Governor Andrew Cuomo went to Georgia on Monday to advise local officials on how to curb the coronavirus pandemic, but critics said the trip was nothing more than a poorly conceived public relations stunt due to all the deaths New York suffered. .
New York was the hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak in early spring, and more than 25,000 residents have died from the killer bug, more than any other state. And Cuomo has come under fire for its early edict that may have led to more than 6,000 nursing home deaths.
While the pandemic has subsided in the Empire State Building following shutdown orders and social distancing measures, the pandemic is now in full swing in Peach State and other parts of the country, and New York officials are already planning a “Wave 2” to hit New York.
North Rensselaer County executive Steve McLaughlin called Cuomo’s trip “absurd and obscene.”
Cuomo is acting like a conquering hero. New York leads the nation’s cases and deaths. He refused to act early and was unable to contain the coronavirus. His policies contributed to more nursing home deaths, “McLaughlin, a Republican, said of the Governor, a Democrat.
“This trip is incredible. She’s definitely trying to rehabilitate her image. “
The trip could also be seen as a slap to Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who has fought with Democratic mayors in Peach State over how to handle the outbreak. Kemp sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over the city’s mandate for residents to wear masks, which he opposed as onerous.
Cuomo rarely left the state during the pandemic, save for trips to Washington to discuss the public health crisis with President Trump.
The three-term Democratic governor insisted that he was not visiting Savannah as a public relations offensive to honk his own horn.
“I feel compelled to go because I know a little bit about this,” Cuomo said.
“It is not me who is going: it is the people of New York who are helping the people of Savannah and Houston … We are in a position to help. We have knowledge. “
He said it was important to support officials in other states now fighting the pandemic after 30,000 Americans from other parts of the country came to the aid of New York in March and April, many first responders who worked in hospitals overwhelmed with COVID cases. -19.
“We are doing everything we can to return it,” Cuomo said. “People did incredible things.”
The governor said his team, meanwhile, was delivering “thousands” of personal protective equipment.
Cuomo was scheduled to have a public roundtable meeting at 2:15 p.m. with Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, a Democrat and Brooklyn native, after holding private talks on best practices to combat the pandemic.
Georgia is among the 23 states on the state’s travel advisory list for COVID-19 cases, which means visitors there must be quarantined for 14 days upon entering New York.
Cuomo said he was not quarantined upon his return because he is considered an “essential” employee, although he will be screened for COVID-19 when he arrives home Monday night.
Reached for comment, Cuomo chief adviser Rich Azzopardi said: “Give me a break, even the CDC said New York was hit hardest because the Trump administration moved too slow to land European air travel. What we did It was to launch a successful reopening based on facts and numbers that has been praised by Dr. Fauci and this anti-science Travel Sized Trump has been trying to undermine every step of the way. “
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