Governor Andrew Cuomo and Suffolk County officials voiced alarm Tuesday that the summer holidays are contributing to the spread of the coronavirus.
The Suffolk governor and officials said attendees of a July 4 party in Holtsville contracted COVID-19 from another infected participant, the type of spread that could trigger a larger group in the community.
“Here is a true story about how fast COVID can spread. At a July 4 party in Suffolk County, at least one person was positive. Since the party, 35% of the people who attended tested positive for COVID, ”Cuomo tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
“It only takes one person at a party. Wear a mask and be smart.
But Suffolk officials later said Cuomo exaggerated the infection rate.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone says four of the 18 attendees contracted COVID-19, an infection rate of 22 percent, not 35 percent.
Bellone added that state officials reached the 35 percent figure using preliminary data from three other party-goers who were under investigation but whose test results ultimately turned out to be negative.
The governor’s office later clarified that a smaller percentage of partygoers in Holtsville were infected.
“If we are not intelligent, if we do not wear masks and social distance, the cases will increase. No one wants to go back to the hell we experienced three months ago, so please remain vigilant, “Cuomo said in a press release.
Cuomo said he is concerned that a second wave of COVID-19 hits New York from visitors traveling here from other critical states where the killer bug is at its peak.
On Tuesday, he issued a travel notice that would require visitors from four other states, New Mexico, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, to be quarantined for 14 days when they arrive in New York, bringing the total to 22 states covered by the edict.
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