could say was do your best, try to close everything down, and then hope for the best. And New Yorkers responded - we had the highest number of cases in the country. New Yorkers responded with great unity and great discipline, and that's why that curve turned. We hit the apex and we're on the way down - you also see how slow the way down is. That's why all the experts always say be careful of this spike because it's a long time coming down from the spike. We want to avoid the spike because you can't reverse it in a matter of days. It takes a long time to get those numbers back down. And this is with everything we did and with all the loss and pain we suffered this is how long it took to get those numbers down.
We now have a top priority, which we have from day one which is our nursing homes. We were introduced to this virus in Seattle, Washington where it attacked a nursing home - the most vulnerable population in the most vulnerable place. Senior citizens in a congregate facility, that's how we were introduced to this virus, and I'm afraid that's how we're going to leave this virus. So, protecting our nursing homes and seniors has been a top priority.
Last week, we put in place a requirement to test all staff at a nursing home twice per week. Why? Well, number one, it keeps the staff safe. Number two, if you see an increase in the positive among staff people it's an alert that you probably have a real problem in that nursing home because chances are the staff are getting it from the nursing home or giving it to people in the nursing home. So, if you watch what happens with the staff, it's a canary in the coal mine for what's happening in the nursing home. And third, it clearly keeps the residents of the nursing home safe. Now, to help nursing homes do this we've worked with all the private labs, identified a number of tests that we can send just for the purpose of testing people in nursing homes, that's about 35,000 per day. We're sending 320,000 test kits to the nursing homes today to help them do this.
With everything we're doing, I know the nursing home operators are not happy about this. I get it. It's very hard to administer. The staff all have to be tested twice a week. Okay, we're giving test kits, we've set up a lab capacity, but it is still an operational issue. I understand that and I understand that no other state is doing this. And I hear that quite often from the nursing homes. No other state is requiring that the staff be tested twice a week. I understand that. I understand we have the most aggressive standard in the nation, but I also know that it is necessary. And look, from day one, we said this was going to be hard. And we said we drew bad cards in this hand.
New York did have the highest number of cases, not because we did anything wrong, but because the virus fooled everyone and we were closing down China and the virus had already left China and gone to Europe. And by the time we closed Europe 3 million Europeans had come from Europe and landed in New York airports. That was happening and we didn't know, close china, was already gone by the time we closed China. And it had left Europe by the time we closed Europe. That's why New York had that cluster. Those flights from Europe come here. They land in JFK. They land in Newark. People take connecting flights. They're coming here. So, that brought the virus here. That's why we have the numbers we have.
Okay, but we said we're going to do what we have to do and we're going to do what we have to do to protect the lives of New Yorkers. Who's in a nursing home? This is your mother, this is your father, your sister, your brother. This is our family who are in nursing homes. That's who they are. And they're our senior family members who we owe nothing but gratitude and respect. And the one thing we need to be able to say at the end of this is we did everything we could. We did everything we could. 106 people died. How do you live with that? How do you sleep with that? Because we did everything we could. We still can't save every life but we can do everything in our power that we can do to try to save every life. And that's why I'm comfortable with what we're doing on nursing homes. I know it's hard and I thank them.
On reopening overall, we're opening regions that have hit the data points, hit the metrics. Western New York has one metric that they have to hit which is the number of tracers. They need 521 tracers. They've identified 525. Great piece of work that they did over the weekend. I want to thank the Mayor, I want to thank the County Executive, all the regional officials who found people to serve as tracers. They're going to be trained tomorrow, and that means all the metrics will be hit and Western New York will open tomorrow. So, that's exciting. It's been a long painful period but we start to reopen tomorrow. New York State Department of Health is also granting a waiver to restart elective procedures for ECMC. We want to make sure hospitals are in a position to provide care for people who need it. So, this is a good step. I also have been encouraging major sports teams to plan reopenings without fans but the games could be televised. New York State will help those major sports franchises to do just that. Hockey, basketball, baseball, football, whoever can reopen we're a ready, willing and able partner. Personal disclosure, I want to watch the Buffalo Bills but I'm still objective. I'm acting as Governor. There is no personal agenda here. Yes, I do want to watch the bills but that is not subverting my role as Governor. I think this is in the best interest of all the people and in the best interest of the State of New York even though I do have a coincident personal agenda because I want to watch the Bills but they are separate agendas. At least some would say I have a conflict of interest, I want to disclose it.
The judges and staff will be returning to courthouses in the 30 upstate counties that are open this week. What will reopening mean? That's a big topic of discussion now. What does reopening mean? This is not a subject that is a political subject or where political opinions really matter. I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, I don't care. I don't care. This is not a political exercise that we are going through. People say, well I have a personal opinion. I don't even care about your personal opinion. I don't think you should care about my personal opinion because it's not about a personal opinion. It's not about an ideological opinion. It's not about a geographic opinion. It's not even an opinion that's relevant. This is about facts and science and data these decisions are being made as a matter of math. It's numbers. It's math. That's all it is at the end of the day. You start to increase economic activity, you have more people coming out of their homes, more people contacting other people and then you measure the impact of that increase with numbers - not with opinions, not with politics, not with partisanship. With numbers, and then you just measure the impact.
Make sure that you don't go above 70 percent of your hospital beds so that if a large number of people get infected you have the hospital beds to take care of them. You make sure you don't go over 70 percent of your ICU bed capacity because when these people are infected with COVID they do need ICU beds. We learned that the hard way. You have testing up and running, 30 tests per 1,000 residents. Where did that come from? That's the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Birx.
You have 30 tracers ready for every 100,000 residents. That comes from the experts, and then you watch the infection rate and you make sure that you don't get near 1.1 on the infection rate. It's math and there's a liberation in that. At a time of such division in politics and elections and all this garbage this is an exercise in science and math and it's data that we can all share and we can all participate in. I encourage people to go look at the data and look at what's happening in your region because that's how we're going to get through this - on the numbers on the math, on the facts.
We're going to bring in advisers to the State, advisors who are international experts, global experts who have dealt with these kinds of diseases. This is not just a State of New York issue. It's not even an American issue. It's a global issue and I want to make sure we have people reviewing and then reviewing the reviewers and then as many opinions of experts that we can get are the best path forward. Dr. Osterholm is a nationwide expert in this field and he has agreed to review our data, what we're doing, what's happening, and to advise us as to how our progress looks on the numbers. I want to thank him very much. We to have Dr. Samir Bhatt, Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, who has agreed to serve as an advisor to the State of New York. Dr. Bhatt is the senior lecturer in geostatistics at the Imperial College in London. Geostatistics is not my field of endeavor. I never heard of geostatistics before, doctor. That's why we need you to advise us, Dr. Bhatt, because I know nothing about geostatistics. But Dr. Bhatt is joining us, I want to thank him very much. The Imperial College in London, we have had a number of projection models that were done early on by a number of very prestigious universities.
And we've been watching all these projection models since this started. As you know, many of the models were not 100 percent accurate because they couldn't calculate the effect of the social participation and what people actually did to change the curve. And in a State like New York, what the people did dramatically changed that curve so it affected the projections. But, the Imperial College model, as we've been following this for weeks, was the best, most accurate model. And therefore, I think Dr. Bhatt deserves all our thanks because they really helped us all through this to date, and I want to thank him very much for taking the time to advise us, not just on how we constructed our model to date but what happens going forward as we increase the economic activity and we start to see numbers change. So, Doctor, thank you very much for being with us, and it's a pleasure to welcome you today.
Dr. Samir Bhatt: Thank you, Governor. It's a professional honor to work with New York. I think your state has already shown what can be achieved when policies are driven by science. And I think the sacrifices people have made and will continue to make deserves an applause. The leadership shown in New York during this crisis should be commended and I think yours is an approach for others to follow. At Imperial College London, we have a huge COVID-19 response team collaborating with scientists and government agencies globally. You in New York have successfully contained the virus for now, but New York is not out of the woods yet. No state, no country is. As you reopen, New York must continue to watch the data and follow the science. We are really eager to work with New York, as they're approaching this crisis from a scientific perspective driven by data. New York is leading the way with data collection, and this will help tie together as many sources of evidence as possible to reach a scientific consensus which can then be used for decision-making. Our team is focused on rigorous modeling to track R, or RT, as you have put it, as well. The reproduction number of the virus going forward. If R goes above 1, this means the virus is no longer contained, and we need to track the spread of this virus and the disease using the best data possible and as much of it as possible. We're committed to open science, so policymakers and citizens understand our conclusions, limitations, and of course, the uncertainties. To date, my team at Imperial has released reports for Europe, Brazil, Italy, relying on data from Google, as well as open source statistical tools developed at Columbia University. Thanks to these tools and our research network, the code is available to everyone to see, test, and to improve. As countries around the world and states around the U.S. start reopening their economies, we will see cases rise once again. And so, New York must continue to be vigilant and to follow the data. So, I think, I say, you know, Governor, thank you for this opportunity, and truly, thank you for the work you've been doing and you are doing.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you. Thank you very much, Doctor, thank you for being with us. Thank you, I look forward to speaking to you in the days ahead. I want to thank the doctor very much and the whole college. Look, I'm a parochial New Yorker. I was not all that eager to seek the advice of a college in London, but I can tell you this. This is a global pandemic, and what we're now doing, other countries have done before. We tend to think we are always the first. We're not the first. We're not the first to deal with this virus. Other countries have dealt with it, other countries have gone through reopening, they've learned all sorts of lessons on reopening. I want to make sure that what we're doing is the best-informed approach. So, I want to thank the doctor very much, and they'll be looking exactly at what happens at our data, our metrics, going forward. And then the last point is, what's the impact of the reopening? We don't know yet what the road ahead looks like. It is a function of what we do. So, you tell me, how responsible are the employers in following the guidelines that have been put forth, right. We talk about reopening, and contracting, and agriculture, and fishing, and manufacturing. And there are safety guidelines that those employers must follow. How scrupulous they are in following those guidelines will matter. You tell me if the store owners follow the guidelines and I'll tell you what happens. You tell me if the employees are following the guidelines, and wearing the PPE, and using their hand sanitizer and I'll tell you what happens. You tell me how individuals react now that the weather is getting warmer, are they wearing masks, are they acting socially responsibly, are they staying within social distancing requirements and I'll tell you what's going to happen. You tell me how effectively a local government enforces the guidelines and I'll tell you what is going to happen.
So, none of this is predetermined. This is all a function of what we do today going forward. The smarter, the more disciplined we are the lower that infection rate will climb. The lower the infection rate climbs, the more you increase the economic activity. It is a formula. It is math. At the same time, it's liberating because it takes the politics out of it, it takes a personal opinion out of it. But it's also something you can measure and track and you will know exactly what's going to happen because it's a function of what we're doing. It's up to us. It's up to you. It's the collective, we're going to decide the future that starts today.
We should also set our goal high, right. We're coming back, we're coming back from the closing. All right, so what is our goal? I say it should not just be about we're going to reopen. Reopen suggests you're going to go back to where you were before the closure. We're going go back to the day before the closure. No. Life is never about going backwards. Life is never about I want to get back to where I was. It has to be about building back better than before. We want to go forward. We want to advance. And that's what we have to think about going through this. Yeah, we took a hard blow and we got knocked down. No fault of our own. Whoever created that virus, mother nature, god, whoever. No fault of our own.
Welcome to life. Things happen outside of your control that you couldn't do anything about, but it just happens. And then the question becomes are you strong enough to get back up once life knocks you down? And are you smart enough to learn from what you went through in life? And when you get back up you will be the better for it. I believe that. That's my story. That's our story. That's the story of Buffalo. Getting knocked down, change in the economy. All right, but we're going to get back up because we're strong enough and we're going to learn from it, because we're smart enough. That's the story of Buffalo. That's the story of New York. That is the American story, right. It's what made this country the best country on the globe. Not that we didn't get knocked down. We got knocked down plenty, but we were smart enough to learn and strong enough to get back up. And that's where we have to set our sights. Not about reopening.
We're going to make this place better than ever before. Because what we went through is a transformative experience in life. On an individual level and on a social level. We're not going to be the people we were the day before. We're going to be better. We're going be to smarter. We're going to be stronger for what we went through. We're going to be a stronger society for what we went through. I believe that. And we're going have a stronger Buffalo, a stronger New York, and a stronger America. And that's what it means to be New York tough, smart, united, disciplined, and loving.
May 18, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces State is Bringing in International Experts to Help Advise the State's Reopening Plan. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-state-bringing-international-experts
Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Samir Bhatt, Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London Will Help Analyze Data and Metrics Throughout New York's Reopening Process
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the state is bringing in international experts to help advise the state's reopening plan. Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Samir Bhatt, Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London will work with the state to provide technical advice and analyze data/metrics throughout the state's reopening process and help track the state's progress.
"As we begin to reopen businesses and regions across the state, we have to make sure we are paying attention to the numbers and the data to make sure that infection rate doesn't go back up again," Governor Cuomo said. "This virus is not just an issue in New York State - it is a global issue - and we need to make sure we have the best informed approach to reopening. We are bringing in international experts in this field to help advise our reopening strategy and analyze the numbers and the data as we move forward."
VIDEO of the today's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
A rush transcript of today's remarks is available below:
Governor Cuomo: What will reopening mean? That's a big topic of discussion now. What does reopening mean? This is not a subject that is a political subject or where political opinions really matter. I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, I don't care. I don't care. This is not a political exercise that we are going through. People say, well I have a personal opinion. I don't even care about your personal opinion. I don't think you should care about my personal opinion because it's not about a personal opinion. It's not about an ideological opinion. It's not about a geographic opinion. It's not even an opinion that's relevant. This is about facts and science and data these decisions are being made as a matter of math. It's numbers. It's math. That's all it is at the end of the day. You start to increase economic activity, you have more people coming out of their homes, more people contacting other people and then you measure the impact of that increase with numbers - not with opinions, not with politics, not with partisanship. With numbers, and then you just measure the impact.
Make sure that you don't go above 70 percent of your hospital beds so that if a large number of people get infected you have the hospital beds to take care of them. You make sure you don't go over 70 percent of your ICU bed capacity because when these people are infected with COVID they do need ICU beds. We learned that the hard way. You have testing up and running, 30 tests per 1,000 residents. Where did that come from? That's the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Birx.
You have 30 tracers ready for every 100,000 residents. That comes from the experts, and then you watch the infection rate and you make sure that you don't get near 1.1 on the infection rate. It's math and there's a liberation in that. At a time of such division in politics and elections and all this garbage this is an exercise in science and math and it's data that we can all share and we can all participate in. I encourage people to go look at the data and look at what's happening in your region because that's how we're going to get through this - on the numbers on the math, on the facts.
We're going to bring in advisers to the State, advisors who are international experts, global experts who have dealt with these kinds of diseases. This is not just a State of New York issue. It's not even an American issue. It's a global issue and I want to make sure we have people reviewing and then reviewing the reviewers and then as many opinions of experts that we can get are the best path forward. Dr. Osterholm is a nationwide expert in this field and he has agreed to review our data, what we're doing, what's happening, and to advise us as to how our progress looks on the numbers. I want to thank him very much. We to have Dr. Samir Bhatt, Senior Lecturer at Imperial College, who has agreed to serve as an advisor to the State of New York. Dr. Bhatt is the senior lecturer in geostatistics at the Imperial College in London. Geostatistics is not my field of endeavor. I never heard of geostatistics before, doctor. That's why we need you to advise us, Dr. Bhatt, because I know nothing about geostatistics. But Dr. Bhatt is joining us, I want to thank him very much. The Imperial College in London, we have had a number of projection models that were done early on by a number of very prestigious universities.
And we've been watching all these projection models since this started. As you know, many of the models were not 100 percent accurate because they couldn't calculate the effect of the social participation and what people actually did to change the curve. And in a State like New York, what the people did dramatically changed that curve so it affected the projections. But, the Imperial College model, as we've been following this for weeks, was the best, most accurate model. And therefore, I think Dr. Bhatt deserves all our thanks because they really helped us all through this to date, and I want to thank him very much for taking the time to advise us, not just on how we constructed our model to date but what happens going forward as we increase the economic activity and we start to see numbers change. So, Doctor, thank you very much for being with us, and it's a pleasure to welcome you today.
Dr. Samir Bhatt: Thank you, Governor. It's a professional honor to work with New York. I think your state has already shown what can be achieved when policies are driven by science. And I think the sacrifices people have made and will continue to make deserves an applause. The leadership shown in New York during this crisis should be commended and I think yours is an approach for others to follow. At Imperial College London, we have a huge COVID-19 response team collaborating with scientists and government agencies globally. You in New York have successfully contained the virus for now, but New York is not out of the woods yet. No state, no country is. As you reopen, New York must continue to watch the data and follow the science. We are really eager to work with New York, as they're approaching this crisis from a scientific perspective driven by data. New York is leading the way with data collection, and this will help tie together as many sources of evidence as possible to reach a scientific consensus which can then be used for decision-making. Our team is focused on rigorous modeling to track R, or RT, as you have put it, as well. The reproduction number of the virus going forward. If R goes above 1, this means the virus is no longer contained, and we need to track the spread of this virus and the disease using the best data possible and as much of it as possible. We're committed to open science, so policymakers and citizens understand our conclusions, limitations, and of course, the uncertainties. To date, my team at Imperial has released reports for Europe, Brazil, Italy, relying on data from Google, as well as open source statistical tools developed at Columbia University. Thanks to these tools and our research network, the code is available to everyone to see, test, and to improve. As countries around the world and states around the U.S. start reopening their economies, we will see cases rise once again. And so, New York must continue to be vigilant and to follow the data. So, I think, I say, you know, Governor, thank you for this opportunity, and truly, thank you for the work you've been doing and you are doing.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you. Thank you very much, Doctor, thank you for being with us. Thank you, I look forward to speaking to you in the days ahead. I want to thank the doctor very much and the whole college. Look, I'm a parochial New Yorker. I was not all that eager to seek the advice of a college in London, but I can tell you this. This is a global pandemic, and what we're now doing, other countries have done before. We tend to think we are always the first. We're not the first. We're not the first to deal with this virus. Other countries have dealt with it, other countries have gone through reopening, they've learned all sorts of lessons on reopening. I want to make sure that what we're doing is the best-informed approach. So, I want to thank the doctor very much, and they'll be looking exactly at what happens at our data, our metrics, going forward.
May 19, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Seventh Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Tomorrow. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-seventh-region-hits-benchmark-begin
Capital Region Joins Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
Nassau County is Now Eligible to Resume Elective Surgeries and Ambulatory Care
Announces Collaboration with GNYHA & HANYS to Implement a Two-Week Hospital Visitation Pilot Program in 16 Hospitals Across the State to Allow Increased Visitations for Family Members
State Will Allow Memorial Day Ceremonies with 10 People or Less
Calls on FDA to Make Sure That Pharmaceutical Corporations That Produce a COVID-19 Vaccine Release the Rights to Provide for Immediate Widespread Distribution
Confirms 1,474 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 352,845; New Cases in 42 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Cuomo announced that the Capital Region has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan starting tomorrow, joining the Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. The Capital Region has now identified enough contact tracers to meet the state's guidelines, and the tracers are being trained today in preparation for Western New York entering phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced that Nassau County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The Governor previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 50 counties can now resume elective surgeries.
The Governor also announced a collaboration with the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State to implement a two-week hospital visitation pilot program in 16 hospitals across the state to allow increased visitations for family members and loved ones. As part of the pilot program, visits will be time limited and visitors will be provided with and must wear PPE and are subject to symptom and temperature checks.
The Governor also announced the state will allow Memorial Day ceremonies of 10 people or less statewide, with final decisions about ceremonies being left to local governments. The Governor also encouraged vehicle parades in honor of veterans for Memorial Day.
As more regions and businesses across the state become eligible to begin reopening, New Yorkers are getting excited, but we must not forget the hard work we've done
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also called on the FDA to take steps now to make sure that pharmaceutical corporations that produce a COVID-19 vaccine release the rights to the vaccine to provide for immediate widespread distribution and help ensure the vaccine is available to all individuals.
"As more regions and businesses across the state become eligible to begin reopening, New Yorkers are getting excited, but we must not forget the hard work we've done and the pain we've experienced for the last two months," Governor Cuomo said. "Everything that we did - the closings, social distancing and other measures - were tough but necessary, and because of it we saved lives and we flattened the curve. If you look at the curve in New York compared to the rest of the nation, we're going down while the curve is still going up in many other regions. We must continue to do everything we've been doing even as we begin to reopen and remember the lessons we've learned through all of this."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,474 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 352,845 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 352,845 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,655
45
Allegany
44
0
Broome
429
6
Cattaraugus
69
2
Cayuga
68
3
Chautauqua
49
0
Chemung
134
0
Chenango
118
0
Clinton
94
0
Columbia
350
4
Cortland
36
1
Delaware
69
0
Dutchess
3,710
158
Erie
5,037
44
Essex
34
1
Franklin
18
0
Fulton
182
0
Genesee
182
2
Greene
214
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
92
0
Jefferson
71
0
Lewis
18
1
Livingston
111
1
Madison
260
2
Monroe
2,376
73
Montgomery
75
0
Nassau
39,295
70
Niagara
845
27
NYC
193,821
591
Oneida
785
13
Onondaga
1,665
145
Ontario
152
4
Orange
9,988
23
Orleans
168
1
Oswego
89
5
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,159
18
Rensselaer
444
0
Rockland
12,798
21
Saratoga
436
2
Schenectady
631
2
Schoharie
48
0
Schuyler
10
0
Seneca
51
0
St. Lawrence
192
0
Steuben
236
1
Suffolk
38,327
103
Sullivan
1,258
12
Tioga
113
0
Tompkins
142
1
Ulster
1,565
8
Warren
235
1
Washington
220
1
Wayne
98
1
Westchester
32,402
79
Wyoming
79
0
Yates
26
1
May 19, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Seventh Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Tomorrow. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-29
Capital Region Joins Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
Nassau County is Now Eligible to Resume Elective Surgeries and Ambulatory Care
Announces Collaboration with GNYHA & HANYS to Implement a Two-Week Hospital Visitation Pilot Program in 16 Hospitals Across the State to Allow Increased Visitations for Family Members
State Will Allow Memorial Day Ceremonies with 10 People or Less
Calls on FDA to Make Sure That Pharmaceutical Corporations That Produce a COVID-19 Vaccine Release the Rights to Provide for Immediate Widespread Distribution
Confirms 1,474 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 352,845; New Cases in 42 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "Memorial Day is coming up. That is an important American tradition. We want to honor our veterans and we want to make sure that no matter what happens we are still honoring our veterans. The state will allow ceremonies, local ceremonies of up to 10 people or less. We hope that those ceremonies are broadcast, televised in their areas so people can be a part of honoring that tradition. Local governments can make a decision that they don't want those ceremonies to happen, they don't want 10 people gathering."
Cuomo: "If you don't fund New York state government, you know what that means? That means I have to cut aid to Northwell, to hospitals, to nurses, to doctors. It means I have to cut aid to local governments that fund police and firefighters. I have to fund funding to schools, teachers, who have also been heroes doing remote learning, et cetera. It's about priorities. It's about values. And I understand the large corporations are the ones who fund the political accounts of these elected officials. But let them remember, that they get elected by the people. People still vote. People still matter. Show the same consideration for the workers that you showed for the corporations."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the Capital Region has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan starting tomorrow, joining the Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. The Capital Region has now identified enough contact tracers to meet the state's guidelines, and the tracers are being trained today in preparation for Western New York entering phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced that Nassau County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The Governor previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 50 counties can now resume elective surgeries.
The Governor also announced a collaboration with the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State to implement a two-week hospital visitation pilot program in 16 hospitals across the state to allow increased visitations for family members and loved ones. As part of the pilot program, visits will be time limited and visitors will be provided with and must wear PPE and are subject to symptom and temperature checks.
The Governor also announced the state will allow Memorial Day ceremonies of 10 people or less statewide, with final decisions about ceremonies being left to local governments. The Governor also encouraged vehicle parades in honor of veterans for Memorial Day.
The Governor also called on the FDA to take steps now to make sure that pharmaceutical corporations that produce a COVID-19 vaccine release the rights to the vaccine to provide for immediate widespread distribution and help ensure the vaccine is available to all individuals.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good afternoon. It's my pleasure to be on Long Island this afternoon. I'll wear a mask out of respect for my fellow New Yorkers. And today at Northwell, I wear a mask to also say thank you to the nurses and the doctors and the healthcare professionals that did so much work, saved so many lives. The least we can do is wear a mask to stop infections. It's not overly intrusive, it's not overly invasive, you can make a fashion statement. I picked blue today to match my blue suit. I didn't really do that, it's just the only one I had. Let me introduce the people who are here. To my left, far left, Dr. Jim Malatras. To my immediate left, Michael Dowling, who is the president and CEO of Northwell Health, who has done just an extraordinary job, the whole team at Northwell has been extraordinary in what they've done for the entire state, not just Long Island, not just downstate New York, Northwell is the largest healthcare system in the state, and they really stepped up to help the entire state. And Michael, and the leadership he's brought to Northwell, and because he knows healthcare, New York State the way he does, former health commissioner in charge of health for the State of New York. He's really been a fantastic asset, I want to thank him. To my right, Melissa DeRosa, to her right, Robert Mujica, budget director for the State of New York.
And as I said, it's a pleasure to be on Long Island, it's a beautiful day. It's that bittersweet reality that we're living in. The news is good today, the weather is good, so it's good to be here. But, I'm not out on the water, I'm not fishing off the south shore of Long Island, I'm not fishing off the north shore of Long Island. Normal days, I would have been doing that by now. Little break, little piece of sanity. But the news is good. Total hospitalizations declined again. This is an important lesson, though. What you see here, you'll almost in every state across the country, you'll see in almost every country across the globe. Look how fast that spike comes, look how fast that incline is, how steep the incline is, and then look at how slow, relatively, that decline is. You can get into trouble quickly with this virus and it takes you a longer time to turn that curve and to turn that infection rate. So, don't let a spike happen in the first place, learned that lesson, got it.
Net change in total hospitalizations down, change in intubations down, number of new cases, this is an important number that we track, down again, 335. That's on a system of 53,000 so that's really good news. Number of deaths, again, on a relative scale, the number is down. It's down dramatically from where it was in the first place, but it's still painfully high. We are basically back to where we started before this tragedy descended upon us. It didn't actually descend upon us, it actually came from people in Europe, which nobody told us, nobody knew. We all thought the virus was in China, and everybody was talking about watch China, watch China, watch China. Well the virus had left China and gone to Europe and came here from Europe. 3 million European visitors came on flights to JFK or Newark airports between January, February, March. The Europe travel ban started mid-March. By that time, 3 million Europeans had come. That's another lesson we have to learn. We're now all excited and talking about reopening. We have all the data-driven metrics that can tell you exactly where we are in terms of reopening across the state. Albany, Capital Region, which has met many of the health metrics has to get their tracers up and running. We've been working with them to do that. They need 383 tracers, they found 430 working together so that's great news. This whole testing, tracing, testing, tracing - we use these words like people would know what they mean. We've never done testing on this scale, we've never done tracing on this scale. We'll have thousands of tracers who follow-up after the testing statewide. They're now being trained today and Capital Region should open tomorrow.
Long Island is making great progress. Long Island, we were losing about 100 residents per day. We're now down to about 13 per day. When someone asks, "Well why did we go through all this pain for 2 months, 3 months?" Because we saved lives, that's why. Because we saved lives. And if we didn't do what we did, that number of 100 per day would have kept going up. That's why we did what we did. Did it work? You're darn right it worked. We've saved many, many lives and you look at the curve in New York versus the rest of the nation, we're going down, many parts of the nation, the curve is still going up.
Nassau County is now eligible for elective surgery and ambulatory care. Anyone who needs health service should get it. There's no reason not to go to the hospital. No reason not to go to the doctor's office. Many reasons why you should go. Denial is not a life strategy. If you have an issue, get it tested, get it resolved. We're also looking at a pilot program over the next two weeks to start to bring visitors back to hospitals. That's going to be run by the Greater New York Hospital Association, Downstate and Health Association of New York State Upstate. There will be a number of hospitals participating in that. Northwell has a number of hospitals. This is getting visitors back into hospitals with the right precaution, with the right equipment. It is terrible to have someone in the hospital and that person is isolated, not being able to see their family and friends. I understand the health reasons for that, we were afraid of the virus spread, but this is a pilot project to see if we can bring visitors in and do it safely.
We're now taking steps to do further reopening with fewer crowds. I'm very aggressive on encouraging sports teams to start and to operate without fans. This is more an economic calculus for different sports. Some sports franchises can make this work easier than others. It depends on the economics of that sport and how much is determined by selling seats in the arena or the stadium, et cetera. To the extent they can start, I encourage them to start. The state will work with them to start. Downstate, we have a number of sports teams. When a team plays, even if there's no one in the stands, it gets broadcast and that gives people at home entertainment value, something to participate in. Another reason, frankly, to stay home as opposed to go out and staying home is good right now so I encourage the sports teams, and again, New York will be a full partner, anything we can do to make it happen and make it happen safely, we will.
Memorial Day is coming up. That is an important American tradition. We want to honor our veterans and we want to make sure that no matter what happens we are still honoring our veterans. The state will allow ceremonies, local ceremonies of up to 10 people or less. We hope that those ceremonies are broadcast, televised in their areas so people can be a part of honoring that tradition. Local governments can make a decision that they don't want those ceremonies to happen, they don't want 10 people gathering. Ten is the CDC guideline, is for 10 people gathering. That's where the state got the recommendation from the federal CDC. But I can understand the difference of opinion so we'll leave it up to local government.
Vehicle parades I think are appropriate and should be encouraged and again, this is an important tradition. Many people lost their lives. This is important to many, many families all across this state and nation. It's important to the veterans that they be recognized and I think we can do that and I think we can do it safely.
New Yorkers are doing everything they can as a people. Our response has been probably the most demanding in the country because we had the largest number of cases but every step of the way New Yorkers have stepped up. As a government we are doing everything that we can. We're doing more testing than any other state. We've been more aggressive than any state in nursing home precautions. So we have been smart. New Yorkers have been smart. The government has been smart and that should be respected and now we need a federal government that is as smart as the people who elected that federal government because New York, to move forward and move forward quickly we need a federal government as a partner.
They're now in the midst of running a number of programs that provide cash benefits to corporations. Let's make giving those corporations funding that the corporations are actually acting on behalf of Americans. I proposed something called the Americans First Law. Not America First, Americans First Law. We learned the hard way in 2008 that you can see government provide billions of dollars to corporations to quote unquote stabilize the economy. We did this after the mortgage scandal. We gave billions to the banks, remember? Because they were too big to fail. So we had to give billions of dollars to the banks. What did the banks do? Many of them turned around and gave themselves bonuses and they gave themselves parties and end of year bonuses and special pay bonuses. These are the same banks that created the mortgage fraud in the first place, then get bailed out by the taxpayer and wind up having parties at taxpayer expense. I fear what they're going to do this time is they'll take the money from government but then they'll lay off workers. They're already talking about it.
You see these corporations talking about getting lean and restructuring. That means downsizing. Why? Because they think they have an opportunity. Now, many of the employees have been laid off temporarily, or temporarily at home, the corporations think this is an opportunity to reopen with fewer employees. It would be such a scandal if corporations now took taxpayer dollars and then laid off workers, and reopened. It would be such a scandal, and a fraud if these corporations were allowed to receive government money, lay off workers, and then government taxpayers had to subsidize the workers who were laid off. So, my law is very simple. If you take government funds, you must rehire the same number of workers you had pre- pandemic. If you take government funds, you must rehire the same number of employees you had pre-pandemic. If you want to lay people off, if you want to get lean, if you want to restructure, fine. But don't use taxpayer money to subsidize it and don't think taxpayers are going to pay you to lay off employees and then wind up with an unemployment problem at the end of the day.
That's what happened in 2008. I was attorney general. I brought the cases afterwards. I brought actions against AIG and against banks like Bank of America that took these bailout funds, and then gave themselves bonuses and parties. Don't make the same mistake twice. The American taxpayers are doing what they have to do. Don't make fools of the American taxpayers.
Second, Washington was very quick to fund businesses and corporations. The bills they passed thus far have been about funding corporations and businesses to keep, to prop up the economy. Fine, who did they not fund? They didn't fund state governments and local governments. Who do state and local governments fund? They fund the hospitals. They fund the police. They fund the firefighters. They fund the school teachers. They fund the food banks. Why was Washington so quick to fund the corporations and the big businesses, but now they have to think about whether or not they want to fund state governments and local governments, the hospitals, the police, the firefighters, school teachers? What sense of priority do you have that you see so clearly the need for corporations, but you don't see the need to continue basic services? And what makes this so offensive to me, you turn on the TV, you see all these ads praising the healthcare workers and the nurses and the doctors who saved so many lives, who worked so hard, and the first responders who went out there, they're the heroes of today, and they are, and they are, and they should be acknowledged - and they should be funded.
If you don't fund New York state government, you know what that means? That means I have to cut aid to Northwell, to hospitals, to nurses, to doctors. It means I have to cut aid to local governments that fund police and firefighters. I have to fund funding to schools, teachers, who have also been heroes doing remote learning, et cetera. It's about priorities. It's about values. And I understand the large corporations are the ones who fund the political accounts of these elected officials. But let them remember, that they get elected by the people. People still vote. People still matter. Show the same consideration for the workers that you showed for the corporations. That's all I'm asking, and that's the Americans First law, and state and local government.
This is not a partisan issue. This is not Democrats versus Republicans. I have stayed 100 miles away from any politics all through this. This is no time for politics. This is not a political divisive issue. This is all the governors in the United States. National Governors Association represents all the governors. The White House left it to the governors to do the reopening, right? All the states are doing the reopening. You can't tell the states go reopen, figure it out, and then not provide them with the funding to do it. The head of the National Governors Association is a Republican governor, Governor Hogan. I'm the vice chairman of the NGA. I'm a Democrat. In unison, in a united voice, we're saying to Washington, you need to pass funding for state and local governments. The House passed a bill that did it. That also provides funding for testing, which is very important, testing, tracing enterprise. It repeals SALT, which is an additional tax on New Yorkers for the federal government. But the Senate now has that bill. The Senate must act.
Also, there was very exciting news about a company that might be close to developing a vaccine and the federal government is working very hard to accelerate the vaccine, as they should. The testing, the regulations, the procedures about getting a vaccine online. That would be the best possible outcome. But, we have to make sure whatever company finds the vaccine, finds the pot of gold, that whatever private company finds that, the vaccine must then be available to all people. And it can't be a situation where only the rich, only the privileged can get the vaccine, because one company owns the rights and they can't produce enough for everyone. This is a public health matter. This is a national security threat. This should not be about one corporation's privacy. If the federal government is bending over backwards and jumping through hoops to allow this company to develop a vaccine, then let's make sure the federal government sets the rules now and says to any company that develops the vaccine, the next day we have to be in a position where that patent, that formula can be given to companies all across the globe to produce a vaccine, so we can treat everyone.
And the last point is this, the world is different today than it was. There are situations in life that can happen on a moment's notice, and change the very trajectory, and definition of your life. You can get health news about an individual that just changes your whole life. What you thought was so important yesterday becomes totally unimportant. This situation, this covid virus has changed the world fundamentally. I don't believe we ever go back to where we were. I don't believe life is about going back, right? Life is about going forward.
But this is a different world. It's a different world individually, it's a different world for families. We're all trying to recalibrate and reassess who we are and how we live and what's important, what's not important. I hope, on an individual level, that this period is going to make me a smarter person, a better person, a deeper person. It's made me question a lot of things about my life, a lot of priorities, a lot of things I was doing. It makes you think through personal relationships and what's important and where you've been spending your time. Was that the smartest use of time? Sometimes when something is taken away you see how valuable it was. Now you can't go see family members if you wanted to. You can't see friends if you wanted to. When someone says you can't, it changes your whole perspective. You ask yourself why haven't I been? Why didn't I? When I get a chance, how am I going to do it differently this time? I think that can actually be a good process to go through. Painful, but good.
It's also true for government. Government is important again, right? Government, most days you lead your life, government, politics, it's a sideshow. It's not that important. When does government really become important? Probably, almost not in m lifetime. When has it been vital? It's vital at the time of war, crisis, real national crisis. But that's the only time it's really vital. When you don't have a choice but to deal with and rely on government.
Well, government is now important again. In a way, it hasn't been in my lifetime. It matters what government does. Government has made the difference between life and death here, right? Because government is part of social action and the people who saved lifes in this are New Yorkers for doing the right thing. But government was part of that. It helps organize. Today, government's going to be held to a different standard and it has to be fundamentally different. It has to be smarter than it was. It matters now what happens. You have to know what you're doing now. Not just look like you know what you're doing, not just sound like you know what you're doing. You have to be smart. You're not going to tweet your way through this. You have to be smart. You have to be competent at what you do. There's something called government and you either know how to do it or you don't know how to do it.
You know, for many years, anyone can be in government. You know. I don't know, can anyone be a nurse? Oh, no, you have to know what you're talking about. Can anyone be a doctor? No, you have to know what you're talking about. Can anyone be a lawyer? No, you have to know what you're talking about. Can anyone be a plumber? Nope, you have to know what you're talking about. Can anyone run government? Oh, yeah, anybody can run government. The less you know, the better. That wasn't true. You have to be competent. It has to be beyond politics.
This is not about an ongoing campaign. You're now a government official, you represent everyone. Forget the politics, represent people. It doesn't matter, Republican, Democrat, that's all garbage now. I'm the governor of New York, all New Yorkers. I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, atheist. I don't care if you vote, I don't care if you don't vote. That's your business. I represent you. You pay me to represent you. That's how I see it. Government has to be fair. It has to be effective. That's where we all are now. That's where we've been in New York. That's what it means to be New York tough - as person, as a society, as a collective, and as a government. To be smart, to be united, to be disciplined, to be loving, that's New York.
May 20, 2020.
New York State Department of Labor Announces Over $10 Billion in Unemployment Benefits Paid to Over 2 Million New Yorkers During COVID-19 Pandemic; Pre-4/22 Application Backlog Reduced to 7,580. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/new-york-state-department-labor-announces-over-10-billion-unemployment-benefits-paid-over-2
Backlog Includes Applications that are Missing Critical Information and Cannot be Processed, Duplicates, and Abandoned Claims
Additional 20,801 New Yorkers' Claims from Before April 22nd have been Processed, but Cannot be Paid Until Federally-Mandated Weekly Certifications are Submitted
The New York State Department of Labor today announced that the backlog of pending unemployment benefit applications has been reduced to 7,580 — representing major progress since an unprecedented crush of applications related to the COVID-19 pandemic flooded the DOL's systems in March. This universe of unprocessed applications includes those that are missing critical information and cannot be processed, duplicates, and abandoned claims. Additionally, since the passage of the Federal CARES Act, 562,766 PUA applicants have received unemployment benefits.
In total, more than 2 million unemployment benefit applications have been processed, and those New Yorkers have received over $10 billion in benefits.
"No one could have predicted the wave of unemployment applications that crashed over the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and every state is struggling — but New York has moved faster than any other state to address our backlog and get money into New Yorkers' hands. To date, we have paid out over $10 billion dollars during this crisis, compared to just $2.1 billion in total last year," NYS Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said. "Those claims that have been outstanding for weeks are ones that we simply cannot process — we have already attempted to contact all of these New Yorkers, and we will continue to try get in touch with everyone who applied so we can connect them with the benefits they are eligible for."
The numbers for applications submitted pre-4/22 are as follows:
1,194,933: Paid
20,801: Not Paid - Need Certification
7,580: Not Paid - Partial Claims missing Information Needed to Process
Over the weekend, the Department of Labor analyzed the outcome of applications that were filed on or before April 22nd in an effort to quantify the size of the unemployment benefit backlog. This analysis found that 7,580 applications filed before that date had not been processed. The DOL is unable to process these applications because they either contained incorrect or missing information, are duplicates, or had been abandoned by the claimant. The Department of Labor has attempted to contact all of these New Yorkers and will continue trying to reach them to complete their application or close out their claim.
Examples of missing or incorrect information that prevents an application from being processed include a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and address for an individual's former employer or an applicant's Social Security Number. Last month, the Department of Labor issued a directive reminding New York-based businesses they have a legal obligation to provide unemployed New Yorkers with the information they need to apply for benefits, including the company's FEIN and address.
Another 15,831 applications are going through final processing — which includes a check for fraud and identity theft. These claims will either become payable in the coming days or be flagged for additional review by anti-fraud specialists.
In addition, applications for 20,801 New Yorkers who applied before April 22nd have been processed but not paid because those individuals have not submitted federally-mandated weekly certifications. By law, these certifications must be submitted before benefits are released. The Department of Labor has proactively emailed hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers reminding them to submit certifications and rolled out a new, secure online system that allows New Yorkers to easily submit prior weeks' certifications that they had missed. Over 330,000 New Yorkers have used this new system to unlock more than $400 million in prior weeks' benefits they had effectively left on the table.
Finally, the Department of Labor has also launched a new system that proactively and directly communicates the status of an individual's unemployment insurance application via text and email. Since this system rolled out, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have received messages letting them know their application has been received, is being processed, and has become a payable claim.
May 20, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Results of State's Antibody Testing Survey at Churches in Lower-Income NYC Communities of Color Show 27 Percent of Individuals Tested Positive for COVID-19 Antibodies. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-results-states-antibody-testing-survey
Continues Partnership with Ready Responders to Expand Testing from 8 to 40 Public Housing Sites Across NYC
State is Partnering with SOMOS to Establish 28 Additional Testing Sites at Churches and Community-Based Providers in Predominately Minority Neighborhoods; Total of 72 Faith-Based Testing Sites in Partnership with Northwell Health & SOMOS
Directs All Local Governments to Expand Testing in Low-Income Communities and Develop Outreach Programs
Religious Gatherings of No More Than 10 People and Drive-In and Parking Lot Services Will Be Allowed Statewide Beginning Thursday, May 21st
State is Convening Interfaith Advisory Council to Discuss Proposals to Safely Bring Back Religious Services
Announces Finalists for Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest; New Yorkers Can Vote Through Memorial Day at WearAMask.ny.gov
Confirms 1,525 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 354,370; New Cases in 42 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the results of the state's antibody testing survey at churches in lower-income New York City communities and communities of color show 27 percent of individuals tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, compared with 19.9 percent of New York City's overall population. The data was collected from approximately 8,000 individuals and shows high positive rates and continued high community spread in these low-income communities.
To address these continued high infection rates in low-income and minority communities, Governor Cuomo announced the state is continuing its partnership with Ready Responders to expand testing from eight to 40 public housing developments across New York City. The state is also partnering with SOMOS to establish 28 additional testing sites at churches and community-based providers in predominately minority communities, for a total of 72 faith-based testing sites in the state in partnership with Northwell Health and SOMOS. The state will also work to stop community spread in these neighborhoods by increasing PPE availability, providing hand sanitizer, enforcing social distancing and expanding public health and education in these communities.
Governor Cuomo also directed all local governments to expand testing in low-income communities and develop outreach programs to help address the disparities in these communities.
The Governor also announced that beginning Thursday, May 21st, religious gatherings of no more than 10 people will be allowed statewide where strict social distancing measures are enforced and all participants wear masks. Additionally, drive-in and parking lot services will also be allowed beginning Thursday.
All across the country, low-income and predominately minority communities are still seeing an increase in the numbers.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also announced the state is convening an Interfaith Advisory Council to discuss proposals to safely bring back religious services. A list of the members of the Interfaith Advisory Council is available here.
The Governor also announced the five finalists for the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and is being overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, asked New Yorkers to create and share a video explaining why New Yorkers should wear a mask in public. Over the past two weeks, the state collected more than 600 submissions from New Yorkers across the state. New Yorkers can vote for the winning ad until Monday May 25th at WearAMask.ny.gov. The winning ad will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th, and that ad will be used as a public service announcement.
"All across the country, low-income and predominately minority communities are still seeing an increase in the numbers and are suffering the most from this virus," Governor Cuomo said. "We did a very extensive research project and found that this is true in New York City where the percent of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 was much higher in lower income communities than the general population. The data also shows not just a high number of positive cases, but that the spread is continuing in those communities and that is where the new cases are coming from. So we did the research and we have the data, but now we must implement aggressive, targeted strategies in these highly impacted communities to help address these disparities."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,525 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 354,370 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 354,370 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,682
27
Allegany
44
0
Broome
436
7
Cattaraugus
70
1
Cayuga
68
0
Chautauqua
50
1
Chemung
134
0
Chenango
118
0
Clinton
94
0
Columbia
350
0
Cortland
36
0
Delaware
69
0
Dutchess
3,724
14
Erie
5,131
94
Essex
34
0
Franklin
18
0
Fulton
184
2
Genesee
184
2
Greene
215
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
93
1
Jefferson
71
0
Lewis
18
0
Livingston
111
0
Madison
292
32
Monroe
2,465
89
Montgomery
75
0
Nassau
39,368
73
Niagara
858
13
NYC
194,550
729
Oneida
802
17
Onondaga
1,718
53
Ontario
170
18
Orange
10,043
55
Orleans
171
3
Oswego
90
1
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,168
9
Rensselaer
453
9
Rockland
12,831
33
Saratoga
438
2
Schenectady
633
2
Schoharie
48
0
Schuyler
10
0
Seneca
52
1
St. Lawrence
195
3
Steuben
237
1
Suffolk
38,411
84
Sullivan
1,267
9
Tioga
114
1
Tompkins
145
3
Ulster
1,571
6
Warren
235
0
Washington
221
1
Wayne
103
5
Westchester
32,517
115
Wyoming
79
0
Yates
34
8
May 20, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Results of State's Antibody Testing Survey at Churches in Lower-income NYC Communities of Color Show 27 Percent of Individuals Tested Positive for COVID-19 An. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-30
Continues Partnership with Ready Responders to Expand Testing from 8 to 40 Public Housing Sites Across NYC
State is Partnering with SOMOS to Establish 28 Additional Testing Sites at Churches and Community-Based Providers in Predominately Minority Neighborhoods; Total of 72 Faith-Based Testing Sites in Partnership with Northwell Health & SOMOS
Directs All Local Governments to Expand Testing in Low-Income Communities and Develop Outreach Programs
Religious Gatherings of No More Than 10 People and Drive-In and Parking Lot Services Will Be Allowed Statewide Beginning Thursday, May 21st
State is Convening Interfaith Advisory Council to Discuss Proposals to Safely Bring Back Religious Services
Announces Finalists for Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest; New Yorkers Can Vote Through Memorial Day at WearAMask.ny.gov
Confirms 1,525 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 354,370; New Cases in 42 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "So be smart. Let's use the numbers, let's research. Where are people who are infected? Where are new cases coming from? Where is the spread continuing? Low-income communities, communities of color. They tend to be high Latino, high African American population. And we are seeing that pattern continue in zip codes, lower-income, predominantly minority."
Cuomo: "It seems like a simple thing, wearing a mask, and it's apparently so simple that people think it's of no consequence. It happens to be of tremendous consequence. It is amazing how effective that mask actually is. Don't take my word for it, I am not a doctor, I am not a public health expert. Again, look at the facts."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the results of the state's antibody testing survey at churches in lower-income New York City communities and communities of color show 27 percent of individuals tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, compared with 19.9 percent of New York City's overall population. The data was collected from approximately 8,000 individuals and shows high positive rates and continued high community spread in these low-income communities.
To address these continued high infection rates in low-income and minority communities, Governor Cuomo announced the state is continuing its partnership with Ready Responders to expand testing from eight to 40 public housing developments across New York City. The state is also partnering with SOMOS to establish 28 additional testing sites at churches and community-based providers in predominately minority communities, for a total of 72 faith-based testing sites in the state in partnership with Northwell Health and SOMOS. The state will also work to stop community spread in these neighborhoods by increasing PPE availability, providing hand sanitizer, enforcing social distancing and expanding public health and education in these communities.
Governor Cuomo also directed all local governments to expand testing in low-income communities and develop outreach programs to help address the disparities in these communities.
The Governor also announced that beginning Thursday, May 21st, religious gatherings of no more than 10 people will be allowed statewide where strict social distancing measures are enforced and all participants wear masks. Additionally, drive-in and parking lot services will also be allowed beginning Thursday.
The Governor also announced the state is convening an Interfaith Advisory Council to discuss proposals to safely bring back religious services. A list of the members of the Interfaith Advisory Council is available here.
The Governor also announced the five finalists for the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and is being overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, asked New Yorkers to create and share a video explaining why New Yorkers should wear a mask in public. Over the past two weeks, the state collected more than 600 submissions from New Yorkers across the state. New Yorkers can vote for the winning ad until Monday May 25th at WearAMask.ny.gov. The winning ad will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th, and that ad will be used as a public service announcement.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of today's remarks is available below:
Good morning. It's always good when you know the difference between morning and afternoon, it's a good way to start the day. From my left, we have budget director Robert Mujica, always smiling, because that is our financial forecast, all smiles. Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor. From my far right, we have Dr. James Malatras, Dr. Howard Zucker. To my immediate right, Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, who is on special volunteer assignment for the state, working for her father, a very pleasant boss. A little sad today, Mariah and I, because the boyfriend has left the premises, returned to his home state. That's okay. That old expression, you love something, let it go and it will return to you, and if it doesn't return, then it was never meant to be. Words to that effect.
Numbers are headed in the right direction today. Hospitalizations are down, net change in hospitalizations are down, intubations are down again. Number of new cases, down. But it was a long road down, slow decline. Fast spike, slow decline. This was what has happened all across the country. Number of deaths, still painfully high. Not down, up a little bit. The overall direction is right, but this is a painful, painful, tragic number of lives lost and they are all in our thoughts and prayers.
You look at the entire experience, you see we're stabilized basically with where we were before we had this dramatic increase, and one of the things we've learned through this is smart wins. It's not about politics, it's not about motion. You're dealing with a virus, the virus doesn't respond to politics, the virus doesn't have an ideology, the virus isn't red or blue. It is a virus that is attacking people. It's about science, it's about numbers, it's about data, and smart wins the battle. If you follow that guidance and that theory, we're always looking at researching the numbers, where are the cases coming from, how do we reduce the numbers?
You look all across the country, it's lower income communities, predominantly minority, where we're still seeing an increase in the numbers. We looked at that in New York City. We did a very extensive research project and it is true. You can look at where the cases are coming. Look at the testing data, by geographic area, by zip code, and find out where the cases are coming from. We asked Northwell Health, which is the largest health system in the state, to do an extensive test for us. We're in the midst of that test, but we have back about 8,000 tests, which is a very large sample, and the data is very powerful and informs what we're doing going forward. The test was done in New York City, because that's where we have the highest predominance of cases. But, in lower income communities, communities of color, we partnered with the faith-based community, with churches, to conduct tests. We found about 27 percent of the individuals testing positive. 27 percent, that's compared to the New York City general population of about 19 percent. The Bronx had the highest percentage, 34 percent. Again, compared to a citywide average of 19 percent. Then Brooklyn, then Manhattan and then Queens. Staten Island was at the New York City overall number.
But you take a place like the Bronx, it is 34 percent, compared to 19 percent. Just to give you an idea. The data shows not just a high positive, not just that a high number of people had the positive, but the spread is continuing in those communities and that's where the new cases are coming from, okay? And you can literally do that on a zip code basis. For example, you are seeing in the Bronx, 43 percent of the people tested positive. 43 percent. Compared to the New York City general average of 19 percent. Hospitalization rate, 3.2 people for every 100,000. Compared to 1.8. It is double the hospitalization rate.
So be smart. Let's use the numbers, let's research. Where are people who are infected? Where are new cases coming from? Where is the spread continuing? Low-income communities, communities of color. They tend to be high Latino, high African American population. And we are seeing that pattern continue in zip codes, lower-income, predominantly minority. Brownsville, Brooklyn, 41 percent. Double the city average. That happens to be 80 percent African American, but again, just about double the rate of hospitalization.
So that's where the cases are still coming from. That's where the virus is still spreading. But again, you look at the data and you see it over and over again, by zip code, by select communities within the city. My old neighborhood, Hollis, Queens, 35 percent compared to 19 percent. So, it's all across the city. Less in Staten Island, higher in communities of color and lower-income communities. I want to thank the congressional delegation who helped organize this partnership between Northwell and the faith-based community. Getting 8,000 tests in a short period of time is not easily done.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries came up with this idea about 10 days ago, organized it quickly. I want to thank Hakeem - I also want to thank Congresswoman Velázquez and Congresswoman Clarke, for helping us get it organized. The faith-based community has been great here. Reverend Brawley and Reverend Rivera organized those churches for us. So we have the data, we have the research and now we have to take the next step, okay? We did the research, we have the data, we know what's happening, now what do we do about it? That's always step two and we're going to develop targeted strategies to these highly impacted communities. What we're seeing in New York City is going to be true across the state. Northwell Health is going to double the number of churches that they're working in. Forty-four total churches. We're going to partner with Somos Community Care and I want thank them very much for stepping up. They're going to open 28 additional testing sites in these zip codes that fit this profile. We're going to focus on public housing.
When you think about everything we're talking about, social distance, et cetera. and then think about public housing and how hard it is in public housing to do the things we're talking about. I worked in public housing all across the country when I was the Housing and Urban Development Secretary during the Clinton administration. Social distance - how do you socially distance in an elevator in a public housing complex? How do you socially distance in the hallways of a public housing complex? How do you socially distance in the lobby? How do you socially distance in a small playground that's attached to public housing. We understand the challenge and ready responders are going to increase the testing in 40 public housing developments in New York City.
This is going to be a very extensive effort between Northwell and Somos. You'll have 72 faith-based sites. You'll then have ready responders in public housing and we want to now take the next step which is outreach programs, getting the PPE into the community, getting the hand sanitizer into the community. Explaining social distancing and why that's so important and explain how this virus spreads. It's a public health education effort. I've been all across the state, you drive through some of these communities and you can see that social distancing isn't happening, PPE is not being used and hence, the virus spreads.
Again, we did the research in New York City because that's where we have the predominance of cases. It is going to be true in every community across this state and across this nation. You tell me the zip codes that have the predominantly minority community, lower income community, I will tell you the communities where you're going to have a higher positive and you're going to have increased spread and you're going to have increased hospitalization.
I'm asking all local governments to do the same thing that we did in New York City. Focus on low-income communities, do the testing and do the outreach. Do the testing and do the outreach. That's where the cases are coming from. That's where the new hospitalizations are coming from. That's what's going into the hospital system. That's where you're going to see the highest number of deaths. That is our challenge.
On reopening, which we're doing across the state. We do it on the numbers. We do it on the metrics. Every New Yorker can go to the website and find out where their community is. Capital District will reopen today. We're working with religious institutions. Right now they can have up to 10 people with strict social distancing guidelines at religious gatherings. We ask them to consider drive-in and parking lot services for religious ceremonies. We're going to be working with our interfaith advisory council. Our interfaith advisory council has representative of the religious community across the state, all different religions. I understand their desire to get back to religious ceremonies as soon as possible. As former altar boy, I get it. I think even at this time of stress and when people are so anxious and so confused, I think those religious ceremonies can be very comforting. But we need to find out how to do it, and do it safely, and do it smartly. The last thing we want to do is have a religious ceremony that winds up having more people infected. A religious ceremony by definition is a gathering, right. It's a large number of people coming together. We know from New Rochelle, Westchester the first hotspot, that religious ceremonies can be very dangerous. So, we all want to do the same thing, the question is how do we do it, and how do we do it smartly and efficiently. I will be talking with members of the religious community on doing just that and I'm sure we can come up with a way that does it, but does it intelligently.
People ask all the time, well now we are reopening, what is going to happen? What's going to happen is what we make happen. There is no predestined course here. There is nothing that is preordained. What is going to happen is a consequence of our choices and a consequence of our action. It's that simple. If people are smart, and if people are responsible, and if the employers who are opening those businesses do it responsibly, if employees are responsible, if individuals are responsible, then you will see the infection rates stay low. If people get arrogant, if people get cocky, if people get casual, if people become undisciplined, you will see that infection rate go up. It is that simple. This has always been about what we do. It has never been about what government mandated. Government cannot mandate behavior of people and it certainly cannot mandate behavior of 19 million people. It can give you the facts. It can give you the facts that lead to an inevitable conclusion. And New Yorkers have been great about following the facts, but we're at another pivot point.
Yes, we're reopening. Yes, the numbers are down. Yes, we can increase activity and increase economic activity. What is the consequence of that? It depends on what we do. Do your part, wear a mask. Now, wearing a mask, I have been trying to communicate in a whole different set of ways. Mariah is heading up a project that she'll report on in a moment that is helping to communicate this message. But it seems like a simple thing, wearing a mask, and it's apparently so simple that people think it's of no consequence. It happens to be of tremendous consequence. It is amazing how effective that mask actually is. Don't take my word for it, I am not a doctor, I am not a public health expert. Again, look at the facts. What shocks me to this day and I would have lost a lot of money on this bet. How do front-line workers have a lower infection rate than the general population? If I said to you, who is going to have a higher infection rate, nurses in an emergency room, doctors in an emergency room, or the general population, who has a higher infection rate, nurses in an emergency room, doctors in an emergency room, or the general population, who has a higher infection rate? I think most people would've said the nurses in the emergency room, the doctors in the emergency room, the hospital staff. They are going to have a higher infection rate because they are dealing with COVID-positive people all day long. Not true.
How do nurses and doctors have a lower infection rate than the general population? How do transit workers who are on the buses and subways all day long have a lower infection rate than the general population? How does the NYPD, police officers who show up who are dealing with people all day long, how do they have a lower infection rate? How does the NYPD have almost half the infection rate of New York City? How can it be? They are the police officers.
They are wearing the mask. The mask works. Those surgical masks work and it's in the data. It's not that I'm saying it. It's in the data and it is otherwise inexplicable. Just look at that list. Transit workers are lower. Healthcare workers are lower. The Police Department is lower. The Fire Department is lower, which also has the EMTs who show up first and help a person get into an ambulance. They have a lower infection rate. The DOCs workers are the correction officials, who are correction officers, who are in a prison. They are at 7 percent. State Police, 3 percent. They wear the masks. Wear a mask. Remember all those pictures of people in China always wearing masks? Oh, I wonder why they wear all those masks. They were right. The masks work. They are protective and they work. Wear a mask.
So on May 5 we launched the contest to come up with video messages prepared by New Yorkers to try to communicate the message of wear a mask better than I was communicating the message of wear a mask because my daughters were quick to point out that maybe it was my communication skills which were preventing the effective communication of the wear the mask message. The caveat is my daughters often say it is my communication skills which are the problem in the home, in society at large. So Mariah volunteered to run a competition where we asked New Yorkers to do a 30-second ad and the winner of the competition would be the ad that the State runs. With that, I will turn it over to Mariah for her update and her report.
Mariah Kennedy Cuomo: Today we are excited to be sharing the five finalists that our team has selected for the New York State wear a mask ad contest and these finalists, which we will be showing shortly, are in the running for winning this contest and being shown as a public service announcement. Starting today people can go to wearamask.ny.gov to vote for their favorite ad and voting will be open through Memorial Day. On May 26 we'll be announcing the final winning ad and we are so grateful to all the New Yorkers who have submitted one of the over 600 submissions. And we will be sharing honorable mentions as well so you can see even more of the great videos.
Governor Cuomo: Great, 600 submissions and these are the five finalists that people can view and vote on. Okay, let's see the five finalists.
[Videos Play]
Governor Cuomo: Great, I know that guy by the way. I see him all the time. So, those are the five finalists. People can vote. They go to the coronavirus.health.ny.gov/wear-mask-new-york-ad-contest-cast-your-vote to vote. Vote between now and May 25. Winner announced May 26. How many times can a person vote?
Mariah Kennedy Cuomo: Once.
Governor Cuomo: Once, no voter fraud on this election, no absentee ballots, no polling place. Is there early voting? I don't think so. All right, that is great. Thank you very much for doing that. We will announce that winner May 26. Over 600 submissions though and they are really great. I have seen a number of them. We are going to post the honorable mentions also, but all 600 will be available to look at and they are really creative and have different voices from all across the state. So, I want to thank you very much everyone who participated, because they really are, they are special.
May 20, 2020.
Following Spike in Domestic Violence During COVID-19 Pandemic, Secretary to the Governor Melissa Derosa & NYS Council on Women & Girls Launch Task Force to Find Innovative Solutions to Crisis. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/following-spike-domestic-violence-during-covid-19-pandemic-secretary-governor-melissa-derosa
In Recognition of the Scope and Threat of the Issue, the Task Force Will Identify Innovative Solutions that Center on Survivors and Look Beyond the Ways Services Have Been Provided in the Past
Recommendations Will Be Presented to Governor Cuomo by Thursday, May 28th
DV Reports Overall Are Up 30 Percent in April Compared to Last Year and Incident Calls to State Have Increased 15 Percent in March Compared to Last Year
12 Percent Increase in Intimate Partner Victimizations were Reported by Large Police Departments Outside of NYC for First Quarter of 2020 Compared to Same Period in 2019
Following a spike in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosaand the New York State Council on Women and Girls today announced the creation of a new task force to find innovative solutions to this crisis. The task force will identify solutions to help domestic violence survivors, with the specific goal of looking beyond the traditional ways that services have been provided in the past. The task force will make recommendations to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo by Thursday, May 28th, and the Governor will make a final policy determination.
"Since the beginning of this pandemic New York has seen a dramatic increase in the number of domestic violence cases across the state," Governor Cuomo said. "While we have already taken aggressive actions to help some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers get the help they need and get away from their abusers, there is more that we can do to modernize the services we provide as we begin to enter a new normal. I look forward to reviewing the innovative solutions that Melissa DeRosa and the entire task force come up with and putting together a new action plan to help stop this dangerous uptick in domestic violence."
"During these unprecedented times, New York has led the way in providing survivors of domestic violence access to the critical services they need to get help," Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor and Chair of the New York State Council on Women and Girls, said. "Unfortunately, the reality is that we are still seeing an increase in the number of reported cases of domestic violence across NY as this pandemic continues - we need to do more to help women who are stuck in dangerous situations. I am proud to be working with this diverse task force to develop recommendations for the Governor so we can creatively address DV."
The task force will be chaired by Melissa DeRosa. The list of members is available below:
Scott Berkowitz - Founder and President, Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN)
Alejandra Y. Castillo, Esq. - CEO, YWCA USA
Karma Cottman - Executive Director, Ujima, Inc: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community
Nathaniel M. Fields - President and CEO, Urban Resource Institute (URI)
Ruth M. Glenn - President and CEO, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
Peg Hacskaylo - Founder and CEO, National Alliance for Safe Housing (NASH)
Jim Henderson - Probation and Domestic Violence Expert, Battered Women's Justice Project
Grace Huang, JD - Policy Director, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Tandra R. LaGrone - Executive Director, In Our Own Voices
Cindi Leive - Senior Fellow, USC-Annenberg School of Journalism and Communications
Tonya Lovelace, MA - CEO, Women of Color Network Inc (WOCN)
David Mandel - Executive Director, Safe & Together Institute
Karol V. Mason - President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Joan S. Meier - Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School and Director, National Family Violence Law Center at GW
Connie Neal - Executive Director, New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV)
Ana L. Oliveira - President and CEO, The New York Women's Foundation
Leslye Orloff - Director, National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project at American University Washington College of Law
Farzana Safiullah - CEO, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV)
Lynn Hecht Schafran, JD - Legal Director and Director, National Judicial Education Program at Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund
Joe Torre - Co-Founder and Chairman, The Safe at Home Foundation and Special Advisor to Major League Baseball (MLB)
Patricia Tototzintle - CEO, Casa de Esperanza/National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Community
Deborah D. Tucker, MPA - President, National Center on Domestic & Sexual Violence (NCDSV)
Deborah J. Vagins - President and CEO, National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)
Troy Vincent - Executive Vice President of Football Operations, NFL and National Advocate to End Domestic Violence
Carole Warshaw, M.D. - Director, National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health
Joanne Zannoni - Executive Director, New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA)
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary social distancing guidelines, domestic violence victims are even more vulnerable and unsafe while isolated at home without being able to get away from their abuser and there has been a reported uptick in the number of domestic violence cases in the state. Calls to the state's domestic violence hotline are up 30 percent in April compared to last year and calls increased 18 percent from February to March 2020. State Police also report domestic violence incident calls were up 15 percent in March compared to last year. Additionally, a 12 percent increase in intimate partner victimizations were reported by large police departments outside of New York City for the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Since NYS on PAUSE went into effect, OPDV and many state agency partners have been working diligently to pursue strategies for putting safety information in front of victims in places that such information would not normally be available, including on social media accounts of public utilities or tax/finance. Additionally, major efforts have been underway to get safety flyers with the Hotline number hung up in essential retailers, such as grocery stores, pharmacies and home repair stores, among others.
In April, the state launched a domestic violence hotline and a new text program and confidential online service to aid victims of abuse and provide potential lifesaving ways to get help. New Yorkers seeking help can call 1-800-942-6906, text 844-997-2121 or chat with a professional on the new confidential website at www.opdv.ny.gov. The text and online services will be staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with OPDV staff who are experts in the area of domestic violence.
May 21, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Summer School Will Be Conducted Through Distance Learning This Year. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-summer-school-will-be-conducted-through
Extends Sales Tax Filing Deadline to June 22, 2020
State is Investigating 157 Reported Cases & 3 Deaths Related to COVID Illness in Children with Symptoms Similar to an Atypical Kawasaki Disease and Toxic Shock-Like Syndrome
Rockland County is Now Eligible to Resume Elective Surgeries and Ambulatory Care
New Yorkers Should Call the Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 if They Believe Their Employer is Not Following PPE, Hygiene or Social Distancing Guidelines
Reminds New Yorkers to Look Out for Calls from "NYS Contact Tracing"
Confirms 2,088 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 356,458; New Cases in 44 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced summer school will be conducted through distance learning this year to help reduce the risk of spread. Meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue. School districts must also develop a plan for students with disabilities who participate in extended summer school year programs over the summer to ensure they receive instruction. The state will make a determination on the fall semester and issue guidelines in June so schools and colleges can start to plan for a number of scenarios. K-12 schools and colleges will submit plans for approval to the state in July.
Governor Cuomo also announced the state is extending sales tax interest and penalty relief through June 22, 2020. The state previously provided relief through May 19th for returns due March 20th. This extension could provide interest and penalty relief for up to 89,000 vendors who had returns due in March. These small businesses file their taxes quarterly and annually, and have taxable receipts of less than $300,000 in the previous quarter.
The Governor also announced the state is currently investigating 157 reported cases in New York where children - predominantly school-aged - are experiencing symptoms similar to an atypical Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19. The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers, including a 5-year old in New York City, a 7-year old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County. To date, 13 countries and 25 other states have reported cases of this COVID-related illness in children.
Governor Cuomo also announced that Rockland County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The Governor previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 51 counties can now resume elective surgeries (4 counties do not have hospitals).
The Governor also encouraged New Yorkers to call the Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 if they believe their employer is not following PPE, hygiene or social distancing guidelines as more businesses begin to reopen.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers to look out for calls from "NYS Contact Tracing" and to answer those calls as the state begins to implement its contact tracing program.
"As we focus on reopening, schools pose unique complications - they have high density and transportation issues causing a greater risk of spread unless protective measures are fully in place," Governor Cuomo said. "Now we have another issue that is complicating the situation even further with COVID-related illness in children. We are continuing to study this new illness and learn more, but for now summer school will remain closed for in-class teaching and will be conducted through distance learning this year."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 2,088 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 356,458 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 356,458 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,700
18
Allegany
44
0
Broome
451
15
Cattaraugus
71
1
Cayuga
72
4
Chautauqua
58
8
Chemung
134
0
Chenango
118
0
Clinton
94
0
Columbia
355
5
Cortland
36
0
Delaware
71
2
Dutchess
3,745
21
Erie
5,270
139
Essex
36
2
Franklin
19
1
Fulton
186
2
Genesee
188
4
Greene
215
0
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
93
0
Jefferson
71
0
Lewis
18
0
Livingston
114
3
Madison
294
2
Monroe
2,530
65
Montgomery
77
2
Nassau
39,487
119
Niagara
880
22
NYC
195,675
1,125
Oneida
817
15
Onondaga
1,771
53
Ontario
176
6
Orange
10,092
49
Orleans
174
3
Oswego
92
2
Otsego
67
0
Putnam
1,175
7
Rensselaer
456
3
Rockland
12,877
46
Saratoga
440
2
Schenectady
638
5
Schoharie
49
1
Schuyler
10
0
Seneca
52
0
St. Lawrence
195
0
Steuben
238
1
Suffolk
38,553
142
Sullivan
1,281
14
Tioga
117
3
Tompkins
145
0
Ulster
1,584
13
Warren
241
6
Washington
222
1
Wayne
103
0
Westchester
32,673
156
Wyoming
79
0
Yates
34
0
May 21, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Summer School Will Be Conducted Through Distance Learning This Year. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-31
Extends Sales Tax Filing Deadline to June 22, 2020
State is Investigating 157 Reported Cases & 3 Deaths Related to COVID Illness in Children with Symptoms Similar to an Atypical Kawasaki Disease and Toxic Shock-Like Syndrome
Rockland County is Now Eligible to Resume Elective Surgeries and Ambulatory Care
New Yorkers Should Call the Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 if They Believe Their Employer is Not Following PPE, Hygiene or Social Distancing Guidelines
Reminds New Yorkers to Look Out for Calls from "NYS Contact Tracing"
Confirms 2,088 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 356,458; New Cases in 44 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "We will issue guidelines in the beginning of June on what schools would need to do to come up with a plan to prepare to open. ... we don't want to make that decision until we have more facts. As the facts keep changing, prudence dictates that you don't make a decision until it's timely so you have the most recent facts to make a decision."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo earlier today announced summer school will be conducted through distance learning this year to help reduce the risk of spread. Meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue. School districts must also develop a plan for students with disabilities who participate in extended summer school year programs over the summer to ensure they receive instruction. The state will make a determination on the fall semester and issue guidelines in June so schools and colleges can start to plan for a number of scenarios. K-12 schools and colleges will submit plans for approval to the state in July.
Governor Cuomo also announced the state is extending sales tax interest and penalty relief through June 22, 2020. The state previously provided relief through May 19th for returns due March 20th. This extension could provide interest and penalty relief for up to 89,000 vendors who had returns due in March. These small businesses file their taxes quarterly and annually, and have taxable receipts of less than $300,000 in the previous quarter.
The Governor also announced the state is currently investigating 157 reported cases in New York where children - predominantly school-aged - are experiencing symptoms similar to an atypical Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19. The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers, including a 5-year old in New York City, a 7-year old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County. To date, 13 countries and 25 other states have reported cases of this COVID-related illness in children.
Governor Cuomo also announced that Rockland County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The Governor previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 51 counties can now resume elective surgeries (4 counties do not have hospitals).
The Governor also encouraged New Yorkers to call the Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 if they believe their employer is not following PPE, hygiene or social distancing guidelines as more businesses begin to reopen.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers to look out for calls from "NYS Contact Tracing" and to answer those calls as the state begins to implement its contact tracing program.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks with ASL interpretation is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning. Pleasure to see all your smiling faces. Beautiful day here. Beautiful city of New York. Let's talk about some facts as to where we are today. Everybody knows who is with us today, from my left, Dr. Jim Malatras; Robert Mujica, Budget Director; Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor, Gareth Rhodes, young genius.
Total hospitalizations down, great news, 5,187. The net change is down. That's good news. Intubations are down. That's very good news. New Covid cases are down to 186, which is actually lower than we were when this first started so we're back to a point earlier than we were when this Covid strike hit us and we started that spike so that's really good news.
The number of deaths, 105. That's terrible news. Relatively it's better than it has been. Still 105 families who are grieving today and they are in our thoughts and prayers. But you see the overall trajectory of the situation. March 20 to May 20, a period of time that will go down in history, a lot of pain, unique period but we got through it. We got through it. We got over the mountain literally and figuratively.
We're now talking about reopening across the state. We're doing it region by region. Rockland County today is eligible for elective surgery and ambulatory care. When we open up for elective surgery in the hospital system it means we have the hospital bed capacity. One of the mad scrambles, if you remember earlier on, was to make sure we had enough hospital capacity because the projections were we would need double our hospital capacity in this state so we stopped elective surgeries. Opening up elective surgeries means we have hospital capacity.
When we reopen a region, we start to reopen a region, there will be increased activity. More people are coming out. That does not necessarily equate to an increase in the number of cases. It does not have to be that increased activity means more cases. It tends to be true but it doesn't have to be true. You can have more activity and if people take the right precautions you don't necessarily need to see a rise in the number of cases and none of this is preordained. As you increase activity what will happen is a function of what we do and that's not just rhetorical. If you tell me how New Yorkers react with increased activity I will tell you what will happen to the infection rate. It literally depends on what we do and everyone has a role to play as we go forward. You reopen shops for curbside retail. How do the shopkeepers, the retail owners, how do they perform? How do the employees perform? How do the employers who have people coming back perform? And probably most importantly, as individuals, how are we acting and how are we performing? Are we maintaining social distancing, et cetera?
Of all the bizarre things we've gone through, this fact is probably one of the most important facts to me. Logic would have suggested that first responders would have had the highest infection rate, right? Just common sense. The nurses, the doctors, the EMS workers who are first responding to Covid-positive people, working with Covid-positive people all day long, they had to have the highest infection rate, right? Just logic. Think about those emergency rooms. People working 12, 14, 16, 18 hours a day with Covid-positive people, they must have had the highest infection rate. NYPD, first responders, Fire Department, they must have had a higher infection rate. The first responders, the front line workers, wind up having a lower infection rate than the general population in that area. How can that possibly be? Because the PPE works. Those masks work. We've literally tested all the front line workers. Transit workers, they're driving the buses, they're encountering hundreds of people a day. They're driving the trains, subway system, on stations, in cars. Health care workers, nurses, doctors, hospital staff, NYPD, Fire Department, correction officers in state prisons with a congregate population, they all have a lower percentage than the general population. That's good news for the front line workers and we were all worried about what they were doing.
But there is a message for all of us which is that the PPE actually works. The mask is not just a social symbol. This is not do it because we're asking you to do it. The surgical mask, this mask, is the same thing that is given to the front line workers. They're not using anything different. If it reduced the infection rate for them, it will reduce the infection rate for you. But you have to wear it.
Now we say that employers must provide this to employees when they go back to work. If they do not get one employees should call this number and report an employer who is not operating with the right precautions.
Also we're starting our tracing operation and this is totally new. A person who tests positive, the tracers will then contact that person and ask who they may have exposed and you could get a phone call following up on this tracing information, saying you were with John Smith last night, John smith is now positive, you may want to be tested. On your telephone, if you have one of the new fancy phones, which I do not, it will come up NYS contact tracing. You should answer that call. It's not a hoax, it's not a scam, it's not a fraud. That is an official message saying New York State contact tracing is calling so if you get that message, take that phone call. It's for your health. It's for your family's health.
Small businesses are struggling. The numbers of small businesses that they're projecting may not come back are really staggering. We're trying to do everything we can on a State level. I hope the federal government passes an additional small business relief program but we are extending the sales tax filing. We've extended it from March 20 to May 19. We're now going to extend it to June 22. We understand they have financial issues obviously so the State is doing everything that they can.
On schools we adopted a statewide policy for our schools. May 1 we announced K-12 and college would be closed for the rest of the academic year. Schools obviously pose risks. They're places of gathering. They're on buses, they're in classrooms, how do you reduce density in a classroom, how do you reduce density in a cafeteria, on a school bus, et cetera? How do you get children to wear masks?
And we have another development that we're tracking which is the Covid-related child illness. Miss Russo has done great work on this. I believe, and I've said this from the start, this did not present as a Covid situation because it's not respiratory and we were told early on that children are not affected by Covid and that was one of the pieces of news that actually reduced anxiety early on. We're now starting to see that children who test positive for Covid or test positive for Covid antibodies are developing these inflammatory symptoms. Inflammation of the blood vessels, inflammation of the heart and it's quite serious. We've lost a number of children. New York State Department of Health was the first to really investigate this. The more they investigated, the more cases they found. Last Thursday, there was 7 countries that also investigated and found cases. There was 17 states that found cases - this was last Thursday. Today, there are 13 countries and 25 states. This is one those situations where the more they look, I believe, the more they're going to find.
When we're talking about schools, again, the facts have changed from the quote, unquote experts. There are no experts on this COVID virus. I've learned that the hard way. Children are not affected, well now maybe children are effected. When you're talking about schools and you're talking about children and you're talking about density, exploring the situation and making sure that this is not a widespread situation effecting children. They're not even sure the duration after the COVID exposure that this might occur, because this is all a case of first impression. This is a related issue that does effect children and obviously, it's something we're very concerned about.
The question on summer school. Would summer school open? Summer school is not going to open statewide for in-class teaching. It will be through distance learning and meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue. In terms of opening up school for the fall, it's still too early to make that determination. We want to get more information on this inflammatory syndrome. We also want to see how the development for treatment or vaccine proceeds. We will issue guidelines in the beginning of June on what schools would need to do to come up with a plan to prepare to open. The schools will do those plans and provide them to the state in July. The state will approve those plans or not approve those plans in July all in preparation for an opening in September. Again we don't want to make that decision until we have more facts. As the facts keep changing, prudence dictates that you don't make a decision until it's timely so you have the most recent facts to make a decision.
We're coming up to Memorial Day weekend. State, downstate beaches that are open tomorrow, Jones Beach, Sunken Meadows, Hither Hills, Robert Moses, they're on Long Island. Those beaches open at 6:00 a.m., they close at 9:00 p.m. Swimming is allowed at 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. And there's Lake Welch Beach in Harriman State Park. Just a note on these beaches. There are certain rules on beaches that are operating. Primarily 50% capacity and then social distancing on the beach. No contact activities, obviously, social distancing will be enforced, masks are required to be worn when social distancing is impossible. But there is such a demand in the New York City area to get to a beach, to get some respite. It's Memorial Day weekend, people want to get out of the homes. 50% capacity. Those beaches may reach capacity at 10:00, 11:00 o'clock in the morning. So, that's something to take into consideration. I'm a Queens boy. It's a ride to these beaches. And you don't want to take that ride and get all the way out there and find out the beach is already closed. Again, this is a first time for all of us. But 50% capacity with this pent-up demand, those parking lots will reach capacity very quickly. So, take that into consideration when you're making your plans.
This week is national EMS week and it's a time to thank the EMS workers who just were on the front lines and did a magnificent job. Some of them actually gave their lives to this and we are all very, very grateful to them. The EMS workers, as well as all of the front-line workers. But to those who we lost in this battle, and it was a battle, it is a battle. We want to say a special condolences to their families. Really, everybody knew, they knew what inferno they were running into and they ran into the fire for us. Everybody knew Covid-19 was dangerous. But they didn't stay home. They didn't call in sick. Some people volunteered to come from across the country to help us here in New York and they lost their lives. We should remember that. When we're in the midst of this now, when we get a chance to reflect on what has been done here, what we've gone through and how people reacted, Winston Churchill, "Never was so much owed by so many to so few." "Covid-19, it could kill you, everyone stay home, except the front-line workers and essential workers, we need to you go to work." "Well, I thought you just said Covid-19 could kill me?" Yes, but you have to go to work anyway. And they did. And they did. Hospital works, NYPD, fire department, EMS, grocery store workers, delivery boys, delivery women, they showed up, God bless them. God bless them and we thank them.
May 22, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Launches $100 Million New York Forward Loan Fund to Help Small Businesses. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-launches-100-million-new-york-forward-loan-fund
Long Island and Mid-Hudson Valley Regions Will Be Permitted to Begin Construction Staging in Anticipation of Phase One of Reopening
Launches New Pilot Program with 52 Independent Pharmacies to Conduct 7,000 Tests per Week
New York State Now Has More Than 750 Testing Sites
State is Making Contact Tracing Training Program Curriculum Available at No Cost to All States Through the National Governors Association
Reminds New Yorkers to Vote in the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest by Monday, May 25th; 92,000 People Have Already Voted
Confirms 1,696 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 358,154; New Cases in 48 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of the $100 million New York Forward Loan Fund to provide flexible and affordable loans to help small businesses, focusing on minority and women owned small businesses, that did not receive federal COVID-19 assistance. The state will take a smart, targeted approach for distributing these loans, focusing on businesses with 20 or fewer employees and less than $3 million in gross revenues. Businesses interested in receiving a loan should visit esd.ny.gov/nyforwardloans.
Governor Cuomo also announced the Long Island and Mid-Hudson Valley Regions will be permitted to begin construction staging in anticipation of phase one of reopening. If the number of deaths continues to decrease and the tracing is online, both regions could reopen next week.
The Governor also announced the launch of a new pilot program with 52 independent pharmacies to conduct 7,000 tests per week. New York State now has more than 750 testing sites across the state. The Governor also encouraged eligible New Yorkers to visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov to find a nearby testing site and get tested.
The Governor also announced that the state is making its contact tracing training curriculum available at no cost to all states through the National Governors Association to speed the process of creating contact tracing programs. The state partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University to develop this comprehensive online curriculum to train potential contact tracers. Contact tracing is currently underway in seven regions of the state - the Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, the Southern Tier and Western New York.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers to vote in the state's Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and is being overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo. New Yorkers can vote for the winning ad until Monday May 25th at WearAMask.ny.gov, and 92,000 people have voted to date. The winning ad will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th, and that ad will be used as a public service announcement.
Small businesses are the engine of the New York economy, but they are now facing some of the toughest challenges in this pandemic.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
"Small businesses are the engine of the New York economy, but they are now facing some of the toughest challenges in this pandemic," Governor Cuomo said. "Helping our small businesses is a top priority, and we are starting the New York Forward Loan Fund and making more than $100 million available to provide loans to small businesses, focusing particularly on minority and women owned businesses that have faced even greater risks and received less in federal relief throughout this pandemic."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,696 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 358,154 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 358,154 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Launches $100 Million New York Forward Loan Fund to Help Small Businesses. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-launches-100
Long Island and Mid-Hudson Valley Regions Will Be Permitted to Begin Construction Staging in Anticipation of Phase One of Reopening
Launches New Pilot Program with 52 Independent Pharmacies to Conduct 7,000 Tests per Week
New York State Now Has More Than 750 Testing Sites
State is Making Contact Tracing Training Program Curriculum Available at No Cost to All States Through the National Governors Association
Reminds New Yorkers to Vote in the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest by Monday, May 25th; 92,000 People Have Already Voted
Confirms 1,696 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 358,154; New Cases in 48 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "New York State is starting its own small business relief program, working with private banks. We have over $100 million available to make loans to small businesses. We're going to focus on MWBEs that did not receive federal assistance and focus on really small business. The federal definition of small business is what many could consider large business, but we're going to focus on true small businesses. Twenty or fewer employees, less than $3 million in gross revenues. People who are interested in participating in this program can go to the website."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of the $100 million New York Forward Loan Fund to provide flexible and affordable loans to help small businesses, focusing on minority and women owned small businesses, that did not receive federal COVID-19 assistance. The state will take a smart, targeted approach for distributing these loans, focusing on businesses with 20 or fewer employees and less than $3 million in gross revenues. Businesses interested in receiving a loan should visit esd.ny.gov/nyforwardloans.
Governor Cuomo also announced the Long Island and Mid-Hudson Valley Regions will be permitted to begin construction staging in anticipation of phase one of reopening. If the number of deaths continues to decrease and the tracing is online, both regions could reopen next week.
The Governor also announced the launch of a new pilot program with 52 independent pharmacies to conduct 7,000 tests per week. New York State now has more than 750 testing sites across the state. The Governor also encouraged eligible New Yorkers to visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov to find a nearby testing site and get tested.
The Governor also announced that the state is making its contact tracing training curriculum available at no cost to all states through the National Governors Association to speed the process of creating contact tracing programs. The state partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, to develop this comprehensive online curriculum to train potential contact tracers. Contact tracing is currently underway in seven regions of the state - the Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, the Southern Tier and Western New York.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers to vote in the state's Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and is being overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo. New Yorkers can vote for the winning ad until Monday May 25th at WearAMask.ny.gov, and 92,000 people have voted to date. The winning ad will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th, and that ad will be used as a public service announcement.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks with ASL interpretation is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning, everyone knows the people who are here I think. Just in case, to my far left Dr. Jim Malatras, not a real doctor, not even a fake doctor. Rob Mujica, Director of the Budget. To my right, Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor. To my far right, real doctor, Howard Zucker, Commissioner of Health.
Good morning to all of you. Happy Memorial Day weekend. It starts today. Summer is upon us. This will be the 155th Memorial Day. The press gets to ask me questions. Here is my question for you guys today. Where was the first officially recognized Memorial Day celebration? No answer. Let the record show that there is not a single submission from the assembled press. You guys should know. Waterloo, New York, Seneca County, 1866. President Johnson declared Waterloo, New York the birth place of the Memorial Day parade. And as you are a press corps from the State of New York, I would hope that you remember this going forward. And there's the sign in case you forget, Waterloo, New York, birth place of Memorial Day. Today is day 83 of the COVID-19 crisis. Some of my young guns saying it's 83 days, we haven't had a day off, it's Memorial Day weekend. Life is about stamina. It's Memorial Day weekend, imagine if you were in a real war, overseas war, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War. Day 83 is nothing towards the tour of duty.
News is good today, hospitalizations are down and net change in hospitalizations is down. Number of new cases per day is down. This is a level now that is lower than when we first began, so that is good. Number of deaths, painfully high at any number, right? And you see that this number has been stubborn on its way down, but it's 109 yesterday. They are all in our thoughts and prayers. Again, you see how quick that spike went up and you see how slow it is to come down. So, we want to make sure that we don't ever go back there ever, ever again.
We're talking about reopening. The question is not whether or not to reopen, the question is how do you reopen smart? How fast and safe can you reopen? Reopen as fast as you can as long as it is safe. And you are safe if you are acting smart. What does smart mean? Phasing it in by metrics, just study what is happening, continue to test so you have an idea of the growth of the virus, trace those cases, isolate those positives. Watch your hospital capacity and monitor what's going on so all your actions are based on data. We post all of the data. Anyone in the state can go online and see where they are by their region. Long Island, and mid-Hudson region, if the number of deaths continue to decline the way it has, and they get their tracing online - every region has a certain number of tracers that they need to reopen because we want to make sure when they reopen that they have the testing tracing operation working - but if the number of deaths continues to decline, they get their tracing up and online both regions could reopen this week.
In anticipation of that, we are going to allow construction staging. Phase one, construction begins. Before you can begin construction you have to have staged the construction, the materials have to be on-site, et cetera, and safety precautions have to be on-site. So, we are going to allow that construction staging now for the Long Island and the mid-Hudson. We are hopeful that the number of deaths continues to decline and then they would be reopening this week.
Testing is a big component of all of this. New York State tests more than any other state per capita. We test more than any other country per capita. We are far ahead in terms of getting this operation online. This is the first case, no one has ever done this before, putting together this tracing and testing capacity. We have signed up another 52 independent pharmacies, that brings the total number of testing sites to 750. Our message is very simple: Get a test. We have state run sites where we have more capacity than we're now performing tests. We have some drive-ins where we can do 15,000 tests. We're only doing 5,000 per day. Get a test.
If you have any symptoms of COVID, which are basically the same symptoms as the flu. If you have any symptoms, get a test. If you were exposed to a person who you find out was positive, get a test. Get a test. You can go to this website and it'll tell you exactly the site closest to you.
In terms of tracing, all of the regions that have come online had to have the right number of tracers. We're talking about Mid-Hudson and Long Island has to get their tracing numbers up. Every region has the tracing functioning. Mike Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, volunteered to have his Bloomberg Philanthropies put together a tracing program, because there is no such thing as a tracing program. How do you train tracers? How do you recruit tracers? What software do the tracers use? They've been doing that with Johns Hopkins. They've been fantastic. We have that in place now and we're going to share that with other states online. We're going to do that with the National Governor's Association. New York is ahead and we do have more advanced curriculum and training and protocols, so we're going to work with the NGA and make that available to any state that wants to use it.
Small business is a priority. Federal government passed the Small Business Assistance Program. That has run out of money and small businesses are taking a real beating in this situation. They are 90 percent of New York's businesses and they're facing the toughest challenges. The economic projections, vi-a-vie small business are actually frightening. More than 100,000 have shut permanently since the pandemic hit. Many small businesses just don't have the staying power to continue to pay all the fixed costs, the lease, et cetera, when they have no income whatsoever. Minority owned businesses face a far greater risk and have received less in federal relief.
New York State is starting its own small business relief program, working with private banks. We have over $100 million available to make loans to small businesses. We're going to focus on MWBEs that did not receive federal assistance and focus on really small business. The federal definition of small business is what many could consider large business, but we're going to focus on true small businesses. Twenty or fewer employees, less than $3 million in gross revenues. People who are interested in participating in this program can go to the website that is on the screen.
It's Memorial Day Weekend, we expect people to be getting out, going to parks, beaches, et cetera. We understand that, but we have to remain vigilant at the same time. I know the weather is warmer, I know people have been cooped up, I know there's tremendous energy to get out. You have to remain vigilant. You read in the papers that they're talking now about a possible second wave or hot spots for places that have opened too fast or opened without testing and tracing or opened without doing monitoring. That would be the worst situation is if we went through everything we went through and you start to reopen, you're not doing the monitoring and the vigilance and it actually winds up with another hot spot or cluster or worse, frankly.
Remember, we are still learning about this COVID-19 virus. One of the things I find most infuriating is the facts continue to change with this virus. Nobody's fault, but since we didn't know about the virus, we had certain assumptions that quote, unquote, experts made and those facts change. From day one. From day one it started that this virus was coming from China. So, everybody is looking to the West Coast from the West and it turns out that the virus came from the East. Came from Europe and walked right through our airports, and nobody was screening, and no one was doing anything, and that it was not in March. It was coming here January, February and March. Virus was here much sooner than anybody knew.
Fact was, if you have the virus and you have the antibodies then you're immune. So, we can put together a work force that can go back to work, people who had the virus and now have the antibodies. Now they're not so sure if you're immune if you have the antibodies.
It started children were not going be affected by the corona virus. Now, we're not so sure that children are not affected and we are watching carefully this inflammatory syndrome that is starting to hit children for covid positive or have the antibodies for positive.
Most recently, CDC says infected surfaces are not a major source of transmission. When we started, it was about infected surfaces and you could get it from infected surfaces and that was a major problem. We have a very aggressive disinfecting campaign going on across the state, public transit, etcetera. Now the CDC says that's not a major source, it's airborne, it's droplets, that's a major source. If the major source, if they're right, and the major transmission source is airborne, it takes you back to wear a mask. Wear a mask. And you know this reminds me in some ways of the education campaign we went through after we learned about the HIV virus and transmission of the HIV. And I remember how many times and how long we have to talk to people about wearing a prophylactic and how it could make a difference between life and death. The mask can make a difference between life and death. I know it's a small thing, it's de minimis, it doesn't look like much, but if it's now primarily airborne you know the mask works.
How do you know the mask works? First responders have a lower infection rate than the general population. Nurses, doctors in emergency rooms have a lower infection rate than the general population. How can that possibly be? Because they wear the mask and they do the hand sanitizers. You feel out of control, you can't protect yourself, you can't protect family? Yes, you can. That's what the mask does. You want to be in control of yourself? You want to greatly increase your odds? Wear the mask. By the way, not just asking you. The mask is mandatory in public settings. Public transportation, if you are in a taxi or Uber, private carriers, or anytime you are in public within six feet of another person, the mask is mandatory. It is not just a nice thing to do, a responsible thing to do, for citizen duty, it is mandatory that you wear the mask within six feet of another person in public. You don't have a right to infect another person. You don't. Look at the constitution, tell me where it says you have the right to infect another person. You don't.
So, how do we reopen smart? It's up to you. It's up to us. And that's both the beauty and the conundrum of this situation. It is wholly dependent on social action. Wholly dependent on social action. You tell me what people do, I will tell you the results, period. Government can say whatever it wants. I can sit up here and say whatever I want. I can't control it. People can control it. May 5 we announced a wear a mask in public campaign and we asked people to submit videos and we would pick the winner by vote of the people. And the winner would become a public service announcement. We had over 600 submissions for videos. We showed you the five finalists that are now open for voting. Here is another question for the astute press corps. The voting has been opened for two-and-a-half days, you can go to the website now and you can vote. How many votes have been cast thus far on the website? How many people have gone to the website in two-and-a-half days, watched the videos and voted for the best video? What is the number of people who went to the website in two- and-a-half days?
Question: Didn't you just say 600?
Governor Cuomo: No, I said there was 600 - this is emblematic of my interactions with the press. I did not say that. I said 600 people submitted videos. Of the 600 submissions, five were picked as finalists. People could then vote on the five finalists. The question is over two-and-a- half days, you're all political geniuses, of the two-and-a-half days, how many people do you think went to the web site to vote for one of those five finalists?
Question: 50,000.
Governor Cuomo: Fifty?
Question: 5,000.
Governor Cuomo: Five?
Question: I'll go with 25.
Governor Cuomo: 25? 65,000 people. Isn't that amazing? Zack wins. The competition is still open and we are going to show you now five of the runner-ups. I tell you of the 600, all 600 are going to be put up. They are amazing what people did. Really amazing. But we will show you five more of the runners-up.
Very cool - a lot of the submissions, they had to be the right length of time. They couldn't use copyrighted music. A lot of them used music that you can't appropriate and run as a commercial but I tell you, real talent. I gave you the wrong number on the number of votes. I gave you last night's number. Number of votes, 92,000. 92,000. And you have a lot of late-night voters obviously. What you see there, in those ads, New York tough, smart, united, disciplined and loving.
May 23, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Eighth Region on Track to Hit Benchmark to Begin Reopening Tuesday May 26th. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-eighth-region-track-hit-benchmark-begin
After Meeting Contact Tracing Metric, Mid-Hudson Valley Will Join Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
If Number of Deaths Continues to Decrease and Tracing is Online, Long Island Could Reopen Wednesday, May 27th
State is Partnering with Advantage Care Physicians to Establish 15 New Testing Sites at Medical Centers Downstate
New York State Now Has More Than 760 Testing Sites
Reminds New Yorkers to Vote in the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest by Monday, May 25th
Confirms 1,772 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 359,926; New Cases in 50 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Mid-Hudson Valley is on track to meet all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan starting Tuesday, May 26th, joining the Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. The Mid-Hudson Valley has now identified enough contact tracers to meet the state's guidelines, and the tracers are being trained in preparation for the Mid-Hudson Valley entering phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. On Long Island, the number of deaths is continuing to drop and contract tracing is coming online, and if this trend continues Long Island could be ready to open by Wednesday, May 27th. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced the state is partnering with Advantage Care Physicians to establish 15 new testing sites at medical centers downstate, including testing centers in low-income and minority communities. New York State now has more than 760 testing sites across the state. The Governor also encouraged eligible New Yorkers to visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov to find a nearby testing site and get tested.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers to vote in the state's Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and is being overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo. New Yorkers can vote for the winning ad until Monday May 25th at WearAMask.ny.gov. The winning ad will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th, and that ad will be used as a public service announcement.
The numbers are going down every day and we're making real progress to stop the spread of this virus, and now we're focusing on reopening
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
"The numbers are going down every day and we're making real progress to stop the spread of this virus, and now we're focusing on reopening," Governor Cuomo said. "Reopening has been different in different regions all across the state, but each region has to meet the same criteria to reopen and we are keeping New Yorkers informed with where each region stands. We don't want a region to reopen before its ready, and the Mid-Hudson Valley Region has now met all the criteria necessary to begin reopening on Tuesday. This has been a tough situation, but New Yorkers are tough and we've shown how tough we really are here."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,772 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 359,926 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 359,926 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,770
14
Allegany
44
0
Broome
485
17
Cattaraugus
78
4
Cayuga
76
3
Chautauqua
72
9
Chemung
136
1
Chenango
118
0
Clinton
95
1
Columbia
359
3
Cortland
38
1
Delaware
74
2
Dutchess
3,793
26
Erie
5,552
155
Essex
36
0
Franklin
20
1
Fulton
193
4
Genesee
191
2
Greene
217
2
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
100
5
Jefferson
72
0
Lewis
19
0
Livingston
114
0
Madison
301
4
Monroe
2,661
60
Montgomery
77
0
Nassau
39,726
118
Niagara
927
30
NYC
197,266
782
Oneida
864
36
Onondaga
1,904
76
Ontario
182
2
Orange
10,197
55
Orleans
196
21
Oswego
99
3
Otsego
68
1
Putnam
1,200
13
Rensselaer
463
3
Rockland
12,934
29
Saratoga
452
4
Schenectady
648
3
Schoharie
49
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
54
0
St. Lawrence
196
1
Steuben
240
0
Suffolk
38,802
130
Sullivan
1,297
10
Tioga
121
3
Tompkins
149
2
Ulster
1,606
11
Warren
249
3
Washington
225
1
Wayne
107
3
Westchester
32,881
114
Wyoming
80
1
Yates
37
3
May 23, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Eighth Region on Track to Hit Benchmark to Begin Reopening Tuesday, May 26th. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-32
After Meeting Contact Tracing Metric, Mid-Hudson Valley Will Join Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
If Number of Deaths Continues to Decrease and Tracing is Online, Long Island Could Reopen Wednesday, May 27th
State is Partnering with Advantage Care Physicians to Establish 15 New Testing Sites at Medical Centers Downstate
New York State Now Has More Than 760 Testing Sites
Reminds New Yorkers to Vote in the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest by Monday, May 25th
Confirms 1,772 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 359,926; New Cases in 50 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "I spoke this morning to the representatives of the Mid-Hudson, the county executives, and I said, "Look, we have a choice. If we can get them trained over Memorial Day weekend, we can reopen on Tuesday." You can do these trainings online. Many of them are government employees and we agreed and I thank the county executives and supervisors. We agreed to ask people to be trained Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And we'll open in the Mid-Hudson on Tuesday."
Cuomo: "In all these admonitions, all these pleas, the good news is remember it is working. What we are doing is working. You look at the New York curve, you look at how low it is, you look at the number of deaths., look at the decline. Compare with the rest of the nation where you still see the rest of the nation's curve going up. So it is working. And what are we doing? It is the social acceptance and culture of being New York tough which is smart, smart. Smart is get the test. Smart is protect yourself. Smart is risk, reward. Don't put yourself in a situation where it's not worth it."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the Mid-Hudson Valley is on track to meet all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state's regional phased reopening plan starting Tuesday, May 26th, joining the Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. The Mid-Hudson Valley has now identified enough contact tracers to meet the state's guidelines, and the tracers are being trained in preparation for the Mid-Hudson Valley entering phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. On Long Island, the number of deaths is continuing to drop and contract tracing is coming online, and if this trend continues Long Island could be ready to open by Wednesday, May 27th. Business guidance for phase one of the state's reopening plan is available here. A guide to the state's "NY Forward Reopening" Plan is available here. The state's regional monitoring dashboard is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced the state is partnering with Advantage Care Physicians to establish 15 new testing sites at medical centers downstate, including testing centers in low-income and minority communities. New York State now has more than 760 testing sites across the state. The Governor also encouraged eligible New Yorkers to visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov to find a nearby testing site and get tested.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers to vote in the state's Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and is being overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo. New Yorkers can vote for the winning ad until Monday May 25th at WearAMask.ny.gov. The winning ad will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th, and that ad will be used as a public service announcement.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning. Pleasure to be here with you today. It is a beautiful morning. Today is Saturday. Everybody knows to my left, Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor. To my right, Robert Mujica, budget director for the State of New York. I know today is Saturday because Mr. Met tweeted at me this morning that today is Saturday. He is the Mets mascot, so it must be Saturday. Also today is Saturday because I'm not wearing a tie. That is a cue to me to understand that today is Saturday.
Today is Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, it is day 84. Yesterday, a number of my young superstars said to me, you know, this is Memorial Day weekend coming up, and we've been working for 83 straight days, Maybe we do something different, maybe we take a day off, is what they were trying to suggest. I said, okay, tomorrow I'll stay home. So, I am at home today. I never said I wasn't going to work, but I said tomorrow I'll stay home. And, I am at home today, but we are working, 84 straight days. When the COVID virus takes a day off, we will take a day off, it's very simple.
We're in the New York State Executive Mansion. It's not really my home, it's the people's home. It is the residence for governors in New York. It's a great old house, was built in 1856, the state acquired it in 1877. They were building the state capital, which was going to finish in 1899, which was and is really a beautiful architectural masterpiece, and the governor's residence is just a stone's throw from the state capital. And the two work together, the capital was the place for business and the governor's residence was the place for social events and for gatherings and to entertain legislators. It's been home to 32 governors. You had three governors who served as president of the United States from New York, you had Grover Cleveland, you had Teddy Roosevelt and you had FDR. Between FDR and Teddy Roosevelt, they were the two really historic governors who went on. You had Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, also lived in this home.
But it's very much a museum, and it is beautiful. I don't know if you can fully appreciate it today, but we have great artifacts in this home. We have the wheelchair from FDR that he used when he was in this house. It's the wheelchair he also would go into a pool, which is in the back of the house, which was a pool that he exercised in. It was very important for FDR, obviously, to keep his upper body very strong, he was holding himself up, and swimming was his exercise and that's his wheelchair. We have a great portrait from FDR that hangs in the drawing room. We have a great bust of Teddy Roosevelt which was done by Baker, who was an extraordinarily gifted artist, and that's here. We have great art all through this home. The New York State Museum provides art, but we have pieces by Durand here, by Frederic Church, and it's just, you can't appreciate the scope of the home, but the whole first floor is just magnificent. It can hold several hundred people and we do a lot of good work here. My mother did a restoration of the mansion back to the historical, accurate portrayal when she was here. And it's still basically very much the same way. So it is beautiful. It's open to the public. We have a website that people can go to and it's really worth seeing.
On the numbers today, the news is good news. It has been good news. Every day is a new day and it's good to see it continuing. The number of hospitalizations are down. The change in hospitalizations is down. The intubations is down. The number of new cases, new COVID cases walking in the door, which is a very important number, that's down. And the number of lives lost is down to 84. 84 is still a tragedy no doubt. But the fact that it's down as low as it is really overall good news.
I had a conversation with a health care professional and I said what number should I be looking for to get down as a bottom number on the deaths? The doctor said, it wasn't our health commissioner, he said, "If I were you, I would look for 100. You want to be below 100." I said why 100? He said "Well, people will pass away when they're ill and often its pneumonia or it's something else. But if you can get under 100, I think you can breathe a sigh of relief." When he said this to me, we were in the hundreds and hundreds and getting below 100 was almost impossible. But I made a little note. You need something in life to shoot for. You need something to aim for. It's not official. I don't even know if it was 100% accurate. But in my head I was always looking to get under 100. And under 100 doesn't do any good for those 84 families that are feeling the pain. But for me it's just a sign that we're making real progress and I feel good about that.
We've been talking about reopening and how we proceed with reopening. It's been different in different regions all across the state. We have criteria all across the state that applies to every region. There is no variance in the criteria region from region. There's no political difference. There's no local differences. What's safe in Buffalo is safe in Albany is safe in New York City. And I want people to know where we are with these criteria. And that's they're on the website and I encourage people to go look at them every day. They're controlling what's happening. This is all a function of what people do. This has nothing to do with government, nothing to do with anything else. This is what people do. New Yorkers have been great in understanding the situation and responding.
In the Mid-Hudson area, Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, Ulster, we have met the criteria for the decline in number of deaths. That is the issue that we were having with the Mid-Hudson region. The only open issue is we have to train tracers. No region opens before it's ready to open. To be ready to open, you need the tracing and testing system in place. Mid-Hudson region, we have identified the right number of tracers. They now need to be trained. It's an online course. I spoke this morning to the representatives of the Mid-Hudson, the county executives, and I said, "Look, we have a choice. If we can get them trained over Memorial Day weekend, we can reopen on Tuesday." You can do these trainings online. Many of them are government employees and we agreed and I thank the county executives and supervisors. We agreed to ask people to be trained Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And we'll open in the Mid-Hudson on Tuesday. So that is good news.
Long Island, the number of deaths are dropping. If that continues, we also have to get the tracing online, but at this rate we could open by Wednesday if the number of deaths continues to decline and we get that tracing up. That is also very good news.
Memorial Day weekend is here. We opened the state beaches. We asked people to socially distance. This is Jones Beach yesterday. People were great. People were great. They're doing what they're supposed to do, and I thank them very much. In terms of testing, we stress this and we should, just because you are not showing symptoms does not mean you do not have the COVID virus. About a third of people who have the virus never have symptoms. So they never know they have the virus, but you can still spread it if you have it - even if you don't know you have it. So, that's one of the insidious elements to this virus. So get a test. We're trying to make it as easy as possible. We're opening more and more testing sites. We're working with advantage care physicians. We're bringing more testing to lower income communities. But we now have 760 testing sites across the state. Please go to the website and get a test. It protects you, protects your family, protects everyone. We've made it as easy as possible, but we do have many sites that have more capacity than they are now doing tests.
If you have any symptoms, get a test. If you're exposed to a person who turned out to be positive, get a test. If you're a frontline worker, get a test. If you're a healthcare worker, get a test. If you're working in a grocery store, you're delivering products, you're public facing, get a test. If you're a region that's opening up, get a test. We've made it as easy as possible. But this is something where we need people to continue to step up, right? By the way, just because you got a test one month ago doesn't mean you shouldn't go get another test. You can get a test and you can walk out of the testing site and pick up the virus in ten minutes. So it's not I got one test, I'm done. It doesn't work that way. Again, that's up to people. In all these admonitions, all these pleas, the good news is remember it is working. What we are doing is working. You look at the New York curve, you look at how low it is, you look at the number of deaths., look at the decline. Compare with the rest of the nation where you still see the rest of the nation's curve going up. So it is working. And what are we doing? It is the social acceptance and culture of being New York tough which is smart, smart. Smart is get the test. Smart is protect yourself. Smart is risk, reward. Don't put yourself in a situation where it's not worth it. If you can stay home, stay home. If you don't have to go into a certain store, don't go into a store. We're united. We're disciplined. This is all about discipline now. This is doing the same thing we did the day before, even though it's day 84. It's showing respect and love for your family, and for society, and operating that way.
Again, it's working here in New York, because what you're seeing across the rest of the country in many other states, you're seeing the numbers go up. They're talking about a possible second wave in the South which may have reopened too fast and too aggressively. They're talking about a higher number of deaths in California. How these counties reopen, how states reopen, they can make all the difference. 24 states suggest that you may still have uncontrolled spread, right. So, don't underestimate this virus. We know that it can rear its ugly head at any moment. But, what do we need to do? It's not rocket science. Wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance, use hand sanitizer, but most of all wear a mask.
I am telling you those masks can save your life. Those masks can save another person's life. And the most astonishing fact to me all through this, that the emergency room health professionals have a lower infection rate than the general population. That's the bus drivers, transit workers, police officers, have a lower rate of infection because the masks work, and we gave them the masks and they wore the masks. So, wear a mask.
We have an ongoing competition on the wear a mask ad, the most convincing ad. Mariah, my daughter is running this because she was unmoved by my powers of communication and persuasion, but that competition is now open. We have people voting on the five finalists. And the winner will be announced Tuesday and will become a public service announcement for the state. We're asking people to go to the website, look at the five finalists and vote, and then we will announce a winner. I'm excited about this. We are going to be stressing wearing a mask over this weekend. Going to this website and this competition is part of it.
We have Rachel Maddow who has a show on MSNBC at night that I have been on. She was talking about this competition last night in her way. She made some remarks that I would like to show you, if we can.
Rachel Maddow: New York asked people to submit their own public service announcements about why you should wear a mask. And what they circulated this week I believe are the finalists, like the best ones according to the state and they're really good. They're also really, really, really New York.
Governor Cuomo: Now, that really, really, really New York comment. Rachel is by birth a Californian, I believe. Really, really, really New York. Here is what she meant by really, really, really New York, so I want her to do New York a favor and go look at the five, pick which ad she likes best and I'm asking all New Yorkers to go and vote on which ad they like best. But I'm really, really curious what Rachel thinks is the best of the five ads so I'm publicly asking her to go look and vote and let us know what she likes best of the five.
We are also posting some honorable mentions because we've had over 600 submissions. I'm telling you they're phenomenal. I've been watching them. They are just phenomenal. But we have an honorable mention category. We want to show you five more videos now that are in the honorable mention category.
[Videos Play]
Okay. Last point, in this house staying here and as I said really feels like a museum in many ways but you can't ignore just the number of greats who lived in this home, historic greats. What FDR did, what Teddy Roosevelt did. I read a lot of history. New York tough. Yes, yes, this is a tough situation. Yes, New Yorkers are tough and we've shown how tough we are here. Tough means many things, as I've said, loving and disciplined, et cetera. But even tough is tough. Yeah, tough is about courage. Teddy Roosevelt, "Courage is not having the strength to go on. It is going on when you don't have the strength." Day 84, "I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore." We have to do it more. We have to continue to do it. There's no normal. We're going to have to do it for a long time. Talking about the fall, they're talking about a possible second wave. We have to get back to activity. But we have to do it in a different way, a smarter way, maybe a better way when all is said and done. That's courage.
And Teddy Roosevelt was a tough and leaned in to being tough. He liked being tough, Teddy Roosevelt. He liked being physically tough. Teddy Roosevelt had a boxing ring built on the third floor of this house, a boxing ring. And he would challenge the legislators the day to come box with him in the boxing ring on the third floor at night. Can you imagine that? Governor says to a legislator, "Come, we'll go to the boxing ring." I think that's how they got the budget done at the end of budget session. Any discordant voices, "Come to mansion and we'll go to the boxing ring." But he was tough in that sense, rough rider tough, physically tough, pushed himself. My father was Governor of New York, lived in this house for 12 years as governor served as governor. He had a different version of tough. He was more of the loving definition of tough, he was more of the inclusive definition of strong, that strength was in unity and strength was in community and strength was in giving and selflessness and strength was finding the commonality among people and connecting among people. That's his sense and his definition of toughness. This nation at its best only when we see ourselves, all of us as one family. He brought it back to the metaphor of the family - what is society, what is community? You're a family. Treat each others as you would treat your own family members. Sharing benefits and burdens. That was his version of tough. You never know the number of iterations of the same concept. But the concept is right. That concept is New York.
May 24, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces New York Professional Sports Leagues Will Be Able to Begin Training Camps. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-new-york-professional-sports-leagues
Announces Members of Blue-Ribbon Commission Focused on Improving Telehealth and Broadband Access Using New, Innovative Technologies
Mid-Hudson Region Still on Track to Enter Phase One of Reopening on Tuesday, May 26th; Long Island Still on Track to Reopen Wednesday, May 27th
MTA Will Be Taking Steps to Protect LIRR Customers as Long Island Moves Towards Phase One of Reopening
More Than 10,000 Households on Long Island Have Received Nourish NY Products
Campgrounds and RV Parks Will Be Allowed to Open Statewide Tomorrow
Veterinarian Practices Will Be Allowed to Open in All Regions Beginning Tuesday, May 26th
Confirms 1,589 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 361,515; New Cases in 44 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps in state while following appropriate health protocols.
Governor Cuomo also announced the members of the state's Blue-Ribbon Commission focused on improving telehealth and broadband access using new, innovative technologies. The Blue-Ribbon Commission is being chaired by former CEO and Executive Chairman of Google and founder of Schmidt Futures, Eric Schmidt. Members of the Commission include:
· Richard Parsons - Chair, Rockefeller Foundation
· Darren Walker - President, Ford Foundation
· Dennis Rivera - Former Chair, SEIU healthcare
· Plinio Ayala - President/CEO, Per Scholas
· Charles Phillips - Chair/Former CEO, Infor
· Sid Mukherjee - Physician/Author, Assistant Professor at Columbia
· Jane Rosenthal - Co-founder/CEO/Executive Chair, Tribeca Film Festival
· Dr. Toyin Ajayi - Chief Health Officer & Co-founder, Cityblock Health
· Elizabeth Alexander - President, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
· Martha Pollack - President, Cornell University
· Steven Koonin - Director, NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress
The Governor also announced the Mid-Hudson Region is still on track to enter phase one of reopening on Tuesday, May 26th, and Long Island is still on track to reopen on Wednesday May 27th if deaths continue to decline. Both regions' contact tracing operations are expected to be online by those dates.
The Governor also announced the MTA will be taking steps to protect Long Island Rail Road customers as Long Island moves towards phase one of reopening. The MTA is cleaning and disinfecting trains and buses daily, and the LIRR is ready to add more cars to trains to help with social distancing. The Governor also reminded New Yorkers that wearing a mask or face covering is mandatory when riding on public transportation systems.
The Governor also announced that more than 10,000 households on Long Island have received Nourish New York products. Additionally, six new Nourish New York distributions are scheduled for Long Island this week. First announced by the Governor on April 27th, the Nourish New York Initiative provides relief by purchasing food and products from Upstate farms and directs them to the populations who need them most through New York's network of food banks. The state is also asking any philanthropies or foundations that would like to help the state's food banks to contact COVIDPhilanthropies@exec.ny.gov.
As we move forward with reopening, we have to keep one eye on the future and start talking about building back better, not just building to what we had before
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also announced that campgrounds and RV Parks will be allowed to open statewide tomorrow, May 25th. Veterinarian practices will also be allowed to open in all regions beginning Tuesday, May 26th.
"As we move forward with reopening, we have to keep one eye on the future and start talking about building back better, not just building to what we had before," Governor Cuomo said. "There are new rules now, and we must learn from what we've been through so that we can be prepared when another inevitable public health emergency happens. New York State has led the way in so many difficult times in history - people look to New York for guidance and example and now we are writing history for a whole modern day governmental and societal response."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,589 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 361,515 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 361,515 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,782
12
Allegany
44
0
Broome
501
16
Cattaraugus
78
0
Cayuga
77
1
Chautauqua
75
3
Chemung
136
0
Chenango
118
0
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
365
6
Cortland
39
1
Delaware
77
3
Dutchess
3,807
14
Erie
5,626
74
Essex
36
0
Franklin
20
0
Fulton
194
1
Genesee
191
0
Greene
220
3
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
101
1
Jefferson
72
0
Lewis
19
0
Livingston
114
0
Madison
301
0
Monroe
2,697
36
Montgomery
79
2
Nassau
39,837
111
Niagara
941
14
NYC
198,123
857
Oneida
878
14
Onondaga
1,953
49
Ontario
184
2
Orange
10,225
28
Orleans
202
6
Oswego
100
1
Otsego
69
1
Putnam
1,208
8
Rensselaer
463
0
Rockland
12,963
29
Saratoga
456
4
Schenectady
658
10
Schoharie
49
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
55
1
St. Lawrence
197
1
Steuben
240
0
Suffolk
38,964
162
Sullivan
1,310
13
Tioga
122
1
Tompkins
151
2
Ulster
1,617
11
Warren
250
1
Washington
226
1
Wayne
108
1
Westchester
32,968
87
Wyoming
81
1
Yates
37
0
May 24, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces New York Professional Sports Leagues Will Be Able to Begin Training Camps. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-ne-3
Announces Members of Blue-Ribbon Commission Focused on Improving Telehealth and Broadband Access Using New, Innovative Technologies
Mid-Hudson Region Still on Track to Enter Phase One of Reopening on Tuesday, May 26th; Long Island Still on Track to Reopen Wednesday, May 27th
MTA Will Be Taking Steps to Protect LIRR Customers as Long Island Moves Towards Phase One of Reopening
More Than 10,000 Households on Long Island Have Received Nourish NY Products
Campgrounds and RV Parks Will Be Allowed to Open Statewide Tomorrow
Veterinarian Practices Will Be Allowed to Open in All Regions Beginning Tuesday, May 26th
Confirms 1,589 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 361,515; New Cases in 44 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "As we go forward, we have been talking about the light at the end of the tunnel and we are dealing with it today in the here and now but we also have one eye on the future and when we finish getting through this, which we are, we have to start talking about building back better - not just building back - building back better....What, do we really think this is the last time we are going to have a public health emergency? Does anyone really believe this is the last time like Superstorm Sandy? 'Well, it's a once-in-500-year-flood.' Yeah, sure once in 500 years. It happens three times a year now. This can't be once in 500 years. There are new rules. I believe there is going to be another public health emergency, different virus, this virus, some other public health emergency. Learn from this and build back better."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps in state while following appropriate health protocols.
Governor Cuomo also announced the members of the state's Blue-Ribbon Commission focused on improving telehealth and broadband access using new, innovative technologies. The Blue-Ribbon Commission is being chaired by former CEO and Executive Chairman of Google and founder of Schmidt Futures, Eric Schmidt. Members of the Commission include:
· Richard Parsons - Chair, Rockefeller Foundation
· Darren Walker - President, Ford Foundation
· Dennis Rivera - Former Chair, SEIU healthcare
· Plinio Ayala - President/CEO, Per Scholas
· Charles Phillips - Chair/Former CEO, Infor
· Sid Mukherjee - Physician/Author, Assistant Professor at Columbia
· Jane Rosenthal - Co-founder/CEO/Executive Chair, Tribeca Film Festival
· Dr. Toyin Ajayi - Chief Health Officer & Co-founder, Cityblock Health
· Elizabeth Alexander - President, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
· Martha Pollack - President, Cornell University
· Steven Koonin - Director, NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress
The Governor also announced the Mid-Hudson Region is still on track to enter phase one of reopening on Tuesday, May 26th, and Long Island is still on track to reopen on Wednesday May 27th if deaths continue to decline. Both regions' contact tracing operations are expected to be online by those dates.
The Governor also announced the MTA will be taking steps to protect Long Island Rail Road customers as Long Island moves towards phase one of reopening. The MTA is cleaning and disinfecting trains and buses daily, and the LIRR is ready to add more cars to trains to help with social distancing. The Governor also reminded New Yorkers that wearing a mask or face covering is mandatory when riding on public transportation systems.
The Governor also announced that more than 10,000 households on Long Island have received Nourish New York products. Additionally, six new Nourish New York distributions are scheduled for Long Island this week. First announced by the Governor on April 27th, the Nourish New York Initiative provides relief by purchasing food and products from Upstate farms and directs them to the populations who need them most through New York's network of food banks. The state is also asking any philanthropies or foundations that would like to help the state's food banks to contact COVIDPhilanthropies@exec.ny.gov.
The Governor also announced that campgrounds and RV Parks will be allowed to open statewide tomorrow, May 25th. Veterinarian practices will also be allowed to open in all regions beginning Tuesday, May 26th.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning. Pleasure to see all of you here today. Let's talk about where we are today. First, on the facts first. Total number of hospitalizations is down, that's good news. The rolling average of hospitalizations is down, that's good news. The intubations is down and the new cases are up a little bit on the rolling average, but all part of the decline. That's all good news. Number of deaths ticked up, which is terrible news, but the overall line is still good. The 109 families that lost a loved one, they are in our thoughts and prayers.
What does a Governor do on Memorial Day weekend? People ask me all the time, "What do you do?" So, what does a Governor do on Memorial Day weekend? You go to the beach. That's what a Governor does and he brings his friends. I'm here with my friends today. From the far right, Gareth Rhodes. To my immediate right, Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor. To my left, Robert Mujica, Budget Director for the great State of New York and Dr. Jim Malatras, who's not a real doctor, but he likes to be called doctor.
We're at the beach. Beaches in New York State, State beaches are open. Jones Beach, the Sunken Meadow Beach, Hither Hills, Robert Moses Beach. Camp grounds, RV parks open tomorrow and we're excited about that. We remind all New Yorkers to be smart in what they're doing. We're now decidedly in the reopening phase and we've been following the numbers from day one. No emotions. Following the science, not the politics. This is not a political ideology question. This is a public health question. It's about a disease, stopping the disease, stopping the spread of the disease and that's science, it's not politics.
We have all the numbers posted for all regions in the state. We want people to understand the numbers, we want people to understand what's going on because it's their actions that determine our future. Informing the people of the State, that's what I've done from day one every day and that's what we'll continue to do. Also, we feel that this is a case of first impression. We've never been here before. We've never been here before in our lifetimes. That's true, but the country has been through this before and you learn from the past so you don't make the same mistakes.
When we went through this in the 1918 pandemic, you go back and you look at the places that opened in an uncontrolled way and you see that the virus came back and came back with a fury. Again, it's not about what you think, ideology, this is what we know. These are facts. You go back and look at what happened in the 1918 pandemic in St. Louis. Go look at Denver where they loosened up too quickly and the virus came back.
Article in the paper today, the Washington Post. 24 states may have an uncontrolled growth of the virus. They're talking about California and Florida may still see a spike in the number of deaths, okay. Those are all facts, and they reinforce the point that we've been making. Follow the numbers, follow the science. And we have done just that. That's why you see our curve is coming down where many places in the country the curve is going up.
Remember what happened to us was no fault of our own. Actually, it makes the point, because what happened to us was we did not have the facts when this started. everybody said the facts were the virus was coming from China. Those were not the facts. The virus had left China. The virus went to Europe and nobody told us. And people came from Europe to New York and to New Jersey and to Connecticut. And 3 million European travelers came, January, February, march, before we did the European travel ban. And they brought the virus to New York and that's why the New York number was so high. We didn't have the facts. We were not informed. But, once we got past that, and we were in control, we have been smart. And smart has worked. We just have to stay smart. Even though it's been a long time, and people are anxious, we have to stay smart. You keep watching those numbers.
The Mid-Hudson is still on track on the numbers to open Tuesday. Long Island is on track to meet the numbers on Wednesday. We have to get the number of deaths down on Long Island and we have to get the number of tracers up, but we're doing that. We're preparing for long island to open. We're getting the transportation system ready. The Long Island Rail Road is run by the MTA. They're going to be cleaning and disinfecting all trains and buses every day, first time ever. We never disinfected buses and trains before, we never thought we had to. But we get it now, and they're doing it every day. They're going to add more cars to the trains so people can space out and socially distance when Long Island opens. I want people to remember that the mask is mandatory on public transportation. I think you're making a mistake, a grave mistake, if you don't use a mask in your own personal life. We know that it works. We know that the first responders have a lower infection rate than the general population because they wore the masks, so I think if you don't wear the mask in your personal comings and goings you're making a mistake. But I do know, as governor, you're going to subject other people in the public to your behavior then you have to wear a mask when you can't socially distance, and that's true on public transportation.
Starting today, all the New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps. I believe that sports that can come back without having people in the stadium, without having people in the arena, do it. Do it. Work out the economics if you can. We want you up. We want people to be able to watch sports to the extent people are still staying home. It gives people something to do. It's a return to normalcy so we are working and encouraging all sports teams to start their training camps as soon as possible and we will work with them to make sure that can happen.
All veterinarian practices will begin on Tuesday. That is a service that is necessary and has been necessary for a period of time. That'll start on Tuesday and I want people to remember that there are people who have paid a very high price, everybody has paid a high price for what we have gone through.
Some people have paid an extraordinarily high price. You have people who literally do not have enough to eat. The demand on food banks has skyrocketed. That's true all across the state. It's true here on Long Island and we encourage people who want to make donations, philanthropies who want to make donations, to make them for the purpose of food banks. You know this is a period where it gets very basic. Do you have housing and do you have food? Let's make sure no New Yorker goes hungry.
Also, as we go forward, we have been talking about the light at the end of the tunnel and we are dealing with it today in the here and now but we also have one eye on the future and when we finish getting through this, which we are, we have to start talking about building back better - not just building back - building back better. Same attitude we had here on Long Island after Superstorm Sandy, devastated Long Island, I said I don't want to just replace what was. We went through too much pain and we learned too much just to replace what was. Let's build back better, a new power grid, new more resilient homes, new more resilient roads so when Mother Nature comes back, and she will come back with a furry, we are in a better position because we learned from Superstorm Sandy. Let's do the same thing here.
What, do we really think this is the last time we are going to have a public health emergency? Does anyone really believe this is the last time like Superstorm Sandy? "Well, it's a once-in-500-year-flood." Yeah, sure once in 500 years. It happens three times a year now. This can't be once in 500 years. There are new rules. I believe there is going to be another public health emergency, different virus, this virus, some other public health emergency. Learn from this and build back better. We asked Eric Schmidt, who is a former CEO, executive chair of Google, who is very good at seeing issues and seeing possibilities to chair a commission for us to look at the situation and say how do we learn from this and how do we prepare going forward and we put together a Commission that is going to work with him that represents all aspects of the state, all aspects of the economy but I want them to get to work and I want them to come up with ideas. Let's make sure we are better for what we have gone through and start preparing for a new chapter in this saga.
We are writing history in New York. We are writing history in America. That's what we are doing. We are writing history for a whole modern day governmental and societal response. Chapter one was dealing with the emergency - stabilizing the health crisis. That was chapter one. We have just about completed chapter one. We have started chapter two which is reopening after you have stabilized health crisis. And we are starting to write chapter two. Chapter three, which we are going to begin preparing for soon is rebuilding and recreating the economy. I don't believe this economy just bounces back. I don't believe it is going to be enough just to go back to where the economy was. Too many small businesses have closed. You will see many of these corporations are going to use this as an opportunity to lay off workers. I believe that. Many businesses who have gone through this period where workers were at home. They had fewer workers. They used more technology and they are going to decide that "Well, we don't need as many workers." That is going to happen. You will have people who decide I don't want to go back to work. I would rather stay home and do it from home.
So, we are going to need to stimulate that economy and government has a role to play in that, it always has. How does government stimulate and lead the way to these new economic opportunities? How does that Eric Schmidt commission come up with new ideas that we can jump start to grow the economy? That is what the next chapter is going to be about. It is going to be about government working with the private sector, working with businesses to jumpstart the economy, to stimulate it, to get some big projects going that get the business sector engaged and confident and believing once again. Gets people into a position where they will invest once again because they believe in the economy. Build new airports, which makes this nation more competitive. That is what we are doing at LaGuardia. That is what we are doing at JFK. This nation hasn't built a new airport in 25 years. When are you going to start? Now is the time to start. How do you improve the mass transit system? How do you rebuild all these roads and bridges that have been failing for so long? Everybody talks about it. Nobody has done a darn thing. How about new technology for education? How about new telemedicine? We learned not ever but he has to show up at the doctor's office. Let's invest and build that new health care system. We talk about a new health care system that can do testing and tracing and has surge capacity and hospital beds. Let's build that new public health system and let government get ahead of it and let government lead the way.
New York State has led the way in so many difficult times in history. New York was the first. I am not just saying that as a New Yorker, "There they are, those arrogant New Yorkers." Read the history books. Read where FDR came up with his great ideas. He used New York as a laboratory when he was a governor and then he brought them nationwide. But we were the first. We started it first and people looked to New York for guidance and for example. And New York was bold and was creative. They talk about the New York energy, the New York mojo. Yes, that is New York. We did things that other people didn't think could be done, and we did it over and over and over again.
We are at Jones Beach today. Jones Beach is indescribably beautiful. Yes. It is also something else. It was a tremendous feat of ambition and vision meeting competence. Jones Beach, built by Robert Moses, you know what is funny about Jones Beach when he started to build Jones Beach? There was no beach. There was no beach. People assume you have a beach because Mother Nature of each there. There was no beach. This was all built. This was all marsh. This is seven miles of fill. They filled a seven-mile-stretch, 14 feet high. It took so much fill that they dug the channel, a canal, and used that fill to build a beach. How ambitious. "You want to build a beach seven miles long, 14 feet of fill, well that's impossible." No, they did it in three years. And it was a marvel, because they believed in themselves. Because you had smart government. You had competent government. People believed in government and they do again, because government did work for people here. It saved lives. So, let's get that kind of ambition back. Let's get that kind of optimism back. We built New York. Mother Nature didn't build this. She gave us a beautiful harbor, but everything else was built and we did it and we can do it again. That is what it means to be New York tough and smart and united and disciplined and loving.
May 25, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces State and Local Governments Will Provide Death Benefits for Frontline Workers Who Died From COVID-19
Renews Call for Federal Government to Provide Hazard Pay to Essential Public Workers
Confirms 1,249 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 362,764; New Cases in 41 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that state and local governments will provide death benefits for frontline workers who died from COVID-19 during this emergency.
Governor Cuomo also renewed his call for the federal government to provide hazard pay for essential public workers on the front lines.
During these troubling times there have been so many New Yorkers who have really risen to the challenge and done more than anyone could ask for or expect.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
"During these troubling times there have been so many New Yorkers who have really risen to the challenge and done more than anyone could ask for or expect, and we want to make sure that we remember them and we thank those heroes for all that they've done," Governor Cuomo said. "I personally feel a grave responsibility to our frontline and essential workers who understood the dangers of this virus, but went to work anyway because we needed them to. And we're going to make sure that every government in the State of New York provides death benefits to those public heroes who died from COVID-19 during this emergency."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,249 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 362,764 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 362,764 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,791
9
Allegany
44
0
Broome
519
18
Cattaraugus
81
3
Cayuga
77
0
Chautauqua
75
0
Chemung
136
0
Chenango
119
1
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
372
7
Cortland
39
0
Delaware
77
0
Dutchess
3,825
18
Erie
5,700
74
Essex
36
0
Franklin
20
0
Fulton
196
2
Genesee
192
1
Greene
225
5
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
103
2
Jefferson
72
0
Lewis
19
0
Livingston
115
1
Madison
303
2
Monroe
2,733
36
Montgomery
79
0
Nassau
39,907
70
Niagara
955
14
NYC
198,731
608
Oneida
905
27
Onondaga
1,981
28
Ontario
185
1
Orange
10,244
19
Orleans
205
3
Oswego
104
4
Otsego
69
0
Putnam
1,214
6
Rensselaer
465
2
Rockland
12,996
33
Saratoga
461
5
Schenectady
664
6
Schoharie
49
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
55
0
St. Lawrence
197
0
Steuben
240
0
Suffolk
39,090
126
Sullivan
1,324
14
Tioga
122
0
Tompkins
154
3
Ulster
1,632
15
Warren
251
1
Washington
228
2
Wayne
109
1
Westchester
33,049
81
Wyoming
82
1
Yates
37
0
May 25, 2020.
Video, B-roll, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces State and Local Governments Will Provide Death Benefits for Frontline Workers Who Died From Covid-19. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-b-roll-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-announces-state-and-local-governments
Renews Call for Federal Government to Provide Hazard Pay to Essential Public Workers
Confirms 1,249 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 362,764; New Cases in 41 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "Today we're saying we honor that service and we're going to make sure that every government in the State of New York provides death benefits to those public heroes who died from COVID-19 during this emergency. I also believe the federal government should be doing the same, honoring the frontline workers, showing Americans that we appreciate what you did, that you showed up when it was hard, that you worked when it was hard, you appeared for duty when it was troubling to do so. And I'm sure many people were afraid to show up, but they showed up anyway, and they deserve not just words of thanks but actions that show the appreciation."
Cuomo: "And I think the federal government should dedicate federal funds and pay hazard pay to those workers who showed up. It's a way of saying 'Thank you, we understand what you did, we appreciate what you did.' And it's a way of showing Americans that when there is a next time, and there is a next time, that we truly appreciate those people who show up and do their duty."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that state and local governments will provide death benefits for frontline workers who died from COVID-19 during this emergency.
Governor Cuomo also renewed his call for the federal government to provide hazard pay for essential public workers on the front lines.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
B-ROLL of the Governor and his daughter Michaela Kennedy Cuomo laying a wreath in honor of Memorial Day is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning to all. To my right, we have Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor. To my left, Michaela Kennedy Cuomo, who is representing her whole family and the honor of allowing us to lay a wreath in honor of Memorial Day. To her left, Gareth Rhodes, who's been working with us from the onset of this tragic COVID situation.
We're at the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. This is a remarkable, remarkable facility and it's always a pleasure to be here. It was started by the Fisher family which is one of the great families of the State of New York. Susan Marenoff-Zausner is here with us today who is the President of the organization. We want to thank her for her kindness.
Today, we honor the service members who have lost their lives. We remember their families and the pain that they have dealt with, and we thank them all for their service, their bravery and their sacrifice. I want to thank the Gelband family, Stu and Ellen, for being with us today and giving us the honor. Let's take a moment of silence in memory of all those who are fallen and wishing their families peace on this difficult day.
Thank you. This is the USS intrepid. I've been here a number of times. Every time I come, I learn something else. Remarkable history itself, launched in 1943. Over 30 years of service, served in World War II, the Cold War, Vietnam War. It really is a phenomenal walk through history, visiting this great ship. 250 Americans who served on board lost their life while they were serving on this ship, and that brings home the message of today.
President Kennedy was speaking about Memorial Day and giving thanks to those who served and who made the ultimate sacrifice, but he reminded us that as we express our gratitude, "never forget that the highest appreciation is not about uttering the words, but to live them." That is the greatest acknowledgment of the sacrifice that has been made, to carry it forward. And this Memorial Day, I think it's especially poignant and powerful when this country is going through what it's going through, and we know something about loss because we're living it again. Over 100,000 Americans will lose their lives to this covid virus.
How do we honor them? We honor them by growing stronger together. And during these times, there are so many Americans who have really risen to the challenge, done more than anyone could ask, more than anyone could expect. We want to make sure that we remember them and we thank our heroes of today. And they're all around us and they did extraordinary service to allow us to continue doing what we're doing. I can just imagine the responsibility of a chief executive who has to call men and women into war and how they deal with that responsibility.
I know that I feel a grave responsibility to our frontline workers, our essential workers, who understood the dangers of this COVID virus, but went to work anyway because we needed them to. We needed the nurses and the doctors to perform phenomenal service in the hospitals. We needed the police, the fire department, the EMS, to show up. We needed the frontline workers in grocery stores to show up so others could stay home and be safe. And I bear heavy the responsibility of explaining to the people of this state and beyond what we were dealing with when we were dealing with the COVID virus and how dangerous it was, and then in the same breath asking people to please show up tomorrow - having just explained how dangerous it was. And many of those people who showed up and did their duty and served with honor lost their lives to keep others of us safe. In many ways that is a microcosm of what we're here talking about today on Memorial Day.
But as John F. Kennedy said, "remember with your actions," and today we're saying we honor that service and we're going to make sure that every government in the State of New York provides death benefits to those public heroes who died from COVID-19 during this emergency. I also believe the federal government should be doing the same, honoring the frontline workers, showing Americans that we appreciate what you did, that you showed up when it was hard, that you worked when it was hard, you appeared for duty when it was troubling to do so. And I'm sure many people were afraid to show up but they showed up anyway, and they deserve not just words of thanks but actions that show the appreciation. And I think the federal government should dedicate federal funds and pay hazard pay to those workers who showed up. It's a way of saying "thank you, we understand what you did, we appreciate what you did." And it's a way of showing Americans that when there is a next time, and there is a next time, that we truly appreciate those people who show up and do their duty.
Today we also honor the veterans who we lost to coronavirus during this epidemic. Jack Conyers, Stephen Patti, Cleveland Jessup, and those are just a handful, people from New York. We're still in the midst of this COVID battle. We are making progress here in New York.
Again, the hospitalization rate is down. The net change in hospitalizations is down. Intubations is down, which is very good news. Day-to-day hospitalizations are down, which is continued good news and in many ways the most important news. That means the number of people who are coming into our hospitals on a day-to-day basis continues to drop. And the most important to me, the number of lives lost, 96, is still painfully high. But only in the relative absurdity of our situation is that relatively good news. And we remember those 96 families today.
John F. Kennedy's words of appreciation were echoes of the thoughts of Abraham Lincoln after thanking those who lost their lives in the Civil War: "It is for us the living to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they have thus far so nobly carried on." It's about the unfinished work. That's what Abraham Lincoln said, that's what John F. Kennedy said. That's what almost every great leader of this country has said. It's about dedicating ourselves to the unfinished work.
And we do that here in New York. We honor the memory of the fallen by going forward, by living, by growing, by advancing, by learning from it, by being stronger than ever before, by taking the values and principles of America that they lived and died for and raising them to a new level by rising even higher and even stronger than ever before. And we will do that. We will do that here in New York. We'll do that in this country because America and New York are tough, smart, united, disciplined and loving at the end of the day. And that has brought us to this point where this country is the strongest, best country on the globe and it will take us forward.
May 26, 2020.
Video & Photos: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Rings Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange as Trading Floor Reopens. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-photos-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-rings-opening-bell-new-york-stock
Video Available Here and Here, Photos Available Here
Governor Cuomo: "I don't believe this economy just bounces back, and it is not going to be enough just to go back to where the economy was. We are going to rebuild and recreate the economy for the future - stronger than before. Reopening the floor of the New York Stock Exchange is the first step. As trading on this iconic floor recommences, New York is showing the nation that we will lead the way."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to commence the reopening of the trading floor for the first time since March 23rd.
VIDEO of the Governor's opening the stock exchange is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
May 26, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Eighth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Today. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-eighth-region-hits-benchmark-begin
Mid-Hudson Valley Joins Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
Long Island Still on Track to Reopen Tomorrow, May 27th
Governor Will Meet with President Trump Tomorrow to Discuss Infrastructure Projects to Help Supercharge the Economy
State Will Fast-Track Construction of Empire Station at Penn and New LaGuardia Airport
State is Continuing to Direct Resources to Lower-Income and Predominately Minority Neighborhoods in NYC that are Most Impacted by COVID-19
Confirms 1,072 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 363,836; New Cases in 35 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the Mid-Hudson Region has met all seven metrics to begin phase one of reopening today, joining the Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. Long Island is still on track to reopen tomorrow May 27th when their contact tracing operation comes online and if deaths continue to decline.
The Governor also announced he will meet with President Trump in Washington D.C. tomorrow to discuss infrastructure projects that need federal approval - including the LaGuardia AirTrain, the Cross-Hudson Tunnels and the Second Avenue Subway expansion - to help supercharge the economy.
The Governor also announced the state will fast-track the construction of the new Empire Station at Penn and the new LaGuardia Airport while rail ridership and air traffic is down. To further jumpstart the economy, the state will work to increase low cost renewable power downstate and production upstate with building of new cross-state transmission cables; expedite a power cable from Canada to New York City and increase renewable energy resources.
As the reopening process continues, we have to supercharge the reopening to make sure that the economy doesn't just bounce back, but that it comes back better and stronger than ever.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also announced the state is continuing to direct resources and focus targeted efforts on reducing the spread of COVID-19 in lower-income and predominately minority neighborhoods in New York City that are most impacted by the COVID-19 virus and continue to see a disproportionately high number of new COVID cases every day. These efforts will help New York City meet the seven metrics required to begin reopening.
"We're turning the page on the COVID-19 pandemic and we're focusing on two tracks going forward - monitoring the reopening and supercharging the reopening," Governor Cuomo said. "We're starting to reopen in nearly every region all across the state - we have a dashboard available so every New Yorker can see the numbers every day and our regional control groups are studying the numbers and the data. As the reopening process continues, we have to supercharge the reopening to make sure that the economy doesn't just bounce back, but that it comes back better and stronger than ever."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,072 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 363,836 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 363,836 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,793
2
Allegany
44
0
Broome
522
3
Cattaraugus
81
0
Cayuga
78
1
Chautauqua
77
2
Chemung
136
0
Chenango
123
4
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
373
1
Cortland
39
0
Delaware
77
0
Dutchess
3,834
9
Erie
5,753
53
Essex
36
0
Franklin
20
0
Fulton
196
0
Genesee
193
1
Greene
225
0
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
103
0
Jefferson
72
0
Lewis
20
1
Livingston
118
3
Madison
303
0
Monroe
2,762
29
Montgomery
80
1
Nassau
39,974
67
Niagara
965
10
NYC
199,301
570
Oneida
917
12
Onondaga
2,012
31
Ontario
195
10
Orange
10,277
33
Orleans
208
3
Oswego
104
0
Otsego
69
0
Putnam
1,222
8
Rensselaer
466
1
Rockland
13,019
23
Saratoga
463
2
Schenectady
668
4
Schoharie
49
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
55
0
St. Lawrence
197
0
Steuben
240
0
Suffolk
39,199
109
Sullivan
1,338
14
Tioga
122
0
Tompkins
154
0
Ulster
1,638
6
Warren
251
0
Washington
228
0
Wayne
110
1
Westchester
33,107
58
Wyoming
82
0
Yates
37
0
May 26, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Winners of Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-winners-wear-mask-new-york-ad-contest
Two Winning Videos - "We Heart New York" Created by Bunny Lake Films and "You Can Still Smile" by Natalia Bougadellis and Emory Parker - Will Run as Public Service Announcements
600 Video Submissions, 186,000 Votes Cast
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the winners of the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest - "We Heart New York" created by Bunny Lake Films and "You Can Still Smile" by Natalia Bougadellis and Emory Parker. Both winning videos will run as public service announcements and can be viewed here.
The contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, asked New Yorkers to create and share a video explaining why New Yorkers should wear a mask in public. The state collected more than 600 video submissions from across the state, and there were 186,000 votes cast in the contest.
"We launched the Wear A Mask New York contest to help spread the word about the importance of wearing a mask, and frankly this contest generated much more energy and excitement than I even anticipated," Governor Cuomo said. "The tremendous level of participation demonstrates that people understand that a mask can be the difference between life and death. This is about their lives and this is about their community, and they're engaged -- because they are New York tough, smart, united, disciplined and loving."
"We asked New Yorkers to create ads about the importance of wearing a mask in public, and we received over 600 video submissions from across the state," Mariah Kennedy Cuomo said. "Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who submitted ads, who voted, who shared ads, and helped spread this important message that it's absolutely critical to wear a mask in public. And we'll be continuing to reach out to New Yorkers for help in spreading the message about how we can get through this together because New Yorkers are clearly ready, willing and able to help."
May 26, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Eighth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Today. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-33
Mid-Hudson Valley Joins Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
Long Island Still on Track to Reopen Tomorrow, May 27th
Governor Will Meet with President Trump Tomorrow to Discuss Infrastructure Projects to Help Supercharge the Economy
State Will Fast-Track Construction of Empire Station at Penn and New LaGuardia Airport
State is Continuing to Direct Resources to Lower-Income and Predominately Minority Neighborhoods in NYC that are Most Impacted by COVID-19
Confirms 1,072 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 363,836; New Cases in 35 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "Traditionally, Memorial Day is a pivot point, it's a transition point, summer is starting. Fashion changes, mindsets change, and it shouldn't be that much different this year. Memorial Day is going to be a point where maybe we don't all run back to the beach, but we're going to turn the page on COVID-19 and we're going to start focusing on reopening, and how we reopen, and how smart we are in reopening."
Cuomo: "While we're reopening, supercharge the reopening, right. Stock market opened today. We want that economy to come roaring back. We want it to come roaring back. And that's not going to happen just by wishing it to be so. We have to take an affirmative action, we have to be part of that, and today is page one of that chapter."
Cuomo: "Mid-Hudson opens today. They met all the metrics, all the numerical criteria, so they're opening today. Long Island will open tomorrow. We're going to bring on the last of what's called the tracers who do the contact tracing after testing. They'll be coming online today and Long Island will open tomorrow."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the Mid-Hudson Region has met all seven metrics to begin phase one of reopening today, joining the Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. Long Island is still on track to reopen tomorrow May 27th when their contact tracing operation comes online and if deaths continue to decline.
The Governor also announced he will meet with President Trump in Washington D.C. tomorrow to discuss infrastructure projects that need federal approval - including the LaGuardia AirTrain, the Cross-Hudson Tunnels and the Second Avenue Subway expansion - to help supercharge the economy.
The Governor also announced the state will fast-track the construction of the new Empire Station at Penn and the new LaGuardia Airport while rail ridership and air traffic is down. To further jumpstart the economy, the state will work to increase low cost renewable power downstate and production upstate with building of new cross-state transmission cables; expedite a power cable from Canada to New York City and increase renewable energy resources.
The Governor also announced the state is continuing to direct resources and focus targeted efforts on reducing the spread of COVID-19 in lower-income and predominately minority neighborhoods in New York City that are most impacted by the COVID-19 virus and continue to see a disproportionately high number of new COVID cases every day. These efforts will help New York City meet the seven metrics required to begin reopening.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of today's remarks is available below:
It's a pleasure to be here today. Hope everyone had a good weekend. I had a great weekend. Stayed at home Saturday, went to the beach Sunday, went to the Intrepid yesterday, plus I changed the oil in the car, so I had a good day, good weekend. I want to thank the Stock Exchange for hosting us today. This is a beautiful room. I was here this morning, the stock market reopened today, so it's a pleasure to be here. I want to thank Stacey Cunningham, who's the president of the New York Stock Exchange, for her hospitality and courtesy.
Let's start with the facts, facts first. That's what the American people need. Number of hospitalizations down, great news. Rolling average down, number of intubations down. Number of new COVID cases down to the lowest level since this ever started, just about 200. Amen. Number of lives lost, 73. That's the lowest level that we have seen since this started. So again, in this absurd new reality, that is good news. any other time and place, when we lose 73 New Yorkers, it's tragic. It's tragic now. But relative to where we've been, we're on the other side of the curve and that's the lowest number that we've had. So we thank all the health care staff once again, doctors, nurses, who've been doing a fantastic job. And you see we went up the mountain very quickly, that spike took us up very quickly, and it took a long time to come down but we're still coming down.
Yesterday was Memorial Day. And traditionally, Memorial Day is a pivot point, it's a transition point, summer is starting. Fashion changes, mindsets change, and it shouldn't be that much different this year. Memorial Day is going to be a point where maybe we don't all run back to the beach, but we're going to turn the page on COVID-19 and we're going to start focusing on reopening, and how we reopen, and how smart we are in reopening, because that's the whole issue. You look at what's happening across the country, it was never a question of reopen or not reopen. The answer was always reopen. The question was always how smart are you on this reopening? How intelligent are you on the reopening? How informed are you, how disciplined are you on the reopening because that determines how successful the reopening is.
The stock market reopened today, I had the honor of ringing the bell. And it didn't reopen the way it was. It reopened smarter than before. Fewer people, wearing masks, new precautions, that the stock exchange has incorporated, not because government said they had to, but because the stock exchange is smart, and they wanted to get back the business but they wanted to be smart and they're doing it in a way that keeps people safe, and that's an example of exactly what we've been talking about. So two tracks going forward from Memorial Day. Number one, monitor the reopenings. We're reopening in regions all across the state because regions are different all across the state, so we're reopening in regions. Monitor the regions. We have a dashboard that is up. Every New Yorker can see the numbers and what we're doing is gauged by the numbers.
Mid-Hudson opens today. They met all the metrics, all the numerical criteria, so they're opening today. Long Island will open tomorrow. We're going to bring on the last of what's called the tracers who do the contact tracing after testing. They'll be coming online today and Long Island will open tomorrow.
Each region has a regional control group. I've spoken to many of the county executives across the state who are key on these regional control groups. I said to the county executives, watch the numbers. When you see a cluster of cases, jump on it. Jump on it. That's what the contact tracing is all about - what happened? Where did they come from? Is there any commonality among the people in the cluster? Is there a geographic identity to that cluster? But that has to be done region by region.
You have to stay disciplined and focused. Study the numbers, the numbers inform you. The numbers tell you what's happening. That dashboard tells you what's happening. Those regional control groups have to be disciplined. Steve Bellone in Suffolk, Laura Curran in Nassau, Mark Poloncarz in Buffalo, Adam Bello in Rochester, and Ryan McMahon in Syracuse. Focus on what's happening in those numbers. You see a little movement, you pounce on it. Find out what it is, explore it, and resolve it.
New York City is the one region that is not reopened yet in New York. That's for obvious reasons. The numbers have been worse in New York City. The number of cases was worse in New York City. Again, nothing endemic to New York City. What happened in New York City was the virus was coming from Europe, we didn't even know. Nobody told us. We all were told it was coming from China, China, China. Look to the west, it came from the east. We're looking west, it came from the east. It was coming from Europe. January, February, before we did a European travel ban, 3 million Europeans landed at our airports and the virus came that way. So, once the virus got here it spread. This is a dense area. New York City, public transportation. It had the worst problem in the nation, one of the worst problems on the globe. It's the one region that's not reopened yet. We're now going to focus on reopening New York City.
Again, we do it smartly. We have data, we have tests. We can focus on the new cases in New York City. Where are those infections still coming from? And we literally can now focus on those areas by zip code. We've done so much testing. We do more testing in New York than any state in the United States of America. We do more testing per capita than most countries on the globe. We do so much testing that we can actually identify zip codes that are generating the new cases. If you have that kind of intelligence, that kind of data, then you can target your resources right to those areas. Those zip codes tend to be predominately minority communities. The infection rate is not spreading among essential workers. It's speaking among workers who have stayed home or who are unemployed. It's spreading in the home, it's spreading in the community.
We're going to focus on those zip codes. We're going to focus on those communities and we want to slow the infection rate even in those communities. And that will really bring the numbers down in New York City. We started that last week, but we're going to bring it to a new level starting this week. And you can see that the infection rate in some of these zip codes is double the infection rate in the city. The infection rate in the city general population is about 19 percent, almost 20 percent. In some of these communities the infection rate is 40 percent. Literally double the city-wide average. And when we look at those new COVID cases coming into the hospitals, where are they coming from? They're coming from these zip codes. And we can literally identify it, so we want to attack the virus at the source. That's what we're going to be doing in New York City. In New York City we also have to get the number of tracers up, and trained, and online, and we'll be focusing on that.
Statewide, we all have to remain smart. Regions that are opened, regions that are reopening, New York City that hasn't opened yet where we have to get the numbers down. It's about citizens. And it's about what people do. That's been the great riddle in this whole thing. We don't understand it. It's about government. Government this. Government that. Forget government. This whole trajectory is decided by people. It's personal behavior, that's all it is. You tell me what people do today, I'll tell you what the infection rate is tomorrow. And it's simple, it's wash your hands, it's socially distance, it's use the hand sanitizer, and it is wear the mask. Wear the mask. And this is almost a point of cultural communication.
Wearing a mask is now cool. I believe it's cool. If I could sign an executive order that says wearing a mask is officially cool. There is a certain amount of informing the public and accepting a new type of standard. Wearing the mask has got to be something you do every day when you get up, when you walk out of the house you put the mask on. And I said the other day, you know, New Yorkers want to reinforce it for other New Yorkers. This is cool. You want to encourage people to do this. By the way, they have all sorts of colored masks. You don't have to have a boring mask like my mask. I'm a boring guy. They have color masks, they have masks that say things. Some people coordinate their outfit with the color of their mask. And this has to be part of literally who we are and what we do every day. That does not mean when someone doesn't wear a mask, we should be rude to that person or be obnoxious to that person. But this has got to be part of every New Yorker's fashion, and design, and clothing, and outfitting. Wearing the mask. It makes a real difference. And if you think that's all talk, answer for me why all the first responders have a lower infection rate than the general population? The only difference is they wore a mask. And they wore the PPE. So, wear a mask, everyone has to do their part.
Second track is while we're reopening, supercharge the reopening, right. Stock market opened today. We want that economy to come roaring back. We want it to come roaring back. And that's not going to happen just by wishing it to be so. We have to take an affirmative action, we have to be part of that, and today is page one of that chapter. I don't believe that the economy just bounces back. Some economists say, "We artificially stopped the economy and we release it and it went down and it's going to come right back in a straight line." I don't believe it comes straight back. I believe it bounces back, but it bounces back differently. We talk about the normal and the new normal. I think you are going to see the same thing with the economy. I don't think it comes right back to where it was. It's not like bouncing a basketball. You bounce a basketball, it goes down and comes straight back up. It's like dropping a football. You drop a football, depending on how it hits, it goes off on different angles.
The economy is going to come back up. I don't think it comes straight back up. And I think there will be winners and losers in this new economy. I think the top end of the economy will be fine. They always are. It always works out for them. You look at the 2008 recession after the mortgage fraud, we did the bailouts. The big banks were the first one to come back fine. But I don't think the economy comes back for everyone, everywhere the same way. I think you are going to see American workers who are laid off, that's why I'm pushing the Americans First Law in Washington. I think you are going to see corporations use this as an opportunity to, in their words, "restructure, to get lean, or show the analysts we can increase the profit," and how do you increase the profit fast in a corporation? You lay off workers - that's what you do. And I think you are going to see corporations do that. We've lost thousands of small businesses that just are not going to reopen their doors. So, you are going to see pain in this new economy. And let's start to anticipate that and let's start to deal with that now.
We know that government can stimulate the economy. This country has done it in the past where we have engaged in major public works that made the nation better and when we did it, we stimulated the economy. You look at all the great things that this nation did, building the Hoover Dam and the Lincoln Tunnel, all these magnificent public improvements, that made the nation the nation - and created thousands of jobs at the same time. Now, everyone has been talking about the need to do major infrastructure in this nation. Every president. Democrat, Republican, President Clinton talked about it, President Bush talked at it, President Obama talked about it, President Trump talked about it, Vice President Biden talks about it. "We have major infrastructure needs, we're not building, the rest of the world is passing us by." It's true. Well, then, do something about it. Don't just talk about it. Everybody's identified the same problem. Democrats and Republicans. But nobody has done anything. If there's ever a time to actually take on this overdue need, of major infrastructure construction, now is the time. There is no better time to build than right now. You need to restart the economy. You need to create jobs. And you need to renew and repair this country's economy. And its infrastructure. Now is the time to do it.
It's especially the time to do it when some of the volume is lower, right? The time to fix the hole in the roof, we would say in Queens, is when the sun is shining. That's when - you what, you don't think that's a Queens expression? That was a Queens expression as far as I'm concerned. That's when you fix the hole in the roof when the sun is shining. The time to do this work is now when you need the jobs and the volume is low and New York will lead the way.
We are going to accelerate our big infrastructure programs. We have the Empire Station project, which is building a new Penn Station, which is long overdue. That Penn Station has been torturing people for too long. Let's now accelerate the Empire, Penn project while the ridership is low and when we need the jobs. Accelerating LaGuardia Airport which is going to be the first new airport in this nation is 25 years. Traffic is low, passenger volume is lower, let's accelerate that construction now. Let's do things that we've been talking about for a long time but we've never actually pulled the trigger on.
We know that we need renewable power. We know we can generate renewable power in Upstate. We know we need it downstate. Let's build the cross-state transmission lines to develop that renewable market upstate and satisfy the need downstate. We know they have low-cost hydropower in Canada. Let's run the cable, the transmission lines from Canada to New York City to get that power down here and let's stop talking and let's start doing. Let's invigorate this whole renewable market.
There are other big infrastructure projects that we've been talking, talking, talking about, which we have to do where we need federal help and federal approval. Let's put those on the table. The AirTrain to LaGuardia. New York City is one of the only major cities that has no train from the airport into the central city. We've been talking about the cross-Hudson tunnels where the Amtrak trains come through that are old and that are crumbling and that if they become a problem, you literally stop Amtrak travel to the entire Northeast. Let's stop the politics on it and let's get it done and let's build those new tunnels.
The Second Avenue Subway, the next extension for the Second Avenue Subway goes from 96th Street to 125th Street would open up that whole 125th Street area. It would bring a whole new chapter of revitalization to New York City. Let's do that in partnership with the federal government.
I'm going to go Washington tomorrow. I'm scheduled to meet with the president to talk about a number of things, but this is one of the things I want to talk to the president about. You want to restart the economy, you want to reopen the economy, let's do something creative. Let's do it fast. Let's put Americans back to work and let's make America better. It is common sense. It is common sense. So many of the things that we need to do you don't need to be a government expert or an engineer to figure out. It's common sense. You have an infrastructure that's crumbling, you need to jump start the economy, you need to create jobs, do it now. Do it now. That's one of the things I'm going to talk to the president about tomorrow.
Last point, we did the Wear A Mask New York PSA contest. I asked my daughter Mariah to help out, volunteer, pro bono, no money. Supervised by her very nice, easy going boss - moi. And Mariah agreed and she did a fantastic job, and frankly this contest has gone much bigger and generated much more energy and excitement than I anticipated. And with that I will turn it over to Mariah.
Mariah Kennedy Cuomo: Thank you. We launched the Wear A Mask ad contest in May asking New Yorkers to create ads about the importance of wearing a mask in public. And we received over 600 video submissions from across the state. We selected five finalists and put it to a vote, and people cast 186,117 votes. And today, we are proud to announce the winning ad, which is We Heart New York. And with that, we'd like to play it.
[Winning Ad Plays]
Mariah Kennedy Cuomo: Thank you and congratulations to Bunny Lake Films, a female founded boutique production company based in Brooklyn, New York, who created that incredible ad. And we now would like to show the second-place ad which is You Can Still Smile.
[Second-Place Ad Plays]
Mariah Kennedy Cuomo: Thank you to everyone who submitted ads, who voted, who shared ads, and helped spread this important message that it's absolutely critical to wear a mask in public. And we'll be continuing to reach out to New Yorkers for help in spreading the message about how we can get through this together because New Yorkers are clearly ready and willing and able to help.
Governor Cuomo: Beautiful, that is a great job. Now, I have to make an executive decision, not order, there is no election that we have nowadays that doesn't raise issues it seems. This was extraordinary. We opened this up to competition. There were 96,000 votes for the first and second place winners. 96,000 votes and only a 500-vote differential between number one and number two, okay? Which if it was a normal election would normally trigger an automatic recount, all right? It was that close. There is also an issue with the selection that we never really defined an eligible voter. And we have people who voted in this competition all across the state, all across the country, all across the world, we had international people voting in this competition, which I did not really fully think through. So rather than have a debate about who would have been an eligible voter, because that 500 votes between first and second is so small, if you start to have a question about who's an eligible voter, it could get dicey. So I'm going to make an executive decision.
The state will run both ads, first and second, because they're both great and obviously yes, one won by 500 votes. But it was a tremendous turnout, people loved both, that's clear, so the state will run both and we don't have to get into a debate about who's an eligible voter in a video competition. So we'll run both of those PSAs. I want to thank all the voters who participated. That tremendous number just shows how engaged people are all through this. This is about life and death. This is about their lives, this is about their community, and they're engaged, and they should be, because they are New York tough, smart, united, disciplined and loving.
May 27, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Calls On U.S. Senate to Pass a Coronavirus Relief Bill That Helps All Americans. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-calls-us-senate-pass-coronavirus-relief-bill
Reiterates Call for Repeal of SALT
Renews Call for 'Americans First Law' Stating a Corporation Cannot Be Eligible for Government Funding if it Does Not Rehire the Same Number of Employees it Had Before the COVID-19 Pandemic
Urges President Trump to Support a Real Public Infrastructure Program and Approve Infrastructure Projects in New York
Ninth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Today; Long Island Joins Mid-Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
Confirms 1,129 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 364,965; New Cases in 45 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today called on the U.S. Senate to pass a coronavirus relief bill that helps all Americans and provides unrestricted fiscal support for states. The next bill should focus on funding state and local governments, working families, state testing and tracing efforts and a real economic stimulus with no handouts to corporations who do not protect their workers and only enrich executives or shareholders. The House of Representatives has already passed a bill that includes $500 billion for states and $375 billion for locals; Medicaid funding for the most vulnerable; increased SNAP food assistance; 100 percent FEMA federal assistance; funding for testing; and repeals SALT cap to help states most affected by COVID-19.
Governor Cuomo also reiterated his call for the U.S. Senate to repeal the SALT limitations. The states most impacted by COVID-19 represent more than one-third of the national GDP. They also send tens of billions of tax dollars more to the federal government than they get back, and the dollars they send are then redistributed to other states and big corporations. These very same states that have been most impacted by COVID-19, are also the states that were hit hardest by the cap on state and local taxes, the politically motivated first double tax in U.S. history that was implemented by the federal tax law in 2017.
The Governor also renewed his call for Congress to pass the 'Americans First Law' to help prevent corporate bailouts following the COVID-19 pandemic. First proposed by the Governor on May 10th, the legislation states that a corporation cannot be eligible to receive government funding if it doesn't maintain the same number of employees that the corporation had before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor also urged President Trump to support a real public infrastructure program and to advance infrastructure projects in New York -- including the LaGuardia AirTrain, the Cross-Hudson Tunnels, and the Second Avenue Subway expansion -- to help supercharge the economy.
There cannot be a national recovery if the state and local governments are not funded - that is a fact.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also announced that Long Island has met all seven metrics to begin phase one of reopening today, joining the Mid-Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions.
"We understand that states are responsible for reopening, but at the same time, the federal government has a role to play and must do its part as we work our way through this crisis," Governor Cuomo said. "Washington is now debating their next bill that would aid in the reopening and the recovery. Prior bills have helped businesses and their interests and that is fine, but now they must also help the state and local governments that fund schools and hospitals. There cannot be a national recovery if the state and local governments are not funded - that is a fact. The recovery from this virus is not about politics - we are fighting a virus and the virus is not a democratic or republican virus - and the federal government must act now to pass a federal coronavirus relief bill that is honorable and decent and does the right thing for all Americans."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,129 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 364,965 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 364,965 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,796
3
Allegany
45
1
Broome
528
6
Cattaraugus
82
1
Cayuga
80
2
Chautauqua
78
1
Chemung
136
0
Chenango
125
2
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
380
7
Cortland
39
0
Delaware
78
1
Dutchess
3,847
13
Erie
5,810
57
Essex
36
0
Franklin
20
0
Fulton
198
2
Genesee
195
2
Greene
231
6
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
105
2
Jefferson
72
0
Lewis
20
0
Livingston
118
0
Madison
310
7
Monroe
2,791
29
Montgomery
82
2
Nassau
40,034
60
Niagara
972
7
NYC
199,968
667
Oneida
929
12
Onondaga
2,033
21
Ontario
198
3
Orange
10,292
15
Orleans
210
2
Oswego
105
1
Otsego
69
0
Putnam
1,227
5
Rensselaer
466
0
Rockland
13,047
28
Saratoga
465
2
Schenectady
673
5
Schoharie
49
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
55
0
St. Lawrence
200
3
Steuben
241
1
Suffolk
39,258
59
Sullivan
1,340
2
Tioga
124
2
Tompkins
155
1
Ulster
1,645
7
Warren
252
1
Washington
228
0
Wayne
110
0
Westchester
33,186
79
Wyoming
82
0
Yates
39
2
May 27, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Calls On U.S. Senate to Pass a Coronavirus Relief Bill That Helps All Americans. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-calls-us
Reiterates Call for Repeal of SALT
Renews Call for 'Americans First Law' Stating a Corporation Cannot Be Eligible for Government Funding if it Does Not Rehire the Same Number of Employees it Had Before the COVID-19 Pandemic
Urges President Trump to Support a Real Public Infrastructure Program and Approve Infrastructure Projects in New York
Ninth Region Hits Benchmark to Begin Reopening Today; Long Island Joins Mid-Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions, Which Have Met the Seven Metrics Required to Begin Reopening
Confirms 1,129 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 364,965; New Cases in 45 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "States are responsible for the enforcement of all the procedures around reopening but at the same time the federal government has a role to play and the federal government has to do its part as we work our way through this crisis. There cannot be at national recovery if the state and local governments are not funded."
Cuomo: "You have people saying, well don't want to pass a bill that we continue don't want to pass a bill that helps Democratic states. It would be a blue state bailout is what some have said. ... It is an un-American response. We're still the United States of America."
Cuomo: "You look at the states that give more money to the federal government than they get back. ... New York pays more every year - $29 billion more - than they take back. ... People can still add and people can still subtract and they know what they put in and they know what they take out. ... My point to our friends in the Congress: Stop abusing New York. ... Stop abusing the states who bore the brunt of the Covid virus through no fault of their own."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo earlier today called on the U.S. Senate to pass a coronavirus relief bill that helps all Americans and provides unrestricted fiscal support for states. The next bill should focus on funding state and local governments, working families, state testing and tracing efforts and a real economic stimulus with no handouts to corporations who do not protect their workers and only enrich executives or shareholders. The House of Representatives has already passed a bill that includes $500 billion for states and $375 billion for locals; Medicaid funding for the most vulnerable; increased SNAP food assistance; 100 percent FEMA federal assistance; funding for testing; and repeals SALT cap to help states most affected by COVID-19.
Governor Cuomo also reiterated his call for the U.S. Senate to repeal the SALT limitations. The states most impacted by COVID-19 represent more than one-third of the national GDP. They also send tens of billions of tax dollars more to the federal government than they get back, and the dollars they send are then redistributed to other states and big corporations. These very same states that have been most impacted by COVID-19, are also the states that were hit hardest by the cap on state and local taxes, the politically motivated first double tax in U.S. history that was implemented by the federal tax law in 2017.
The Governor also renewed his call for Congress to pass the 'Americans First Law' to help prevent corporate bailouts following the COVID-19 pandemic. First proposed by the Governor on May 10th, the legislation states that a corporation cannot be eligible to receive government funding if it doesn't maintain the same number of employees that the corporation had before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor also urged President Trump to support a real public infrastructure program and to advance infrastructure projects in New York -- including the LaGuardia AirTrain, the Cross-Hudson Tunnels, and the Second Avenue Subway expansion -- to help supercharge the economy.
The Governor also announced that Long Island has met all seven metrics to begin phase one of reopening today, joining the Mid-Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good afternoon. Pleasure to be here today. Let me introduce the people who are with us. To my left is Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor; to my right is Robert Mujica, Budget Director of the State of New York. We're at the National Press Club today. It's a great organization, great part of Washington's history and the legacy and I want to thank Michael Friedman very much who is the President of the National Press Club, thank him for his hospitality and courtesy for having us here today.
We are in Washington. I spent eight a years in Washington during the Clinton Administration. I was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, came down at the beginning of the Clinton Administration, stayed until the end, lived in Virginia. That's where I got my southern accent, really southern-Queens.
We had good discussions today and we will be heading back but we wanted to do our brief from Washington so it was timely. Let's talk about some facts as to where we are. The number of hospitalizations in New York are dropping. The total change in hospitalizations is down and continuing to drop. The intubations are down and that's a very good sign. It is rare that good things happen after an intubation and the number of new cases is down, which is very encouraging news. These are the number of new cases that are walking through the door.
In terms of the number of New Yorkers that we have lost, 74 yesterday, which is just about what it was the day before, which the day before was an all-time low at 73. 74 is not as good as 73 but it is all headed in the right direction. Again, only in this time of crisis would 74 deaths be anything less than truly tragic news, but when you have gone through what we have gone through it is a sign that we are headed in the right direction and we are.
When you look at the curve in the State of New York, we are down. We are on the other side of the mountain, as we say, and the decline is continuing. That is different than what we are seeing in some other parts of the nation where you see the curve either going up or just starting to flatten so we are pleased with the progress that we are making in New York and we are ready to go to the next phase, open a new chapter.
Memorial Day is often a time when society transitions. Memorial Day normally we are getting ready for the summer and people are starting to think about summer vacations and summer activities. We have that on a moderated basis in New York but it is also a time of transition for us and we are transitioning to a new chapter on reopening, restarting the economy.
This is all a situation that has never happened before so this is a first case for all of us and we are trying to learn as we go along and we don't want to just reopen the economy. We want to have a really smart reopening. We want to watch those numbers as we go forward and we want to reopen the economy to make it stronger than it ever was before. How do you learn from this? That is the beginning of the new chapter that we are going to write.
We started yesterday by reopening the Stock Exchange in New York where the Stock Exchange actually had people in the building rather than just electronically. We are doing it on the numbers. Numbers matter. This is not about politics. This is about science. We are fighting a virus. The virus is not a Democratic virus. It is not a Republican virus. It is a virus and viruses respond to science and science is about facts and about numbers and that is how we are doing it. We are doing it on the metrics.
We are looking at the hospitalization rate, we are looking at the death rate, how many new people are coming into the door into hospitals, how many hospital beds do we have available, wow many ICU beds do we have available, do we have testing in place and do we have tracing in place? Just take the politics out of it, right? Just do it on the facts and do it on the science and that is what we are doing in New York and then you would not reopen everything immediately. You would do it in phases and you would phase it by the most important businesses, the most essential businesses that pose the lowest risk first. That is exactly what we are doing and we then have several phases for the actual business openings.
But we are in Washington and the parameter is what shouldn't states be doing and what should the federal government be doing. I understand that states are responsible for the reopening. That has been the position of the states and it has also been the position of the federal government so the states are doing reopening. States are responsible for testing. States are responsible for tracing. States are responsible for the health care system. States are responsible for the enforcement of all the procedures around reopening but at the same time the federal government has a role to play and the federal government has to do its part as we work our way through this crisis. There cannot be at national recovery if the state and local governments are not funded. That is a fact.
Washington is now debating their next bill that would aid in the reopening and the recovery. Prior bills have helped businesses, large businesses, small businesses, hotels, airlines, all sorts of business interests. That's great but you also have states and local governments and state governments do things like fund schools and fund hospitals. Do you really want to cut schools now? Do you really want to cut hospitals now after what we have just gone through when we are talking about a possible second wave, when we are talking about a fall with possible more cases? Do you really think we should starve state governments and cut hospitals? Would that be smart? Do you really want to cut local governments right now? That is cutting police. That is cutting fire. Is now the time to savage essential services and don't you realize that if do you this, if you cut state and local governments and you cause chaos on the state and local level, how does that help a nation striving to recover economically?
The Covid states, the states that bore the brunt of the Covid virus are one third of
the national GDP. How can you tell one third of the country to go to heck and then think you're going to see an economic rebound? Also, state governments, state economies, local economies, that is what the national economy is made of. What is the national economy but for a function of the states? There is no nation without the states. They tend to forget that in this town. But it is the obvious fact and we have made this mistake before.
Again, look at history. If you don't learn from your mistakes you are going to repeat the mistakes. It is that simple and we have seen in the past what has happened when state and local governments were savaged and how it hurt the national recovery. Wall Street Journal, not exactly a liberal publication, makes the point that on the economy cuts to employment and spending likely to weigh on growth for years. So even if you believe the rhetoric we are about reopening, we are about getting the economy back, great. Then if that is what you believe you would provide funding to the state and local governments. The Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, very smart man respected on both sides of the aisle, said we have evidence the global financial crisis in the years afterward where state and local government layoffs and lack of hiring weighed on economic growth. We want to reopen the economy. We want to get this national economy better than ever. Fine. Then act accordingly and act appropriately.
This hyper-partisan Washington environment is toxic for this country. You have people saying, well don't want to pass a bill that we continue don't want to pass a bill that helps Democratic states. It would be a blue state bailout is what some have said. Senator McConnell, stopping blue state bailouts. Senator Scott, we're supposed to go bail them out? That's not right. On Fox TV, Laffer, you want us to give our money to Cuomo and New York? Hello, not this week.
First of all, this is really an ugly, ugly sentiment. It is an un-American response. We're still the United States of America. Those words meant something. United States of America. First of all, Mr. federal legislator, you're nothing without the states, and you represent the United States. Not only is it ugly, it is false. It is wholly untrue, what they are saying, 100 percent. And there are facts, if you want to pose the question, which is, I think, divisive at this period of time.
But if you want to pose the question, what states give money and what states take money? Right? There is a financial equation that is the federal government. And if you want to ask, what states give money to other states and what states take money from other states, that's a question that Senator McConnell and Senator Scott and Mr. Laffer don't really want to ask, because the truth, the truth is totally the opposite of what they're saying. You look at the states that give more money to the federal government than they get back. You know the top, what they call donor state, you know what one state pays in more to the pot than they take out to the federal pot than any other state than the United States? It's the State of New York. New York pays more every year, $29 billion more, than they take back. You know the second state, New Jersey. Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, every year, they contribute more to the federal pot. You know who takes out more than they put in from that pot? You know whose hand goes in deeper and takes out than they put in? Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida. Those are the facts, those are the numbers.
The great irony is, the conservatives want to argue against redistribution of wealth. Why should you take money from the rich and give it to the poor? That's exactly what you are doing. That is exactly what you have done every year. So it's only redistribution unless you wind up getting more money. Then it's fine, then it's not redistribution. Take from the rich, give to the poor, that's redistribution, yes, unless you're the poor, Senator McConnell, Senator Scott because you were the ones who have your hand out. You were the ones who are taking more than others. Redistribution, you're against it, except when the richer states give you more money every year. Then the great hypocrisy, they actually make the redistribution worse when they passed three years ago a provision ending what's called state and local tax deductibility. That didn't level the playing field.
What they did was they took the states that were already paying more money into the federal government, the quote, unquote richer states and they increased the money they were taking from the richer states. They took another $23 billion from California and another $14 billion from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut. The hypocrisy is so insulting because when you start to talk about numbers, there is still facts. People can still add and people can still subtract and they know what they put in and they know what they take out.
I know it's Washington, D.C. but the truth actually still matters. Americans are smart and they find out the truth even in the fog and the blather of Washington, DC. My point to our friends in the Congress: Stop abusing New York. Stop abusing New Jersey. Stop abusing Massachusetts and Illinois and Michigan and Pennsylvania. Stop abusing the states who bore the brunt of the Covid virus through no fault of their own. Why did New York have so many cases. It's nothing about New York. It's because the virus came from Europe and no one in this nation told us.
We were told the virus is coming from China. It's coming from China, look to the West. We were looking to the West it came from the East. The virus left China, went to Europe. Three million Europeans come to New York, land in our airports January, February, March and bring the virus. And nobody knew. It was not New York's job. We don't do international, global health. It didn't come from China. It came from Europe and we bore the brunt of it. Now, you want to hold that against us because we bore the brunt of a national mistake? And because we had more people die? We lost more lives and you want to now double the insult and the injury by saying, "Well, why should we help those states? Those states had more Covid deaths." That's why you're supposed to help those states because they did have more Covid deaths and this is the United States and when one state has a problem, the other states help.
I was in the federal government for eight years. When Los Angeles had earthquakes, we helped. When the Midwest had the Red River floods, we helped. When Florida had Hurricane Andrew, we helped. When Texas had floods, we helped. When Louisiana had Hurricane Katrina, we helped. We didn't say "well, that is Louisiana's fault. They had the hurricane. Well, that is Texas's fault, they had the floods." It was nobody's fault. And we were there to help because that is who we are and that is what we believe. What happened to that American spirit? What happened to that concept of mutuality? You know there still a simple premise that you can't find in a book, and Washington hasn't written regulations for, called doing the right thing. There is still a right thing in life. The right thing you feel inside you. The right thing is calibration of your principle and your belief and your soul and your heart and your spirit. And we do the right thing in this country, not because a law says do the right thing, but because we believe in doing the right thing. As individuals, as people, we believe in doing right by each other, by living your life by a code where you believe you are living it in an honorable way, acting on principle, and you are doing the right thing.
Why can't the government? Why can't the Congress reflect the right thing principle that Americans live their life by? Pass a piece of legislation that is honorable and decent and does the right thing for all Americans. Why is that so hard? And if you want to talk about reopening the economy, then do it in a productive way. People think this economy is just going to bounce back. I don't think it is going to bounce back. I think it will bounce back for some, and I think there will be collateral damage of others. We already know that tens of thousands of small businesses closed and probably won't come back. We already know the large corporations are going to lay off thousands and thousands of workers, and they are going to use this pandemic as an excuse to get lean, to restructure, and they will boost their profits by reducing their payroll. We know it. We have been there before. We saw this in the 2008 Mortgage Crisis where the government bailed them out, the big banks that created the problem, and they used the money to pay themselves bonuses and they laid off their workers. They will do is same thing again that. That is why I propose the Americans First legislation that said a corporation can't get a dime of government bailout unless they rehire the same number of workers they had pre-pandemic as post. Don't take a gift from the taxpayer and then lay off Americans who are going to file for unemployment insurance paid for by the taxpayers. Don't do that again.
And if you want to be smart, we know that there is work to do in this nation. We have known it for years. You can fill a library with the number of books on the infrastructure and the decay of our infrastructure and how many roads and bridges have to be repaired, how this nation is grossly outpaced by nations across the world in terms of infrastructure, airports and development. Now is the time to stimulate the economy by doing that construction and doing that growth. You want to supercharge the reopening? That's how do you it. This nation was smart enough to do it before. We did it in the midst of the great depression. We created 8 million jobs. We built an infrastructure that we're still living on today. We're still living on the infrastructure built by our grandparents, not even our parents. What are we going to leave our children? And now is the time to do it.
We have major infrastructure projects in New York that are ready to go, that are desperately needed, that were desperately needed 30 years ago. Build them now. Supercharge the reopening. Grow the economy. That's what we would do if we were smart. You're not going to have a supercharged economy. You're not going to see this nation get up and start running again, unless we do it together. That's states working with other states. That's a federal government that stands up and puts everything else aside.
They were elected to provide good government. Nobody elected anyone to engage in partisan politics. There was a time when as a nation we were smart enough to say, "You want to play politics? That's what a campaign is for." Run your campaign against your opponent. Say all sorts of crazy things. That's crazy campaign time. But when government starts, stop the politics, and do what's right and smart. Don't play your politics at the expense of the citizens you represent. There is no good government concept anymore. It's politics 365 days a year. From the moment they're elected to the moment they run again, it's all politics. And that is poison. We have to get to a point, if only for a moment, if only for a moment, if only for a moment in response to a national crisis where we say it's not red and blue. It's red, white, and blue. It's the United States and we're going to act that way.
In New York we say that by saying New York tough, but it's America tough. Which is smart, and united, and disciplined, and loving, and loving.
May 28, 2020.
Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order Authorizing Businesses to Deny Entry to Individuals Not Wearing Masks or Face-coverings. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-issues-executive-order-authorizing-businesses
Partners with Rosie Perez and Chris Rock to Foster Communication and Education on the Importance of Wearing a Mask, Testing and Social Distancing
Announces State Will Distribute 1 Million Masks to New York City's Hardest-Hit Neighborhoods Today
Announces MTA Will Pilot the Use of UV Light Technology to Kill COVID-19 in Subway Cars and Crew Facilities
Confirms 1,768 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 366,733; New Cases in 42 Counties
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today issued an Executive Order authorizing businesses to deny entry to individuals who do not wear masks or face-coverings. The Executive Order builds on the state's ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers and slow the spread.
Governor Cuomo also announced a partnership with Rosie Perez and Chris Rock, who will help New York State build communication and education on the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing and the availability of testing and healthcare in the state.
The Governor also announced that New York State will distribute 1 million masks to New York City's hardest-hit neighborhoods today. The state has already distributed more than 8 million masks across New York City, including to NYCHA developments, food banks, churches and homeless shelters. New York State maintains a comprehensive testing network throughout the state, including more than 225 sites in New York City. New York's extensive testing—the state currently conducts tens of thousands of tests per day—now allows the government to pinpoint the state's hardest-hit neighborhoods for additional supplies and other aid.
But when we're talking about reopening stores and places of business, we're giving the store owners the right to say, if you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also announced that the MTA will pilot the use of proven UV light technology to kill COVID-19 in subway cars and crew facilities. The MTA currently cleans and disinfects trains every day.
"I've been working to communicate this message about masks and how effective they are. They are deceptively effective, they are amazingly effective. And we've made them mandatory in public settings, public transportation, et cetera," Governor Cuomo said. "But when we're talking about reopening stores and places of business, we're giving the store owners the right to say, if you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in. That store owner has the right to protect themselves. That store owner has a right to protect the other patrons in that store. You don't want to wear a mask, fine. But you don't then have a right to then go into that store if that store owner doesn't want you to."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,768 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 366,733 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 366,733 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,814
18
Allegany
45
0
Broome
545
17
Cattaraugus
85
3
Cayuga
84
4
Chautauqua
81
3
Chemung
136
0
Chenango
126
1
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
380
0
Cortland
39
0
Delaware
78
0
Dutchess
3,867
20
Erie
5,886
76
Essex
36
0
Franklin
20
0
Fulton
200
2
Genesee
197
2
Greene
236
5
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
106
1
Jefferson
72
0
Lewis
20
0
Livingston
118
0
Madison
310
0
Monroe
2,824
33
Montgomery
82
0
Nassau
40,140
106
Niagara
984
12
NYC
201,051
1,083
Oneida
959
30
Onondaga
2054
21
Ontario
201
3
Orange
10,325
33
Orleans
212
2
Oswego
107
2
Otsego
70
1
Putnam
1,236
9
Rensselaer
469
3
Rockland
13,076
29
Saratoga
468
3
Schenectady
676
3
Schoharie
49
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
56
1
St. Lawrence
201
1
Steuben
241
0
Suffolk
39,359
101
Sullivan
1,351
11
Tioga
126
2
Tompkins
156
1
Ulster
1,658
13
Warren
253
1
Washington
231
3
Wayne
112
2
Westchester
33,293
107
Wyoming
82
0
Yates
39
0
May 28, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order Authorizing Businesses to Deny Entry to Individuals Not Wearing Masks or Face-coverings. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-issues-3
Partners with Rosie Perez and Chris Rock to Foster Communication and Education on the Importance of Wearing a Mask, Testing and Social Distancing
Announces State Will Distribute 1 Million Masks to New York City's Hardest-Hit Neighborhoods Today
Announces MTA Will Pilot the Use of UV Light Technology to Kill COVID-19 in Subway Cars and Crew Facilities
Confirms 1,768 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 366,733; New Cases in 38 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "Today, I'm signing an Executive Order that authorizes private businesses to deny entrance to people who do not wear a mask or a face covering. I have been working to communicate this message about masks and how effective they are. They are deceptively effective. They are amazingly effective. We've made them mandatory in public settings, public transportation, et cetera. When we're talking about reopening stores and places of business, we're giving the store owners the right to say if you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in."
Cuomo: "I want to thank very much two great New Yorkers, two great performers, Chris Rock and Rosie Perez who are going to join us and I want to thank them very much. They're going to help communicate this, they're going to do advertisements for the State and they're going to help communicate this message that it's important for an individual's health, for a family's health and it's important for all our health. We're one family in New York. One family in Brooklyn. One family in Queens. One family New York City. And do it for the good of the family."
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today issued an Executive Order authorizing businesses to deny entry to individuals who do not wear masks or face-coverings. The Executive Order builds on the state's ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers and slow the spread.
Governor Cuomo also announced a partnership with Rosie Perez and Chris Rock, who will help New York State build communication and education on the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing and the availability of testing and healthcare in the state.
The Governor also announced that New York State will distribute 1 million masks to New York City's hardest-hit neighborhoods today. The state has already distributed more than 8 million masks across New York City, including to NYCHA developments, food banks, churches and homeless shelters. New York State maintains a comprehensive testing network throughout the state, including more than 225 sites in New York City. New York's extensive testing—the state currently conducts tens of thousands of tests per day—now allows the government to pinpoint the state's hardest-hit neighborhoods for additional supplies and other aid.
The Governor also announced that the MTA will pilot the use of proven UV light technology to kill COVID-19 in subway cars and crew facilities. The MTA currently cleans and disinfects trains every day.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning, pleasure to be here today. I am wearing a very cool mask today, let the record show, New York Tough, New York Mets colors. It is a pleasure to be in Brooklyn, New York. Let me thank Stanley King, who is the Director of the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club. I am here with Melissa DeRosa to my right and Gareth Rhodes to my left. It is a pleasure to be back in Brooklyn. Spent a lot of time here. My grandparents were here. I am from a mixed marriage in New York City. My mother was from Brooklyn. My father was from Queens. So I spent a lot of time here and it is a pleasure to be back. And you will understand why we are in Brooklyn in a moment.
Let's talk about where we are today. Fact by fact across the morass, we are all trying to find our way through this. Andfollowing the facts are the way we have chosen to do it in the great state of New York. Facts today are good. The total number of hospitalizations are down. The rolling total is down. The change in intubations, people who are put on ventilators is down. So, that is very good news. And the number of new COVID cases per day is also down, 163,which is the lowest that it has been. So, that is all very, very good news from our point of view. The relatively positive news is the number of deaths continues to decline, 74. This is always painful and we are going to be watching this number to see how far down it actually goes. We have a large state and the COVID virus tends to attack those who are seniors and those who have underlying illnesses and will remain a cause of death for the foreseeable future, I'mafraid to say. But we want to get this number down as low as possible and we are doing everything that we can do to do that. We have the best hospitals, the best doctors, the best nurses. They are all working day and night. So, we can take a little solace in the fact that we know we have done everything we can to help save those 74 lives. We can't always be successful, but you can always do the most that you can do and that is what we are doing. And you see, again, the number of lives lost and how that number is coming down. That is all good news.
Yesterday, I was in Washington D.C., spoke to a lot of people, I met with the President, spoke to congressional members, spoke to senate members to try to find out what was going on. This is my opinion, so it is worth what you pay for it, and since you are not paying anything. Iunderstand what states must do to work their way through this pandemic. The states are taking the lead in the responsibility. I understand that. I understand what governors must do. I am the Vice Chairman of what is called the National Governors Association. So, I work with governors all across the nation and we talk about our responsibilities, and I feel good about what the states and what the governors are doing. My question is what is Washington going to do? The federal government, because they have a role also in this. Yes, the states are in charge and yes the states are implanting their plans. But we need support from the federal government. And that is the role of the federal government.
Washington has passed numerous pieces of legislation and they have successfully bailed out big corporations. Theyhave passed pieces of legislation that have a lot of benefits for the rich and the powerful. Now the question is what is Washington going to do in terms of passing legislation that helps working Americans, right? Police officers, firefighters, school teachers, hospitals, unemployed people, businesses that are struggling, how do we help them? How do we bring them up? And that is what states do and local governments do, and that is state and local government funding, andthey have to provide that. Also, my opinion is Washingtonshould, just for this once, and their proclivity to make every piece of legislation pork-barrel legislation. I understand they have to get senators to vote for it, and they have to get House members to vote for it, but that doesn't mean they have to make it a gravy train of pork just to pass it. Maybeyou can just pass a bill on the merits of a bill, how about that? Novel, but possible.
This is supposed to be a specifically targeted piece of legislation to help restore the economy and repair the damage of the COVID virus. Well, then make the legislation about funding to repair the COVID virus. And you know where the covid virus has been in this country, you know where it is wreaking havoc, you can count the number of deaths and where they are. You can count the number of positive cases and where they are. You look at the passed legislation that came out of Washington and how they dispersed money, and you look at how they wound up making it a gravy train. And every state got a lot of money,local governments got a lot of money, and in many cases t's disconnected from the COVID virus and the COVIDsituation. If you take the total funding and you actually look at how much states got per positive COVID case, it is not even close. Some states got millions of dollars per COVIDcase. New York state, we got about $23,000 per case. NewJersey, we got about $27,000 per case. I understand they have to quote unquote buy votes on a piece of legislation. Ialso understand it is taxpayers' money, and theoretically a legislator is there to do what is right, not because that legislator was seduced with large amounts of taxpayer dollars, even though that state wasn't affected.
I also think Washington has an opportunity to actually step up and to be smart for a change. They should be talking about revitalizing the economy, not just reopening the economy. I don't believe you just reopen the economy and it bounces back for everyone. I think it bounces back for the big corporations. I think it bounces back for the rich. I think it bounces back for the powerful. That is what happened after the 2008 financial crisis, the mortgage fraud crisis. The big banks that caused the crisis, they were fine just months afterwards. They took the federal bailout money and gave themselves bonuses. I remember. I was the Attorney General of New York. I chased those corporations to put the bonuses back. But how about the small businesses that closed? How about the corporations that are going to lay off workers now? What's going to happen to them? How about all those blue collar jobs that are not going to come back right away? How about those little retail stores that are not going to come back right away? So, it'snot just about revitalizing. It's not just about reopening, it's about revitalizing and it's about having a plan and a vision for the future.
Okay, we went through this. What is the plan going forward? We went through the depression but there was a plan afterwards. We went through World War II but there was a plan to restore the economy. Where is the plan? Where is the vision? Where is the plan to say, "Yes, we went through hell but heaven is on the other side, and we are going to rally and we are going to be better for this." B.B.B., build it back better. We are not just going to return to where we were. We are going to be better than ever before. And to make sure that any of those corporations that took taxpayer money rehire the same number of workers. You hear these corporations now talking about "Well, we are going to take this opportunity to restructure. We are going to get lean." You know what that means? That means they are going to lay off workers. They are going to boost their profits and their stock price by laying off workers and not rehiring people after the pandemic. Now, that is a corporations right, but you don't have to subsidize that with government money, right? You shouldn't be giving them government cash and then they lay off workers, and then the taxpayer has to pay unemployment for the workers they laid off. That would be a scandal, right? Well, if they don't stop it, it is going to happen here.
And if they were smart, they would finally rebuild the infrastructure in this nation, which they have been talking about for 30 to 40 years and they have never done. Youwant to put people to work? Build airports, build bridges, put technology in education, put technology in healthcare. Do the things you have talked about for 40 years but the government was never competent enough to do. And also, to Washington, after my conversations, so much of it is "Well, here is our politics. Here is our politics." Forget your politics. Just put it all aside. There is a greater interest than your politics. That's doing the right thing for this country and your constituents and stop the hyper-partisan attitude and the gridlock. Forget the red and blue, we are red, white and blue. We're all Americans. That's my opinion. Back to the facts.
We're going to focus on the opening of New York City. We have reopened the other regions of the state. We divided the state into different regions because the state has dramatically different facts across the state. We're in New York City, one the densest urban areas on the globe. We have parts of upstate New York which are rural areas, which look more like the Midwest and have facts more like the Midwest. We divided the state into regions and addressing the facts in each region. The other regions have all started reopening.
New York City, where we had a much higher number of cases than anywhere else in the state, anywhere else in the country than many countries on the globe. New York City is a more difficult situation. We were attacked in New York City by the coronavirus from Europe. I like to say that, because say, "What do you mean the coronavirus from Europe? I thought the coronavirus was from China." Yeah, so did I. So did everyone. That's what we were told. The coronavirus was coming from China. What we weren't told was the coronavirus left China, went to Europe, January, February. Then came here from Europe. Nobody told us. I know nobody told us. They say nobody knew. I don't know how nobody knew but the cases came from Europe. January, February, March 3 million people traveled from Europe to JFK and Newark Airport.
Why did New York City have so many cases? Because 3 million Europeans came January, February, March and brought the virus and nobody knew and nobody told us. No fault of our own. There's nothing endemic to New York City. Yeah, we have density, but we're all watching China. We're looking to the West and the virus came from the East. It came from Europe and that's been documented now. We were the hardest hit, but we're going to reopen as the smartest. If you look at the curve in New York right now you see how our numbers are going down. You see the curve in many other states, many other parts of the country still have the curve going up.
We did get hit the hardest, but we learned. The state has a set of rules and metrics to reopen that apply to New York City just like they apply to every other region. Why? Because what is safe to reopen in Buffalo is the same standard that is safe to reopen in Albany or Long Island or New York City. I'm not going to open any region that I don't believe is safe. We have different standards across the nation, different states have taken different standards. You can argue about whether or not we should have different standards of safety in this nation, but that's above my pay grade. I can tell you in this state there are no different standards of safety. What is safe to reopen is safe and if it's safe for your family, it's safe for my family. I wouldn't reopen an area that I didn't consider was safe for my family. That's my personal gage.
It's the same all across the board with the same rules. Phase one reopening is construction, manufacturing, curbside retail by specific guidelines. The other regions have all hit phase one. New York City has yet to hit phase one, but that's what we are pointing toward. Once you hit phase one, you continue to monitor the metrics. If all is good, you move to phase two accordingly. It is about the metrics. It is about rate of hospitalization, number of hospital beds, number of ICU beds, what's happening on the testing, what's happening on the symptoms that people are reporting and you monitor those metrics, those facts and you proceed accordingly.
New York City we have to make more progress on some of the metrics. We have to make more progress on what's called contact tracing, which is very important. After you test, whoever winds up positive, you trace back those contacts and you isolate. New York City you also have the added situation of public transportation. For New York City to reopen, you have working New Yorkers who commute on mass transit. We have to be able to have a mass transit system that is safe, that is clean and is not overcrowded.
The MTA has really taken the bull by the horns on this one. We never heard of disinfecting a train. We heard of cleaning trains and you can debate whether or not the trains were that clean, but to get them to a point where they're disinfected was a higher level, a higher standard than anyone ever dreamed of. They're now disinfecting every train and every bus on a daily basis. They're piloting the use of UV light technology to kill viruses in subway cars. They're using the best science to get ready for this.
In the meantime, we want to focus on New York City hotspots. If you look at New York City there are very different stories within the city. We now do enough testing - we do tens of thousands of tests per day - we are doing more testing in New York State than any state in the country. We're doing more testing in New York State, per capita, than any country on the globe. We're the testing capitol. When you do that many tests, you can target exactly where people are getting sick and where those new cases are coming from.
You can look at that by neighborhood, by zip code and what you see is more of the cases are coming from outer borough communities. More minority communities, lower income communities. New hospitalizations coming from people who are not currently working. They're not essential workers. They're communities where essential workers live, but they're not the essential workers. It's more from what we call community spread. It's in communities that have an underlying health care disparity, which is a problem across this country. Populations that have higher incidents of underlying illnesses and lack of masks, social distancing, particularly with younger people.
If you look at the testing results for example, you have communities that have double the infection rate of the city in general. The city in general is about 20 percent infection rate. You have communities that are literally more than double: 43 percent infection rate. Brownsville, Brooklyn 41 percent infection rate. East Bronx, 38 percent infection rate. Soundview, Bruckner section of the Bronx, 38 percent infection rate. Hollis, Queens - my old neighborhood - 35 percent infection rate. Flatbush, Brooklyn 45 percent infection rate. That's why we're here today.
You know these communities have a higher infection rate. You know the new cases that are being generated tend to come from these communities, well then target those communities. That's part of being smart. Get them help and get them help faster and address the health care inequality that is underlying all of this. Bring in more diagnostic testing, more antibody testing, more PPE, more health care services for the underlying illnesses. That's where the co-morbidities come from. Bring in more supplies and bring in more communication. We're doing all of the above. We're taking on the issue of inequality when it comes to health care and we're going to take on the challenge of the most impacted communities in terms of Covid.
We're working with Northwell Health Systems. Northwell is the largest health system in the state. It's a great organization and they're going to bring more health care services to the impacted communities in New York City that we're talking about. We're up to 225 testing sites. I just passed one on the way here today. Many of these testing sites are underused. We have testing sites, drive through sites that can do 15,000 tests a day. They're only doing 5 tests a day. There is no cost to the test. It does not hurt. It is pain free. I did the test on live TV, didn't flinch. It's just a nasal swab, there's no needle. You can go to the website: coronavirus.health.ny.gov and find a site near you. Get tested. Get tested. If you have a symptom, get tested. If you're exposed to a person who was positive, get tested. It's no cost, it doesn't hurt and there are sites literally everywhere throughout the city.
We've delivered more than 8 million masks across New York City to public housing and food banks, churches and homeless shelters. The masks work. They work. We have to culturalize the masks. We have to customize the masks for New York to get New Yorkers to wear them. We're bringing one million additional masks today.
Today I'm signing an Executive Order that authorizes private businesses to deny entrance to people who do not wear a mask or a face covering. I have been working to communicate this message about masks and how effective they are. They are deceptively effective. They are amazingly effective. We've made them mandatory in public settings, public transportation, et cetera. When we're talking about reopening stores and places of business, we're giving the store owners the right to say if you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in. That store owner has a right to protect themselves. That store owner has a right to protect the other patrons in that store. You don't want to wear a mask, fine, but you don't have a right to then go into that store if that store owner doesn't want you to. I will sign that Executive Order.
In general, more communication, more education about the availability and importance of testing, diagnostic testing, antibody testing. Wearing the PPE, why social distancing makes sense and communicating this to people. My main job all through this has been communications. This was not a task government could ever accomplish. I knew that from day one. I know what government can do, I know what government can't do. Tell 19 million people in the State of New York that they have to stay home. Government can't do that. I can say it, but we'd have no way to enforce it. It's up to what people do and people, especially New Yorkers, they're going to do what they want to do. They're going to do what's smart if you give them the information, if they believe you, if the information convinces them. They're going to do what they're going to do.
My job from day one has been communicating the facts to people so people can make a smart judgement from themselves. So people had the information to protect themselves. To protect their family. To decide what was smart. That's my job as Governor, that's what I've been doing. That's what I continue to do. I'm still trying to communicate to people how important it is to take tests and wear masks, et cetera. I have, at times, been frustrated that not everybody seems to get it.
I have my three girls at home, as you know, family keeps us grounded. Family always has a way of bringing you back to reality. My girls have been very good at telling me that when I raise the frustration of communication. They say, "Well, it's you, Dad. You're the one who's not communicating." I've had many helpful hints as to why I haven't been able to communicate effectively or to the level I would like to. That I'm not cool enough. I think I'm cool. I'm wearing a cool mask. I don't have enough edge - one of them said I don't have enough edge to communicate effectively.
So I'm trying different ways. They didn't like the state advertising, we're now doing different state advertising. But I understand that I need reinforcements and I need help in communication. Especially, when I'm in Brooklyn, even though I'm half from Brooklyn, that doesn't matter when you're from Brooklyn. They want a full-fledged Brooklyn voice if they're going to listen to a Brooklyn voice of authority. So I'm going to bring in reinforcements to help us communicate that message and I'm pleased to have them with us today and I want to thank very much two great New Yorkers, two great performers, Chris Rock and Rosie Perez who are going to join us and I want to thank them very much. They're going to help communicate this, they're going to do advertisements for the state and they're going to help communicate this message that it's important for an individual's health, for a family's health and it's important for all our health. We're one family in New York. One family in Brooklyn. One family in Queens. One family New York City. And do it for the good of the family. Rosie, it's great to be with you again. Chris, I'm so glad that you're here. I cannot thank you guys enough and we'd love to hear from you. Whichever one wants to start.
Chris Rock: Ladies?
Rosie Perez: Thank you, Chris. You're such a gentleman.
Governor Cuomo: What a gentleman.
Rosie Perez: It's an honor and it's really good to be here with my friend, my fellow Brooklynite, Chris Rock, and of course fantastic Governor Cuomo, who has been such an amazing leader during this crisis. You know, and I'm proud to be partnering with the governor to make sure that my hometown, my borough, my beloved borough of Brooklyn and all of New York most impacted communities have their resources. They need to stop the spread of this virus and to help spread the word about what we all have to do to beat this virus. In a Brooklyn there's a saying, spread love the Brooklyn way. And I want to extend that to not just the outer boroughs, to the tri-state area, but to all of America, and to all the world. Spreading love the Brooklyn way means respecting your neighbors, respecting your communities, and the way you can do that is by getting tested, wearing a mask. That says, I love you and you love me. I respect you and you respect me back. I don't care who you voted for. I don't care who you're going to vote for.
All I care is that we get out of this pandemic as quickly as possible and as safely as possible. Over a hundred thousand deaths is just incredibly heartbreaking and we can lower these numbers. We're already doing it. And I wish the media would show how effective the governor has been in spreading this message of wearing a mask and keeping social distancing. And for those who are not adhering to the guidelines, just know that you're not just disrespecting yourself. You're disrespecting your loved ones, your communities, your neighbors, everyone. So please spread love the Brooklyn way. Get tested. Wear a mask, and let's help fight this virus. We could do it. We could do it. We will rise up. We will stand up. Brooklyn stand up. New York stand up. America, please stand up and be safe. Thank you so much. And I just want to say that our governor is a rock star and he makes me proud to be from New York.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you very much. You guys are the rock stars. I'm just a fan. Thank you so much. Rosie, thank you so much. Chris?
Chris Rock: Yes, thank you. I watch you every single day and you bring me calm, you know? You bring me joy. Didn't Anita Baker sing that? You bring me joy every single day, because I don't know what's going on. I thought I loved lived in the United States. I thought I lived in a country and now I realize we have 50 countries, essentially. Right now we're in the country of New York. I want to say, I got the test today. I just got tested to come out here. I got a 65. So just past. Just past. Actually, you know, we haven't been able to perform or do any shows or anything. I'm looking at this microphone like, wow. Can I just say hi, microphone, I really missed you. I know it's been hard, but we're going to get back together at some point. It's going to be even better than the last time, microphone. I will never take you for granted.
People need to get tested. People need to make it a festive occasion. They need to posse up and get tested. Like all the crew is getting tested. And the family should get tested. You know, if you love your grandmother, if you love your elderly mother, your elderly anybody, you should get tested. And it's not just, you know, it's wherever there are poor people, really. It's wherever people are congested. So, yes it's in East New York. Yes, it's in Brownsville. But, you know, it's also in Garrison Beach. It's also in Marine Park. It's also, you know? So, everybody that can get tested should get tested as soon as possible. And I'm just so, you know, the governor called me up and I'm here to do whatever is required, you know. I hope to God that when this is over, you're still a part of the government. I hope this isn't the last like oh, it is over, no. I hope this keeps going on.
Governor Cuomo: I hope so too. I wouldn't be bad.
Chris Rock: It wouldn't be bad.
Rosie Perez: Excuse me, governor, I also would like to say that -- wear a mask, please. The numbers in our communities are staggering. This is not a joke. This is not a hoax. This is real. This is real deal Holyfield. So please, love each other, love yourselves. Get tested, wear a mask.
Chris Rock: Get tested, wear a mask. It's like when the doctor prescribes antibiotics. He says take the whole prescription and if you stop, whatever you came in there for is going to come back worse. So social distancing is what was the prescription and we need to take the whole dose. Or else it is going to get worse.
Governor Cuomo: So true, so well said. Look, it is a new thing, right? This wear a mask thing. It's just a couple of months when you think about it. Nobody heard about it before that. You'd watch TV every once in a while, you would see people in China wearing masks, but nobody did it here, right. So, it is introducing a whole new concept to people. And it's not only making it okay, it's making it not okay to not wear a mask. Not wearing a mask is not okay and that has to be the culture. And that has to be the attitude. It's not okay if you don't wear a mask. It's not okay for you to jeopardize my health. I don't think its right for you to jeopardize your health, but that's your health. And by the way, you jeopardize your health, you also jeopardize the health of your family when you go home and whoever else you are interacting with. But you don't have a right to jeopardize my health.
So, it is as Rosie said, its respect. It's civic duty. It's humanity. It is New York. You know, New York is, New York is 19 million people who start with the premise that we can all live together. In a very close area, right. Part of that acknowledgment is, we're going to respect one another. And we're going to respect each other's space and add we're going to respect each other's air to respecting each other's space, right. We're going to respect each other's air. Wear a mask. Thank you, Rosie. Thank you, Chris.
May 28, 2020.
Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo is a Guest on the Roundtable with Alan Chartock on WAMC Northeast Public Radio. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-guest-roundtable-alan-chartock-wamc-northeast-public-radio
Governor Cuomo: "We have metrics. We have numbers. They're are the smartest data-based reopening plan in the country, I believe. We have international experts who go through it and we'll follow the data. The reopening in the first five regions ends tomorrow. When the reopening of phase one ends, we'll give the experts all the data and if they say we should move forward, we'll move forward."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest on The Roundtable with Alan Chartock on WAMC Northeast Public Radio to discuss the reopening phases across New York State.
A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is available below:
Alan Chartock: Phase two opening, you know I would not want your job. You're between a rock and a hard place. You gotta keep people safe, that's number one. But also, you can't go on forever without opening things up. So, now very slowly you are opening things up. How is everything going?
Governor Cuomo: Very well. I'm not between a rock and a hard place, I'm between a rock and right place, and I chose the right place. We have metrics. We have numbers. They're are the smartest data-based reopening plan in the country, I believe. We have international experts who go through it and we'll follow the data. The reopening in the first five regions ends tomorrow. When the reopening of phase one ends, we'll give the experts all the data. It is posted on the web but let them analyze it. And if they say we should move forward, we'll move forward.
Alan Chartock: What are you looking at? Are you looking at how many people are getting sick?
Governor Cuomo: How many people are getting sick, what the infection rate, what is the transmission rate, what is the hospitalization rate, what is the contact tracing rate, what is the testing rate, all the data points. And we analyze it and then we give it to the international experts. And we are going to ask them to analyze it and if they sign off and say go to Phase 2, andiamo.
May 29, 2020.
Governor Cuomo Announces New York City to Enter Phase 1 of Reopening on June 8 and Five Regions Enter Phase 2 of Reopening Today. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-new-york-city-enter-phase-1-reopening-june-8-and-five-regions-enter
Announces Additional Industries Following Strict Safety and Social Distancing Guidelines Can Reopen in Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier as Part of Phase 2 Today
Implements New Early Warning System Dashboard to Aggregate and Organize New York State's COVID-19 Data in Partnership with County, Regional, State and Global Experts
Confirms 1,551 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 368,284; New Cases in 48 Counties
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York City will enter Phase 1 of reopening on June 8 and that five other regions — Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier — can enter Phase 2 of reopening today. Phase 2 allows office-based workers, real estate services, in-store retail shopping and some barbershop services to resume. Each industry is subject to specific state guidelines to maximize safety and social distancing. Business guidance for phase two of the state's reopening plan is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced the implementation of a new early warning dashboard that aggregates the state's expansive data collection efforts for New Yorkers, government officials and experts to monitor and review how the virus is being contained on an ongoing basis. It tracks new infections and their severity, hospital capacity by region, and other metrics. The early warning system dashboard was developed in consultation with internationally-known experts who have been advising New York State. The early warning dashboard can be found here.
"Remember that reopening does not mean that we're going back to the way things were," Governor Cuomo said. "Life is not about going back. Nobody goes back. We go forward. And it's going to be different. This is about reopening to a new normal — a safer normal. People will be wearing masks and people will be socially distanced — it's a new way of interacting, which is what we have to do. Wear a mask, get tested and socially distance."
Dr. Michael Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said, "As New York State's first 5 regions have been given the green light to begin to move from phase 1 to phase 2 it is absolutely critical that there is timely data to monitor new infections, hospitalizations, and hospital capacity. New York State's new early warning dashboard does just that—it will help foster added transparency in the government's efforts to protect New Yorkers and their families throughout the state."
Dr. Samir Bhatt, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Geostatistics, The Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, said, "It has been a privilege working alongside the New York team and seeing what they have accomplished in such a short time. We still live in an uncertain time, and policy must continue to be informed using as many strands of evidence as possible and this evidence should be there for everyone to see. This COVID dashboard transparently shows to all those living in New York what is happening in their region. As New York begins to move some regions from phase 1 to phase 2, these metrics provide a robust foundation for tracking the disease. First, we check if testing targets are being met. Next, we look at new infections: measured both by new cases and the test positivity ratio. We also look at case severity, which is measured by new hospitalizations. And finally, we monitor hospital capacity. We are carefully looking at these data for the five regions that are ready to move forward and want to see a consistent signal across all metrics. This dashboard gives us a crucial early warning system should the trends shift going forward."
Life is not about going back. Nobody goes back. We go forward. And it's going to be different. This is about reopening to a new normal — a safer normal.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Dr. Eli Rosenberg, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UAlbany, said, "New York State's new early warning dashboard will be a valuable tool for compiling the essential data we need to combat COVID-19 on all fronts. I'm also excited to see half of New York's regions work towards reopening safely today as part of Phase 2, which will provide critical income and jobs for retail and real estate workers, among others, who've been sidelined by this crisis, as while we continue to closely monitor the indicators critical to maintaining the state's public health."
Michael LeVasseur, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University, said, "During a crisis, transparency is vital. This early warning dashboard is an important tool for policymakers, business owners, and individuals to make data-informed decisions about safety in their communities. It is important for people using this tool to understand that no single metric can determine how safe it is to resume normal activities. As testing increases, more cases will be identified, but the percent of positive tests may decrease. Hospitalization data, however, can tell us the burden of disease in our communities and tracking our hospital capacity provides us with information on our ability to manage future surges. I applaud your team's efforts to provide these data to the public."
Dr. Noam Ross, a disease modeler at the non-profit research group EcoHealth Alliance, who has been advising the governor's coronavirus task force on data analysis, said, "When it comes to any public health emergency, we must follow the data to inform policy decisions, and this early warning dashboard reflects the numbers we must watch every day to understand what is going on in the State.It's important that the public gets to see the data that drives decision making, and I commend New York State for making this information widely available."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,551 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 368,284 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 368,284 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1834
20
Allegany
45
0
Broome
557
12
Cattaraugus
86
1
Cayuga
89
5
Chautauqua
82
1
Chemung
137
1
Chenango
130
4
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
382
2
Cortland
39
0
Delaware
79
1
Dutchess
3887
20
Erie
5935
49
Essex
36
0
Franklin
21
1
Fulton
206
6
Genesee
199
2
Greene
237
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
107
1
Jefferson
74
2
Lewis
20
0
Livingston
118
0
Madison
310
0
Monroe
2860
36
Montgomery
84
2
Nassau
40226
86
Niagara
1008
24
NYC
201999
948
Oneida
988
29
Onondaga
2092
38
Ontario
205
4
Orange
10361
36
Orleans
216
4
Oswego
108
1
Otsego
71
1
Putnam
1241
5
Rensselaer
478
9
Rockland
13100
24
Saratoga
473
5
Schenectady
680
4
Schoharie
49
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
57
1
St. Lawrence
202
1
Steuben
241
0
Suffolk
39445
86
Sullivan
1364
13
Tioga
126
0
Tompkins
157
1
Ulster
1663
5
Warren
254
1
Washington
232
1
Wayne
113
1
Westchester
33349
56
Wyoming
82
0
Yates
39
0
May 29, 2020.
Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo is a Guest on MSNBC with Brian Williams. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/audio-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-guest-msnbc-brian-williams
Governor Cuomo: "Let's be honest for a second, this is not a new story, we tend to cover incidents, but this is a continuing narrative, this is another chapter in the book called, 'Injustice and Inequality in America,' and it's been going on for 30 years, right? Rodney King, Los Angeles was 30 years ago. Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima in New York, 20 years ago. It's just replayed over and over and over again. We just saw the Ahmaud Arbery case, and what's the difference? It's been 30 years, you have this continuing inequality, you have then coronavirus on top of it that's killing more African Americans than anyone else by percentage."
Cuomo: "Remember what happened after the mortgage fraud financial crisis? We had all those bailouts for all the big banks - they had a party and the taxpayer got the bill. You're going to see the same thing here. You're going to see corporations laying off workers, saying they're restructuring, they're getting lean, they learned lessons from the pandemic. They're going to take billions of dollars from the government and then they're going to lay off workers. That's what's going to happen. And what I've said to Washington, they should stop that now in its tracks. If you take a dollar of government money, you should not be allowed to lay off workers, you have to hire back the same number of workers pre-pandemic as post-pandemic if you take a government bailout. You want to lay off workers? It's not going to be subsidized by the taxpayer."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest on MSNBC with Brian Williams.
A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is available below:
Brian Williams: The Governor of State of New York Andrew Cuomo has been kind enough to join us ostensibly to talk about that state's reopening, which we will do but, Governor, by way of thanking you for being with us, I got to start about what we have witnessed over the past 12 hours to 24 hours. Not a word from the President today, no presence last night on the part of the Governor of Minnesota, the Mayor of Minneapolis and as a cascading effect, no police or fire presence, can you imagine in New York in the City of New York and the State of New York choosing to surrender for starters a police precinct?
Governor Cuomo: Brian, good to be with you. Look, this is a terrible situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with George Floyd's family, all New Yorkers join me in that, as I'm sure all Americans do. I understand the frustration from the protesters, et cetera all across the country. Because Brian, let's be honest for a second, this is not a new story, we tend to cover incidents, but this is a continuing narrative, this is another chapter in the book called, "Injustice and Inequality in America," and it's been going on for 30 years, right? Rodney King, Los Angeles was 30 years ago. Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima in New York, 20 years ago. It's just replayed over and over and over again. We just saw the Ahmaud Arbery case, and what's the difference? It's been 30 years, you have this continuing inequality, you have then coronavirus on top of it that's killing more African Americans than anyone else by percentage. So, you can see the constant frustration with the injustice especially in the justice system, and it's just gone on and on and on and people are frustrated. Now, you shouldn't break the law, there should be no illegality, but frustration certainly.
Brian Williams: Let me ask you, the lawyer in you, the charging document, just and I can't believe we're being so molecular about timing here, it's a gruesome business, but here's what it says, the police officer's knee was on his neck for additional two minutes and 43 seconds after Mr. Floyd became unresponsive. The police officer's knee was on Mr. Floyd's neck for a total of 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Governor, what do you have to believe about the police officer to go for a murder one charge as opposed to murder three? The family is asking that the charge be upgraded from murder three to murder one.
Governor Cuomo: Yeah, the question is going to be intent and deliberateness of the actions and I was a former prosecutor, and I don't like to pre-judge any prosecutor's actions. The prosecutor in this case said they could charge up depending on what they find. And it's not uncommon to see the charges escalated when they get more information. Thank God we're in a day and age where we have these video tapes and all this footage that we can review afterwards, otherwise situations like this just wouldn't come to light, right? But let's see what the prosecutor does. The evidence to me is damning. In this state I think it would support a murder charge based on what we know. Now the prosecutor alluded to there's evidence you don't know about. He should speak about that because the silence is deafening and let's see if they charge up in this case but it's going to be a clear question of fact.
Brian Williams: To the purpose of your appearance here today I'll let you tell the viewers what you've decided about New York, which was of course as you've been dealing with, 24/7 nonstop the US epicenter of coronavirus - what does reopening look like in New York?
Governor Cuomo: Well, Brian, you're right. New York city was the epicenter and New York State has had more case than any other state in this country, more cases than many countries on the globe. Remember what happened to New York when they write the history books. We were told about the China virus, the China virus. This virus came from Europe. We were all looking West and the virus came from the East. Nobody talked about the virus coming from Europe. We had 3 million flights of people coming from Europe, January, February, March and that's where the virus came from and then it spread once it hit New York. We were totally blindsided. We did have the worst case and in some ways, Brian, that forced the smartest and most aggressive response. All the numbers are down. They're way down. Other parts of the country you still see the curve going up. June 8 we're going to open Phase 1, and Phase 1 will bring about 400,000 people back to work. It is a gradual turning on of the economy. We've done it in other parts of the state but the gradual nature of it allows us to calibrate the actions and New York City's a complex organism so the public transportation has to work, et cetera, and we'll phase it in starting the 8th so that's exciting and from where we were, you know, it's about 90 days which is a lifetime in some ways, but in some ways it's not considering what we had to do and what we were dealing with so we're excited.
Brian Williams: How do you possibly go about advising citizens, a very basic choice that especially a lot of essential workers have, police, fire, ConEd and so on and so on, subway versus bus, if they can get in a cab or a Lyft service. How are you going to advise the people who make New York City go and thus must get to work and by the way have been finding a way to get to work this whole time?
Governor Cuomo: It's a good question, Brian. They have been getting to work and they have been taking public transportation. I'll tell you an interesting fact - the essential workers, quote/unquote police, nurses, doctors, all the frontline people who you would expect to have a higher infection rate actually have a lower infection rate than the general population. It's counterintuitive but it makes the point that PPE works. Those masks work. Frankly they should have told us earlier about the masks and how effective they were. So individual responsibility, the PPE, what situations you put yourself in, that all is going to determine the future. You know, forget government. This is beyond government. This is what the people do and their actions will determine what happens with that viral spread. But its individual responsibility, if they want to drive and Uber, Lyft, et cetera, that's up to them. They haven't been doing that. The essential workers have been taking public transportation, and again their infection rate is down. Now, we're disinfecting our public transportation system, which have never happened before. We're disinfecting subway cars, buses, et cetera. We have UV lights. We're requiring masks on public transportation. But that has been operating all along. It has never stopped. It's an individual decision. I understand the anxiety. But it's clean and it's safe. You have to be smart and you have to keep distance where you can. But people have been using it every day all through this.
Brian Williams: Finally, Governor, I heard your kind of viewers guide to consumers yesterday. You told people at you're briefing, "You're going to hear a lot of talk about companies getting lean after the coronavirus." That means firing people, that means layoffs, and for a guy in your position you also have the tax base of all those towering structures in Manhattan that you don't want slowly emptied out. So, how do you police against something like that?
Governor Cuomo: Brian, I think you're exactly right. I'll tell you what my crystal ball says, it says remember history and remember the past because it's going to repeat itself. Remember what happened after the mortgage fraud financial crisis? We had all those bailouts for all the big banks - they had a party and the taxpayer got the bill. You're going to see the same thing here. You're going to see corporations laying off workers, saying they're restructuring, they're getting lean, they learned lessons from the pandemic. They're going to take billions of dollars from the government and then they're going to lay off workers. That's what's going to happen. And what I've said to Washington, they should stop that now in its tracks. If you take a dollar of government money, you should not be allowed to lay off workers, you have to hire back the same number of workers pre-pandemic as post-pandemic if you take a government bailout. You want to lay off workers? It's not going to be subsidized by the taxpayer. But I believe that's what's going to happen. That's why I don't believe this economy just comes back, rebounds straight up. This isn't a basketball. This is a football and it's going to come back up at a weird angle, and the big corporations will be fine and the workers will get stiffed. It's always the story and I believe it is going to be the story again here.
Brian Williams: Governor of the State of New York, Andrew Cuomo. Governor, thanks for being generous with your time. We appreciate it.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you, Brian.
May 29, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces New York City to Enter Phase 1 of Reopening on June 8 and Five Regions Enter Phase 2 of Reopening Today. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-announces-new-york-city-enter-phase-1
Announces Additional Industries Following Strict Safety and Social Distancing Guidelines Can Reopen in Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier as Part of Phase 2 Today
Implements New Early Warning System Dashboard to Aggregate and Organize New York State's COVID-19 Data in Partnership with County, Regional, State and Global Experts
Confirms 1,551 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 368,284; New Cases in 48 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "Phase one should bring about 400,000 employees back to work in New York City. Remember that reopening does not mean we're going back to the way things were. Life is not about going back. Nobody goes back. We go forward. It's going to be different. It is reopening to a new normal, it's a safer normal. People will be wearing masks, people will be socially distanced. It doesn't mean they don't like you, it's not a personal reflection, it's just a new way of interacting which is what we have to do."
Cuomo: "Wear a mask, get tested, and socially distance. It is that simple, but that hard. It is that simple, but that hard. Those simple devices - wearing a mask, hand sanitizer - they make all the difference. You talk to all the experts - what advice, what should we do? Wear a mask. How can it be that simple? Because sometimes it's that simple."
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York City will enter Phase 1 of reopening on June 8 and that five other regions—Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier—can enter Phase 2 of reopening today. Phase 2 allows office-based workers, real estate services, in-store retail shopping and some barbershop services to resume. Each industry is subject to specific state guidelines to maximize safety and social distancing. Business guidance for phase two of the state's reopening plan is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced the implementation of a new early warning dashboard that aggregates the state's expansive data collection efforts for New Yorkers, government officials and experts to monitor and review how the virus is being contained on an ongoing basis. It tracks new infections and their severity, hospital capacity by region, and other metrics. The early warning system dashboard was developed in consultation with internationally-known experts who have been advising New York State. The early warning dashboard can be found here.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good afternoon, thank you all for being here. For those of you who don't know the people joining me today, to my left is Robert Mujica, Budget Director of the State of New York. To my immediate right, Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor. To her right, Gareth Rhodes, who has been working with us from day one.
Thank you again. Thank you to Iona College President Carey for having us here today. It's a busy day and a distressful day on many levels, but let's proceed. Today is day 90 of the coronavirus pandemic crisis. "Follow the facts, they will show you the way" - A.J. Parkinson. That's what we've been doing in New York, following the facts. The facts today in terms of the coronavirus are good. Number of hospitalizations are down. Net change in total hospitalizations is down. Intubations are down and the new cases are down to 152 which is a dramatic, dramatic drop for us. At one point, you know, we'll never get to zero. What is the bottom of the curve? I don't know but we're close. And the number of deaths, thank the good lord continues to decline. It's at its lowest level ever of 67 deaths. We hope and we pray that that continues to be the case.
The question is on reopening, and as everyone knows, we've been looking at the numbers, looking at the metrics in terms of different regions across the state. The overall state was hit the hardest by this virus and we're coming back as the smartest. We were forced to learn more and learn faster and respond quicker because we were hit by the invisible enemy, the European virus, the virus from Europe. When everyone said watch China, well, they were wrong. The virus came to New York from Europe.
We have metrics posted. We want all the people know what we're doing because they're the ones who decide what happens. So, communicating this information has been key from day one. We have now done even more testing. We test more than any state in the United States per capita. We test more than any country on the globe per capita, and that is helpful in a number of ways. It also gives us more and more information to make decisions. So, we can now look at the number of tests we're doing by a specific area in the state, and see on a day-to-day basis what is happening with the spread of the virus by the number of tests in that area. And you can actually see a trend line from day to day, right? This is all about opening smart, which means what? Which means you're tracking the virus. And we can now track it on a day-to-day basis to help us, inform us, about our decisions and how we should react. And we have a new dashboard that actually tracks that information. And you can see remarkably, clearly what is happening in terms of the spread of the virus, the severity of the new infections, new infections in the region, so everyone will know exactly what's happening and why we're doing it and what we're planning to do.
The reason we are so rigorous about is this because many states and countries have reopened and they made mistakes. Yes, everybody wants to open tomorrow. I wanted to open before we ever closed. But you have to be smart and we have seen what has happened, painfully, when cities and states and countries reopen too quickly. They wound up closing again which is the worst situation, so be smart. We have the data. We have more data than almost any other place on the globe because of our testing and we have had it reviewed at every level. All the local officials sign off, the regional officials sign off, the best state experts, and then we go to global experts who have done this in countries around the world, who frankly have more experience than we do because they've been through this, the crisis and the closing and the opening and the closing again. And we review all the data with them, and I want to thank them very much for taking the time to go through the data. But these are literally the best minds you can find on the globe when it comes to this and they have gone through all the data. So I feel confident that where we can rely on this data, and the five regions that have been in phase one can now move to phase two, because their data has been reviewed and the experts say to us it's safe to move forward, because people have been smart and you haven't seen the spike, so they go to phase two.
Phase two is all office-based jobs, real estate services, retail reopening, barber shops, hair salons reopening. That's all part of phase two. There's specific guidance on how to reopen in phase two. It's not just, open the doors and everybody has a party. It's 50 percent occupancy in office buildings, signage on markers, et cetera, no meetings without social distancing, don't share food or beverages. I mean, I see people all the time, sharing food and beverages. You really don't want to do that now. But again, the specific guidance for every area. Retail stores, 50 percent occupancy, wear the face covering. A store owner can tell you they don't want you to come in if you're not wearing a face covering. Why? Because you don't have the right to infect the store owner, you don't have a right to infect other customers in the store and you don't have the right to walk into the store and all the other customers run out because you don't have a face mask. Malls are closed except stores that open to external entrances, curbside, but again, very detailed guidelines. Barber shops, hair salons, are open, by appointment only. The professionals in those operations have to get a test every two weeks. We recommend that the professionals get a test before they reopen, that's not a mandate - that's a recommendation. And we recommend to customers to ask the barber or professional in the hair salon if they had a test before you used their services. That's a recommendation. But they have to get a test every two weeks. And if I were walking into a barber shop, I would say - I would ask the barber, "Did you get a test before you reopened, when was the last time you got a test," and if they got a test, they'll have a certification, they'll have an evidence of that test. And people will wear face coverings.
But the basic rule is still -- it's all about how we act. It comes down to that. How the employer acts, how the store owner acts, how the employee acts, how the individual acts, how the local government acts. Reopening in New York City is more complicated, as we know, but we are on track to meet all the metrics. Hospital capacity of 70 percent, we want 30 percent hospital capacity, so God forbid something goes wrong, we have the hospital beds. We want to make sure we have the stockpile of PPE. We're not going through what we went through last time, searching the globe for ventilators and masks and gowns. We learned that lesson the hard way, this entire country did, but it would be madness to go through that again. We have to have the testing in place, which we do. The contact tracing is being brought up to speed. We believe all of these things can be done next week. The MTA preparations for reopening, but we think all of this can be done by next week, and we would be on track to open the week afterwards.
One of the things we want to do and we have been doing, is I want to focus on the hot spots. Again, follow the facts, we have the data. We can tell you by zip code where the new cases are coming from. They are in New York City, they're outer borough. They're more Brooklyn, more the Bronx. They are lower-income areas. They're more minority areas. And we know where they are by zip code. Some of these zip codes you have double the infection rate in those zip codes that you have citywide. Citywide the infection rate is about 19 percent, 20 percent. In some zip codes, it's over 40 percent, the infection rate. We know where these zip codes are. Next week let's do a full court press on these zip codes. We've been talking to our colleagues in the city, speaking to the mayor about this, next week hospitals, PPE, get that contact tracing up, MTA will finish their final preparations, but then hot spots, hot spots, hot spots.
We're in New Rochelle today where we had the first hot spot in the nation. There was no such thing as a "hot spot" before New Rochelle had a hot spot. Congratulations, New Rochelle, created a new term now used by every America, hot spot, in this regard.
But, we know where the hot spots are in the city. We want to focus on them next week, be ready to open. We are on track to open on June 8th, which is one week from Monday, and next week, as I mentioned, we'll be following up on these issues.
Phase one should bring about 4000,000 employees back to work in New York City. Remember that reopening does not mean we're going back to the way things were. Life is not about going back. Nobody goes back. We go forward. It's going to be different. It is reopening to a new normal, it's a safer normal. People will be wearing masks, people will be socially distanced. It doesn't mean they don't like you, it's not a personal reflection, it's just a new way of interacting, which is what we have to do.
Wear a mask, get tested, and socially distance. It is that simple, but that hard. It is that simple, but that hard. Those simple devices - wearing a mask, hand sanitizer - they make all the difference. You talk to all the experts - what advice, what should we do? Wear a mask. How can it be that simple? Because sometimes it's that simple. The doing is what's hard, not the advice. Getting 19 million people to do it that's what's hard.
What happens is up to us. People say, "Governor tell me what's going to happen next week, the week after." I can't tell you. Only you know. It's the person in the mirror. You tell me how the people of New York City respond, I'll tell you what happens in New York City. You tell me how the people in Westchester, I'll tell you what happens in Westchester. The New Rochelle hot spot, that was all done by New Rochelle. It was no act of God, it was no external force. It happened because of what people in New Rochelle did. We know how we got here, we know how we can get from here. If we act smart, these stores open and they're smart, the customers are smart, people are smart, people on public transit are smart, then we won't see those numbers go up.
As we haven't in the upstate regions that have reopened and Long Island that has reopened. The numbers have not gone up. Why? Because people have been smart and we have to continue to be smart.
We're going to be doing this in New York City with our partners. I want to thank the mayor very much and his team very much. Everybody in government has been working overtime and none of us have been here before, but we are figuring it out. I'm proud of the way New York is figuring it out. We wish we were never here, but once we were here, we have made the best of it. We should be proud.
The mayor is looking fit and healthy and rested. I don't know why, but he's looking extraordinarily good. It's good to be him in this new way of everyone is virtual. Everyone is Zoom. But it's not the virtual mayor, it is the real mayor of the city of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. Good to be with you, Mayor.
Mayor de Blasio: Thank you so much, Governor. Governor, I'm worried that the coronavirus is affecting your eyesight because I think the last 90 days for all of us - a lot of long days. I know you and your team work extraordinary hard and I think we all look a little less than ideal lately.
Thank you, I want to say first of all. Thank you, Governor, thank you to your whole team for the extraordinary work over these past months and as you said, our teams talk all day long with a lot of common purpose and we've done really important work with the same strategic view, the same approach. I want to thank you for that.
We are excited to get to the point of a restart for New York City and when I talked to the people of this city this morning I told them that the indicators were moving absolutely in the right direction but the key to getting to a point of definition for that Phase 1 came from the collaboration between you and me and the state and the city to all get on the same page and make sure that we were confident that it was the right time to do it.
You and I have talked and I think we are absolutely on the same page. The fact is, Governor, you've talked about the condition of the state and how incredibly different it is than even a month or two ago. I just want you to hear this good news about the city, our own Health Department indicators, we have set a threshold that we want to be under 200 new hospital admissions each day to know we're in a safe zone. Today, Governor, only 61 new patients for Covid-19 or similar diseases. That's breathtaking how far we've come on that.
We also have said we want to be below 15 percent of all new tests testing positive result for the people taking those tests and, Governor, as you know, with your help, we've all been doing more and more testing every day, literally exponential growth. Today's number will bring a smile to your face. Only 5 percent of those tested tested positive in the city. These are great indicators.
The third one we still have a little work to do but I'm very confident and I know you are, too and that's the number of people in our hospital ICUs. This morning we announced that threshold, that 375 threshold - we were damn close at 391 patients. But as you and I have discussed we have got about 40 patients that actually can be cared for outside of ICUs in a different setting that gives them the long-term care they need. We're going to work with your team and the state to figure out the right way to do that. Those folks will appropriately come off the number. That's going to put us under that threshold.
Now when you add all that together, as you and I have discussed, we are on now the gateway to the next big step. Governor, as I affirm to you, we're going to spend this coming week going out to the businesses of New York City that would be part of Phase 1. We're going to be providing them with free face coverings.
We're going to be providing them with a hotline where any employer can call to figure out how to address those practical questions. I've given a lot of credit to you and your team for the guidance you've put out around Phase 1. I think it's very clear, very helpful. We're going to have human beings follow up, real people from the City government going out, talking to businesses about how to make it real and how to put it in practice, answering their questions, if we see something that's not right, helping them correct it, but we're going to do the same for working people. We're going to have a hotline for workers to make sure they're safe and they're getting the support they need.
As you and I discussed this next week we will be able to implement all of that, a lot of hands-on, direct work with small businesses and working people and labor unions to make sure everyone is ready and then I share your confidence that in the week of June 8 we'll be ready to go.
Obviously if the indicators keep working in the right direction we want to keep seeing that evidence. As you said many times and I agree with you, data, data, data, but everything you and I have seen in recent days points to that week of June 8 as being that moment of restart and we're going to work with you every step of the way to get there and we're feeling very good about it and I look forward to celebrating with you as New York City begins to reopen.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you very much, Mayor. Thank you. Good to be with you.
Okay, and for New York City we have experience, right? We've done Phase 1 in five other regions. We've done Phase 1 in Long Island so we've done this. The phasing works. The phasing has worked. The other regions that all went into Phase 1 it's going very well. We're not seeing a spike. That's why today some regions are moving on to Phase 2 so the system works and it will work in New York City.
Next week as I mentioned we have to continue to watch the metrics. I do want to focus on those hotspot zip codes, the MTA preparation, the hospital numbers. There are about 100 hospitals in New York City. 11 are the hospitals the Mayor was referring to the New York City hospitals. But then there are about ninety other hospitals. They have to have the beds available. They have to have PPE available and we'll be working with them. But we'll get there for June 8th. And June 8th we have to be smart. Again, this is not happy days here again, it's over. We have to be smart and we're going to remind New Yorkers of that.
I want to make one point about the larger context of what's going on in Minneapolis today, which I'm sure is very distressing to all of us. And I want to begin by offering our personal thoughts and prayers to the family of George Floyd on behalf of all New Yorkers who have seen that incredible video. We can imagine your pain and you are in our thoughts and prayers. I would also suggest that when we think about this situation and we start to analyze the situation and the reaction. Let's not make the same mistake that we continually make which is we tend to see incidents. This is an incident, an isolated incident. People focus on an isolated incident. It's not an isolated incident. It is a continuum of cases and situations that have been going on for decades, and decades, and decades. These are just chapters in a book. And the title of the book is continuing injustice and inequality in America, and these are just chapters. The chapters started modern day Rodney King in Los Angeles, 1991. Abner Louima in New York, 1997. Amadou Diallo in New York, 1999. Sean Bell in New York, 2006. Oscar Grant, Oakland, California, 2009. Eric Garner, New York City, 2014. Michael Brown, Missouri, 2014. Laquan McDonald, Chicago, 2014. Freddie Gray, Baltimore, 2015. Antwon Rose, Pittsburgh, 2018. Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, 2020. Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, 2020. George Floyd in Minneapolis, 2020.
That's, that's why the outrage. That's why the frustration and the anger. It is not about one situation. It's about the same situation happening again, and again, and again, and again. And seeing the same thing and not learning the lesson. And then is that happening in a broader context and a broader circumstance which is what's going on with the coronavirus. Which affects and kills more minorities than anyone else. You look around this country and you look at the people who are dying of the coronavirus. It is disproportionate African-American people and it's just a continuing injustice and that's the frustration and that's the protests.
Nobody is sanctioning the arson, and the thuggery, and the burglaries. But the protesters, and the anger, and the fear, and the frustration? Yes. Yes. And the demand is for justice. And when the prosecutor came out and said well there's other evidence, but I can't tell you anything more than that. That only incited the frustration. Injustice in the justice system. How repugnant to the concept of America. And over, and over, and over again. I stand figuratively with the protestors. I stand against the arson, and the burglary, and the criminality. I stand with the protesters and I think all well-meaning Americans stand with the protesters. Enough is enough. How many times do you have to see the same lesson replayed before you do something? This country is better than this. It has been better than this and it shouldn't take this long to end basic discrimination and basic injustice.
May 29, 2020.
Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Calls Into Spectrum Albany With Solomon Syed. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/audio-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-calls-spectrum-albany-solomon-syed
Governor Cuomo: "The way we have been doing this is we collect the most data of any state in the country. I like to say we have the smartest reopening plan. We do more testing than any other state the country. We do more testing than any country on the globe per capita. And we watch the hospitalization rate and we watch the transmission rate and we get to the end of a two week period. We give that to state department officials and we have a kitchen cabinet of global experts who have been doing this with other countries we have them go through the data, when they give us the green light, Solomon, then I give the green light. So for the regions we just did we collected the data through last night, they went through it this morning."
Cuomo: "We announced this afternoon that we were going ahead because county executives can be very good at a lot of things, governors can be very good at a lot of things, we are not medical professionals. We are not experts on how a virus communicates and replicates. So leave it to the experts and don't try to guess what is going to happen. Let's do it on the facts and the science. And when we get to the end of the period and they review the data - it's all good - we go ahead. But anything other than that is premature."
Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo called into Spectrum Albany with Solomon Syed.
A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is available below:
Solomon Syed: Governor Andrew Cuomo on the phone right now, talk more about this, some of the latest developments in the Capital Region. Good evening to you, Governor. Thanks for joining.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you for having me, Solomon. It's my pleasure.
Solomon Syed: It's our pleasure. Governor, let's talk about that Phase 2 in five of these regions. Are you happy with the progress?
Governor Cuomo: Oh, I am happy and all New Yorkers in those regions should be happy because they made it happen, Solomon. You know, this is all a about what people do. This is now about government. If people are smart and they are responsible, and store owners are responsible, we can do this because we control the virus transmission at the end of the day. And we went through Phase 1, and we did very well and we had experts go through the numbers and they gave us the green light so we went to Phase 2 today.
Solomon Syed: Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy saying earlier today that he believes the Capital Region is on pace to meet that Phase 2 requirement next week. How do you see that?
Governor Cuomo: You know, I don't shave a crystal ball and I am not an expert on viral transmission. So the way we have been doing this is we collect the most data of any state in the country. I like to say we have the smartest reopening plan. We do more testing than any other state the country. We do more testing than any country on the globe per capita. And we watch the hospitalization rate and we watch the transmission rate and we get to the end of a two week period. We give that to state department officials and we have a kitchen cabinet of global experts who have been doing this with other countries who frankly did the closedown or reopening, many of them had to do another closedown after the reopening. So we have them go through the data, when they give us the green light, Solomon, then I give the green light. So for the regions we just did we collected the data through last night, they went through it this morning. We announced this afternoon that we were going ahead because county executives can be very good at a lot of things, governors can be very good at a lot of things, we are not medical professionals. We are not experts on how a virus communicates and replicates. So leave it to the experts and don't try to guess what is going to happen. Let's do it on the facts and the science. And when we get to the end of the period and they review the data - it's all good - we go ahead. But anything other than that is premature.
Solomon Syed: Okay, so you are talking there about getting the green light. We heard today from the Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin saying that he may try to push through maybe a yellow light or a red light with that and allow some businesses to reopen early. What are your thoughts on that?
Governor Cuomo: Well, it's not a county by county decision. And it is not up county law, it is state law. So, you go through a red light to get a ticket. I as the Governor, I am responsible for the state. I would never advise people to violate a federal law. You know somedays I would like to say, Solomon, don't pay your federal taxes because they raised our taxes. But if I tell you not to pay your federal taxes and you don't pay your federal taxes, you're going to go to jail, so I have no authority to do that. No county official has the authority. I understand local officials have different positions, politically, and politics is politics. I'm trying to stay away from the politics - this is not about Democrat or Republican. This is about life and death and let's act intelligently. We have a great process and its working and we brought down the curve in New York and we saved thousands and thousands of lives. So now is the time to stay away from politics, let's be smart, let's be united and let's just keep going. If we make no mistakes, the path is right and the arrows are pointed up.
Solomon Syed: Governor, the hardest hit area in the state, no question about it, the New York City area, but you said earlier today that you believe that New York City could be on track to begin phase one as soon as June 8th - that's pretty remarkable considering how things have been in New York.
Governor Cuomo: Well, look, Solomon, this is the story of life, right? We got knocked on our rear end, especially in New York City, not because we did anything wrong by the way but because the virus came from Europe, not from China, everybody was saying, "China, China, China," we were looking to the West for the virus to come from China. The virus came from Europe, came from the East. January, February, March, 3 million people come from Europe and landed at our airports and brought the virus. Alright, that's where it came from and we had nothing to do with that but that was the situation we were presented. We had the worst situation, I think it brought out our best, we have the smartest reopening plan and June 8th, we're going to reopen New York City phase one, all the numbers are in the right direction. And I'm very proud of it again because this is what New Yorkers did, this is not state government, this is not any government. This is people acting responsibly, thinking about each other, rising to the challenge and nobody does that as well as New Yorkers.
Solomon Syed: New York Tough. Governor, really quick - I've got about a minute left and hopefully it's enough time to get your answer on this one. You're a big sports fan like I am, I know you've talked a lot about it, up here in the Capital Region, the Saratoga Race Course, a big economic engine, opening day scheduled for July 16th. Do you think we'll have a racing season in Saratoga?
Governor Cuomo: Look, I've said to Saratoga and all the tracks, race tracks, car race tracks, Watkins Glen, all the sports team, I said, play. If we can't get an arena or a stadium filled yet, play. Run the races, let's watch them, give us something to do. Don't take sports season away from us and as soon as we can get people in the seats we will.
Solomon Syed: Governor Cuomo, big thank you for taking time on your Friday evening to join us, we appreciate it.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you for having me, Solomon and thank you for what you're doing. I watch you, I'm a fan and you do a great public service.
Solomon Syed: It's an honor, Governor, thank you for saying that. We appreciate it.
Governor Cuomo: Thank you, Solomon.
May 30, 2020.
Governor Cuomo Signs Into Law New Measure Providing Death Benefits for Families of Frontline Government Workers Who Lost Their Lives Due to COVID-19. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-law-new-measure-providing-death-benefits-families-frontline-government
State Will Add 10 Additional Testing Sites in NYC Hotspots — Covering Predominantly Low Income and Minority Communities — as City Prepares for Phase 1 Reopening on June 8
Confirms 1,376 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 369,660; New Cases in 45 Counties
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed into law a new measure providing death benefits to the families of frontline workers who lost their lives fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. The bill, S.8427/A.10528, establishes a COVID-19 death benefit for the families of state and local government employees who have been on the front lines of response to this public health emergency.
The Governor also announced that New York State will open 10 additional testing sites—one for each zip code—in New York City COVID hotspots. Controlling the virus' spread in the city's hotspots, which are located in predominately low income and minority communities, is a top priority as it moves toward Phase 1 of reopening on June 8. Six testing sites will be in the Bronx, three will be in Brooklyn and one will be in Queens.
Governor Cuomo also said that New York State continues to monitor progress fighting the virus in the Capital Region and Western New York, which will reach two weeks of Phase 1 reopening next week.
"This new law will provide death benefits to the families of state and local government frontline workers who died from COVID-19 and gave their lives for us," Governor Cuomo said. "It is the least we can do to say thank you, and we honor you, and we remember you. We will be there to support your families going forward. And we say to their families, we thank you, we grieve for your loss, and we will always be there for you the way your loved one was there for us."
We will be there to support your families going forward. And we say to their families, we thank you, we grieve for your loss, and we will always be there for you the way your loved one was there for us.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, "I want to thank Senator Gounardes for his dedication and hard work to help get this crucial bill passed. So many brave men and the women paid the ultimate sacrifice while protecting all of us from this horrific disease. This bill honors their memory and ensures their family members are cared for in the future."
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said, "Throughout the course of this pandemic, our municipal frontline workers have gone to work day after day so that their fellow New Yorkers could stay safely in their homes. They risked their health and well-being to serve others, and we will honor their service by ensuring that their families receive the benefits they so rightly deserve. I would like to thank my colleague Assemblymember Abbate for fighting tirelessly to ensure these fallen heroes are treated with respect and dignity."
Senator Andrew Gounardes said,"It is fitting that we passed this legislation just after Memorial Day, a day we honor those who have given their lives for their country. Those essential workers we lost to covid-19 gave their lives in a different kind of war - a war against a vicious virus. Their families have suffered a horrific loss and thanks to our actions they will not have to wait in limbo to get the benefits they are owed. I'd like to thank Governor Cuomo for his support on this issue and for moving so swiftly to sign it into law to give relief for the families of these everyday heroes."
Assemblymember Peter Abbate said, "While many employers are making arrangements for workers to telecommute rather than risking illness, workers like emergency medical personnel, firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers, transit workers and many others have continued to show up every day. And for their service, many have paid the ultimate price. This legislation ensures that their families are afforded the benefits they deserve for their unimaginable loss."
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,376 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 369,660 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 369,660 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,843
9
Allegany
45
0
Broome
561
4
Cattaraugus
87
1
Cayuga
90
1
Chautauqua
83
1
Chemung
137
0
Chenango
132
2
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
383
1
Cortland
41
2
Delaware
79
0
Dutchess
3,899
12
Erie
6,014
79
Essex
36
0
Franklin
22
1
Fulton
207
1
Genesee
200
1
Greene
238
1
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
107
0
Jefferson
74
0
Lewis
20
0
Livingston
118
0
Madison
311
1
Monroe
2,909
49
Montgomery
89
5
Nassau
40,307
81
Niagara
1,020
12
NYC
202,751
752
Oneida
1,006
18
Onondaga
2,133
41
Ontario
206
1
Orange
10,389
28
Orleans
228
12
Oswego
108
0
Otsego
71
0
Putnam
1,248
7
Rensselaer
486
8
Rockland
13,128
28
Saratoga
477
4
Schenectady
686
6
Schoharie
50
1
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
58
1
St. Lawrence
202
0
Steuben
241
0
Suffolk
39,532
87
Sullivan
1,375
11
Tioga
128
2
Tompkins
161
4
Ulster
1,678
15
Warren
255
1
Washington
235
3
Wayne
113
0
Westchester
33,429
80
Wyoming
84
2
Yates
39
0
May 30, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Signs Into Law New Measure Providing Death Benefits for Families of Frontline Government Workers Who Lost Their Lives Due to COVID-19. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-signs-law-new-measure-providing-death
State Will Add 10 Additional Testing Sites in NYC Hotspots — Covering Predominantly Low Income and Minority Communities — as City Prepares for Phase 1 Reopening on June 8
Confirms 1,376 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 369,660; New Cases in 45 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "We beat this damn virus and if we're smart we will continue to beat it. But the way we beat this virus we can beat the virus of racism, we can beat the virus discrimination, we can beat the virus of inequality. If we can beat this virus, we can beat anything. Look at the strength that people showed. You can do anything with that strength.They gave their lives out of love and we respect that. I'm going to sign a bill today that gives death benefits to the families of all of the front-line workers who gave their lives for us. It is the least we can do to say thank you, and we honor you, and we remember you. You gave your lives for us. We will be there to support your families going forward."
Cuomo: "These hot spots are not coincidently predominantly low income and minority communities, and that again raises the issue of disparity and inequality. We are going to be adding more testing sites in these areas. We need people to come out and get tested, find out who has the virus and who has the antibodies, who is possibly contagious.You can give it to your mother, your father, your aunt, your people living in dense communities. You have many people in one housing complex. You can't socially distance in an elevator in public housing.This is where the infection rate is spreading. We're going to do more PPE, more hand sanitizer, more education, more communication about how important these things are. But we have to get deeper also. And we are working with Northwell Healthto develop better healthcare connections in these communities. Where you see a high death rate, is where you have people with underlying illnesses. If you have diabetes, if you have hypertension, if you are immune-compromised, then you're more likely to die and that raises the question why didn't we address these health disparities better? And we want to take this opportunity to do that with Northwell Health. Because we have to address the inequality in healthcare. If you look across this nation, proportionately many more people of color died from the COVID virus than white people. That is a fact."
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed into law a new measure providing death benefits to the families of frontline workers who lost their lives fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. The bill, S.8427/A.10528, establishes a COVID-19 death benefit for the families of state and local government employees who have been on the front lines of response to this public health emergency.
The Governor also announced that New York State will open 10 additional testing sites—one for each zip code—in New York City COVID hotspots. Controlling the virus' spread in the city's hotspots, which are located in predominately low income and minority communities, is a top priority as it moves toward Phase 1 of reopening on June 8. Six testing sites will be in the Bronx, three will be in Brooklyn and one will be in Queens.
Governor Cuomo also said that New York State continues to monitor progress fighting the virus in the Capital Region and Western New York, which will reach two weeks of Phase 1 reopening next week.
VIDEOof the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning to everyone. It's a pleasure to be in the Bronx this morning. To my left we have Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor. To my right, we have our great Secretary of State, Madam Secretary of State is the appropriate protocol, Rossana Rosado. I thank them very much for being with us today. I thank the New Settlement Community Center for having us today and for all of you being here.
Today is Saturday, day 91 of this coronavirus pandemic. It's a hard day. It is a day of light. It is a day of darkness. It's a day where we see how far we have come in so many ways, but yet a day where we see how far we need to go in so many ways.
In battling this coronavirus, we have made great progress. The numbers today again are all good news in terms of total hospitalizations are way down. Intubations are way down. The number of new COVID cases walking in the door every day is also way down. So, that is all good news. The number of New Yorkers we lost is at an all-time low. Same number as yesterday, but overall that has been tremendous, tremendous progress from where we were. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families we lost. And I want to thank the hospital workers, the nurses, the doctors who have saved literally thousands of lives all through this and I want to thank them all from the bottom of my heart. I want New Yorkers to take note of what we have done. We, we accomplished this. This is not government action. This is we the people action. This is when New Yorkers come together and New Yorkers are informed and they understand the challenge and they understand the facts and the information. They did the impossible and that is what this was.
Five regions in Upstate New York entered phase two of the reopening yesterday. We have a next week coming up the Capitol Region and Western New York will end their 14 days. And then we will have to make a decision whether or not they enter phase two. We made that decision by reviewing the data, and the numbers, and not just the state officials because nobody has dealt with this pandemic before. One of the most important things in life to know is to know what you don't know, right. And know what you don't know means none of us here know about this coronavirus. We've been wrong from day one. All the experts have been wrong from day one. The projection models turned out incorrect because we were better with social distancing. We were told the virus was coming from China. Really the virus came to New York from Europe. Nobody told us we had three million people get on flights and land in New York airports from Europe. So, on these decisions of reopening I am making sure that we have the best science available and the best minds.
I said from day one we have to reopen smart. This is not emotion. This is not politics. Some people want to open, "We should have never closed, right, when we started. This was just like the flu." Yeah. The flu doesn't kill a hundred thousand people. This was not the flu. So, be smart and avoid the politics and avoid the emotion and stay on the data. And when we get to these phases of reopening we have the best global experts, people that have worked with countries that have gone through this before that have closed, that have reopened and closed again because they reopened too fast. I understand you have local officials who have opinions, I have opinions, but you know what, I'm not acting on my opinion. I'm not a public health official, I'm not a doctor. Know what you don't know. I go to global experts and this is a matter of life and death and I want to make sure I get the best advice for the people of this state. I'm not going to put anybody's life at risk unless I feel confident that we have had the best advice. That's what we do in all of these determinations.
New York City is going to open on June 8. We have work to do still, but we'll get it done by June 8. Remember, New York had the worst situation and that we've made this remarkable turn around this quickly is something we should all be proud of.
We're going to be focusing this next week on the hospital system. We learned painful lessons with our hospital system. We came up with a new program called surge and flex in the midst of this. When it comes to hospitals, we don't really have a public hospital system. We don't even really have a hospital system. We have, in the New York City area, 100 private hospitals. Private hospitals operate as private hospitals. They have their own mission, they're own business interests. They operate unto themselves. That's how it's always worked.
We only have about 11 public hospitals. They're in New York City, operated by New York City, called the H+H Hospitals. But there are only 11 of them. The public hospitals cannot handle any outbreak of any size. We've learned. We need those private hospitals operating in a way they've never operated before, which is basically managed as one public health system. That's a dramatic difference from anything that happened before. On the first go-around, we had to design the airplane as we were flying it. The surge and flex was coming up with a management system for those private hospitals who had all acted independently. We want to make sure we have that refined over this next week. If we have a problem, we need all of those hospitals to work together. We can shift patients, we can share resources, that kind of coordination.
The MTA, the public transportation, has been getting prepared. They're disinfecting trains like never before. They have another week of work to do and they will be ready. Then, we want to focus on the 10 hotspots. The ten hotspots are those areas that we have identified through testing where we're still generating new cases. We're the most aggressive state in the country in actually doing testing and the testing tells you where the new cases are coming from. We call them hot spots.
If you look at them, we can actually identify them by zip code. It's a dramatic difference between the overall city situation and the situation in these zip codes. Overall city situation is about 19-20 percent infection rate. Some of these zip codes, you have an over 50 percent infection rate. Just think about it. We're targeting those zip codes as places. We want to get down that infection rate. Get down the new cases in those hot spots. They tend to be in the outer boroughs. Non-New Yorkers, there is a concept called, "outer boroughs." There is no "inner borough." Manhattan is the inner borough but no one calls it the inner borough. I am a child of an outer borough - I'm from Queens. Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, those are the outer boroughs. You are not in Manhattan, so you are in an outer borough, which has all sorts of ramifications. But if you look at where the hot spots are, they are in the outer boroughs. They're in Bronx, Brooklyn, predominantly Bronx, Brooklyn, a little bit in Queens, actually my old neighborhood in Queens. Let's focus on those zip codes over the next week.
These hot spots are not coincidently predominantly low income and minority communities and that again raises the issue of disparity and inequality. We are going to be adding more testing sites in these areas. We need people to come out and get tested, find out who has the virus and who has the antibodies, who is possibly contagious. Even if you are a young superhero and you think you are immune from the virus, you can give it to someone else. You can give it to your mother, your father, your aunt, your people living in dense communities. You have many people in one housing complex. You can't socially distance in an elevator in public housing. It does not happen. This is where the infection rate is spreading. We're going to do more PPE, more hand sanitizer, more education, more communication about how important these things are.
But we have to get deeper also. And we are working with Northwell Health, which is the largest hospital system in the state of New York to actually develop better healthcare connections in these communities. Where you see a high death rate, is where you have people with underlying illnesses. If you have diabetes, if you have hypertension, if you are immune-compromised, then you're more likely to die and that raises the question why didn't we address these health disparities better? And we want to take this opportunity to do that with Northwell Health. Because we have to address the inequality in healthcare. If you look across this nation, proportionately many more people of color died from the COVID virus than white people. That is a fact. There is a slight disparity in New York State, nothing like what it is in other states and we are proud of that. But there is a disparity and there is an inequality, especially across the country. That has to be addressed. That has to be addressed. It came to light. It was exposed because of this situation. But it was there and it has to be addressed.
And there is a larger context for this conversation today, right? For 90 days we were just dealing with the COVID crisis. On the 91st day, we had the COVID crisis and we have the situation in Minneapolis with the racial unrest around the George Floyd death. Those are not disconnected situations. One looks like a public health system issue, COVID, but it is getting at the inequality in healthcare also on a deeper level. And then the George Floyd situation, which gets at the inequality and discrimination and the criminal justice system. They are connected. The George Floyd death was not just about George Floyd, and we wish his family peace and they are in our thoughts and prayers. But we tend to look at the situations as individual incidents. They are not individual incidents. When you have one episode, two episodes, maybe you can look at them as individual episodes. But when you have ten episodes, 15 episodes, you are blind or in denial if you treating each one like a unique situation. We have an injustice in the criminal justice system that is abhorrent. That is the truth. It doesn't make me feel good to say that. I'm a former prosecutor. We have injustice in the criminal justice system, which is the basic purveyor of justice in this society. And it is not just George Floyd - you look back even in modern history in my life time. This started with Rodney King. Rodney King was 30 years ago. We suffered in this city through Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell and Eric Garner. How many times have we seen the same situation? Yes, the names change, but the color doesn't. And that is the painful reality of this situation.
And it is not just 30 years. It is this nation's history of discrimination and racism dating back hundreds of years. That is the honest truth and that's what behind this anger and frustration and I share the outrage at this fundamental injustice. I do. And that's why I say I figuratively stand with the protestors, but violence is not the answer. It never is the answer. As a matter of fact, it is counterproductive because the violence then obscures the righteousness of the message and the mission. And you lose the point by the violence in response. And it allows people who would choose to scapegoat to point violence rather than the action that created the reaction. The violence allows people to talk about the violence, as opposed to honestly addressing the situation that incited the violence. The violence doesn't work. Martin Luther King, Dr. King, God rest his soul. He taught us this. He taught us this. He knew better than anyone who is speaking to us today on this issue. "Returning hate for hate, multiples hate. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Yes, outrage. Yes, anger. Yes, frustration. But not violence. Last night we saw disturbing violent clashes amidst protest right here in New York City in Brooklyn. And we all saw the video last night, I'm asking Attorney General James to review the actions and the procedures that were used last night because the public deserves answers and they deserve accountability. I spoke with the Mayor, he wants an independent review of what happened yesterday. I agree and we agree that the Attorney General is an independently elected official in the state of New York. In many other states the attorney general is appointed by the governor - not here. She is an independently elected official. She has proven herself competent and capable and being independent. And we are going to ask her to take a short period of time, review last night and to do a report to the public and let's see what we can learn, what was done right and what was done wrong because people do deserve answers. We had legislators who were at the protest, state legislatures, last night. And there is a significant amount of concern about what actions were taken. But on the larger point, in this pandemic, over the past 91 days, we have done extraordinary things.
When they first talked to me about this virus, they were not sure it could be controlled. When we first talked about socially distancing, nobody knew what that meant. Nobody knew that you could even do it. Would people listen? Would New Yorkers listen? Which that takes the question of people to a different level because we are New Yorkers. Could a government official, could a governor get up and say to 19 million people we need to close down everything, we need to socially distant, six feet, wear masks, PPE? Could a community rise to that occasion? Could this virus be stopped? Was that curve going to continue to go up? Nobody knew. And it was all dependent on what people did, what people did, what the community did.
And on top of it, New York was hit the worst. We have more cases than any state. We have more cases per capita than most countries. But because we were hit the worse, I think it brought out the best and I think our better angels won. I think our better angels responded and I think our better angels rose to the occasion. We helped each other. We respected each other. We protected each other. We were there one for the other. People across the state volunteering to help other parts of the state, people from upstate coming down to help downstate, people from downstate going to help upstate. People from across the country coming to help us, leaving their homes in other states to come here. It was really community and mutuality and all of the things we hoped to be, manifested, it happened. We needed people to rise above themselves, to get past the pettiness, to get past the selfishness, to be bigger than themselves and they did it. For me, the microcosm of it, the metaphor for all of it was the frontline workers.
What they did, they are modern day heroes. I was saying to the people of this state this is dangerous, stay home, protect yourself, protect your family and in the same breath I was saying to the frontline workers, "Not you. You have to go to work tomorrow morning." In the same breath. I was saying to myself, what happens if they don't. What happens if they don't? What happens if the frontline workers say, "This is dangerous. I'm afraid. I'm going to stay home like everybody else." What would have happened if the doctors didn't show up and the bus drivers didn't show up and the subway conductors didn't show up and the food delivery people didn't show up and the pharmacists didn't show up and the delivery women and men didn't show up? What would have happened if there was no food on the shelves? What would have happened if there was no one in the emergency room when you showed up? You want to talk about crisis, you want to talk about pain. These frontline workers, despite the risk - because I had to highlight the risk, because I needed people to stay home so I spoke to the risk - but then despite the risk, I had to ask them. My voice speaking for all of us, "Please, help us and go to work tomorrow. Please, show up for work because it's your role, it's your duty, it's your obligation to us," and they did. They did. I was not comfortable asking, I will tell you the God's honest truth. I knew they were putting themselves at risk. I knew it and I don't envy any chief executive of this nation who has to order women and men to go to war. I can't imagine how that would feel. I know how I felt having to ask our frontline workers, "I need you. I need you to show up." And they did. They put their lives at risk to serve others and in that moment, they were not black frontline workers, they were not white frontline workers, they were not Latino frontline workers, they were not Bronx frontline workers, they were not Brooklyn frontline workers, they were not Buffalo frontline workers - they were just Americans.
They were New Yorkers, they were linked by the commonality of humanity and their better angels said get past your fear. Get past your weakness. Don't stay home. Rise up. Be strong. Be better than you think you can be yourself. Get in touch with your strength and hear that strength and they did it. We acted as one. This diverse community of New York, people from all over the globe. Different languages. We acted as one. Many of those people gave their lives for us during that time. They gave their lives because we asked them to show up for us and they did.
Let's learn from their example. Let's understand what they did. We see all of the success in those numbers and how far we've come. It didn't just happen. People literally gave their lives so others could live. They are the frontline heroes. They are the ones who charged up the hill when they knew the enemy was firing. They showed that same bravery. They showed that same courage. And they did it only because we asked. Not because they were getting paid more money or they were going to get a medal because they didn't. They did it because it was the right thing to do. They did it out of love. That's what they did. They didn't die in vain. They have changed me. And I believe they have made me a better person by their example and by their lesson. And I will never ever, ever forget what they did. And I will strive to be half as courageous and half as brave as they have been. And to hear those better angels and to get in touch with that strength and to respond from that strength, that's their spirit.
Yes, be outraged. Yes, be frustrated. Demand better. Demand justice. But not violent. Not violent. Productive and smart. Act from strength, not fear. Love, not hate. And there is nothing that we can't overcome. We showed that here. We beat this damn virus and if we're smart we will continue to beat it. But the way we beat this virus we can beat the virus of racism, we can beat the virus discrimination, we can beat the virus of inequality. If we can beat this virus, we can beat anything. Look at the strength that people showed. You can do anything with that strength. Our leaders may not be as good as the American people, and as strong as the American people, and as kind as the American people. But it's still we the people. It is still we the people. And we the people shall still overcome. They showed us the way forward. And the way forward is to be New York tough. Smart, united, disciplined, loving, loving, loving.
They gave their lives out of love and we respect that. I'm going to sign a bill today that gives death benefits to the families of all of the front-line workers who gave their lives for us. It is the least we can do to say thank you, and we honor you, and we remember you. You gave your lives for us. We will be there to support your families going forward. That's what this bill does and it is my honor to sign it now. We say to their families, we thank you. We grieve for your loss. And we will always be there for you the way you were there for us. Thank you.
May 31, 2020.
Governor Cuomo Announces Dentists Can Reopen Statewide Tomorrow and Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-dentists-can-reopen-statewide-tomorrow-and-updates-new-yorkers-states
Interim COVID-19 Guidance for Dentistry can be found here
Confirms 1,110 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 370,770; New Cases in 45 Counties
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York dentists can reopen statewide tomorrow. Dentists' offices will be subject to state guidance on best practices for safety and social distancing. The Governor also updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. New cases, hospitalizations, intubations and deaths are all declining as of yesterday.
"The reduction in New York's new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, intubations and other metrics represent tremendous progress from where we were," Governor Cuomo said. "We have gone through hell and back -- we are on the other side and it's a lesson for all of us, and we need to stay vigilant as we reopen different parts of the state so that we don't backslide. I am also authorizing dentists to resume their practices statewide starting tomorrow as long as they follow health and safety guidelines that the state is laying out and that we have been discussing with them."
We have gone through hell and back -- we are on the other side and it's a lesson for all of us, and we need to stay vigilant as we reopen different parts of the state.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Governor also confirmed 1,110 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 370,770 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 370,770 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
County
Total Positive
New Positive
Albany
1,860
17
Allegany
45
0
Broome
566
5
Cattaraugus
88
1
Cayuga
91
1
Chautauqua
84
1
Chemung
137
0
Chenango
133
1
Clinton
95
0
Columbia
387
4
Cortland
41
0
Delaware
79
0
Dutchess
3,909
10
Erie
6,070
56
Essex
37
1
Franklin
22
0
Fulton
208
1
Genesee
202
2
Greene
238
0
Hamilton
5
0
Herkimer
108
1
Jefferson
74
0
Lewis
20
0
Livingston
119
1
Madison
316
5
Monroe
2,942
33
Montgomery
91
2
Nassau
40,396
89
Niagara
1,037
17
NYC
203,303
552
Oneida
1,027
21
Onondaga
2,170
37
Ontario
207
1
Orange
10,406
17
Orleans
229
1
Oswego
109
1
Otsego
72
1
Putnam
1,252
4
Rensselaer
491
5
Rockland
13,151
23
Saratoga
480
3
Schenectady
689
3
Schoharie
50
0
Schuyler
11
0
Seneca
58
0
St. Lawrence
204
2
Steuben
241
0
Suffolk
39,643
111
Sullivan
1,387
12
Tioga
130
2
Tompkins
164
3
Ulster
1,685
7
Warren
255
0
Washington
235
0
Wayne
115
2
Westchester
33,481
52
Wyoming
86
2
Yates
39
0
May 31, 2020.
Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces Dentists Can Reopen Statewide Tomorrow and Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-announces-dentists-can-reopen-statewide
Interim COVID-19 Guidance for Dentistry can be found here
Confirms 1,110 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 370,770; New Cases in 45 Counties
Governor Cuomo: "This reduction in the number of deaths is tremendous progress from where we were. We have gone through hell and back, but we are on the other side and it's a lesson for all of us."
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York dentists can reopen statewide tomorrow. Dentists' offices will be subject to state guidance on best practices for safety and social distancing. The Governor also updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. New cases, hospitalizations, intubations and deaths are all declining as of yesterday.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
PHOTOS will be available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning. Let me introduce who is with me today. From my right, Robert Mujica, Budget Director for the State of New York. To my left, Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor. To Melissa's left, we're joined today by Major Chris West from the New York State Police.
Last night was a long and ugly night all across this nation, as we know. Let's talk about where we are today with the COVID virus first. The number of hospitalizations are down again. Net change in hospitalizations down again. Intubations down again. Number of new deaths still dropping. All good news. Number of lives lost down to 56, which is, in this absurd reality we live in, actually very, very good news.
There will be a point at which the number of deaths can't get any lower because people will die of something and COVID virus is very good at affecting those people who have other illnesses, but this reduction in the number of deaths is tremendous progress from where we were. We have gone through hell and back, but we are on the other side and it's a lesson for all of us.
