The coronavirus outbreak in the US is getting worse and could threaten New York’s recovery after tight blockades across the state helped suppress the fast-spreading infection, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. .
“We have to be careful. We have dark clouds on the horizon and we have made tremendous progress,” Cuomo said at a press conference. “We have been through hell and back, but this is not over and this can still raise your ugly head anywhere in this nation and in this state.”
Cuomo pointed to states like Texas, Florida and Arizona, which have seen new cases and hospitalizations in recent days, as places that reopened too quickly and now have to close again.
“Now everyone is singing a different tune,” said Cuomo. “Now everyone is starting to say, ‘We better take this seriously. We better start wearing masks.’ They are backing down on their reopening plan.”
He cited comments from White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, who projected that the United States could overcome 100,000 new infections per day, as a sign that current reopens have exacerbated the outbreak.
Last week, Cuomo criticized other state leaders’ responses to the pandemic, saying that some states that were quick to reopen their economies were playing politics.
“I tell everyone to look at the numbers,” Cuomo said last week about most Republican-led states that are now seeing an increase in Covid-19 cases. “You played politics with this virus and lost. You told the people of this state, you said to the people of this country, the White House, ‘Don’t worry about it. Go about your business. This is all hyperbole. Democrat, ‘”he said.
Cuomo also criticized President Donald Trump, who in recent weeks has downplayed the virus, saying the pandemic is coming to an end in the United States. “He denied the reality of the virus,” Cuomo said Wednesday.
“Well, you know what, Mr. President? Reality wins,” Cuomo said.
New York City is an area of the state that has dark clouds on the horizon, Cuomo said. He said he supported Mayor Bill de Blasio’s order to delay the resumption of dinner at New York City restaurants as scheduled for next week. The governor warned that local governments do not have any legal authority to determine if businesses, schools and restaurants could reopen.
He also criticized local leaders for not demanding compliance with state requirements to cover their faces and social distancing measures.
“Citizen compliance is decreasing. That is a fact,” said Cuomo. “Look at the photos. Look at any street in Manhattan, go to the East Village, go to the West Side, go to Brooklyn, go to Queens, go to the Bronx, citizen compliance is decreasing.”
However, he said New York numbers are “very good” at the moment. The state reported Tuesday 879 people hospitalized with Covid-19, which marks four consecutive days of hospitalizations below 900, Cuomo said.
Of the more than 56,700 tests conducted Tuesday, Cuomo said that only 1.1% of them returned positive results, “which is also very good news.”
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