Even as New York State’s COVID numbers “are all good,” the same can’t be said for the 38 other states where they’re climbing.
And so, out of an abundance of caution, Governor Andrew Cuomo Monday cancelled the New York State Fair.
There’s still no news on gyms or movie theaters, but the state is looking into ways to filter COVID out of the air with “a real possibility that we could actually have a positive contribution here,” Governor Cuomo said, promising to make any solution public ASAP.
He also seemed to cast doubt on whether school will open in the fall; just because schools are being asked to submit plans doesn’t mean that will happen, he said.
“There has been no decision yet…We want kids back in school for a number of reasons…but not until it’s safe. We don’t yet know if we’re going to reopen.”
Though Governor Cuomo called to an end to daily press conferences at the end of June, the briefings never really stopped.
Monday’s came on Day 128 of COVID with the number of hospitalizations at 817, the lowest since March 18.
Statewide, there were nine deaths Sunday for a total of 397,649, and new cases in 45 counties.
In Schoharie County, the number of COVID cases increased by one to 59.
The numbers are good—among the best in the country—Governor Cuomo said.
But he also warned that too many people are acting like COVID is over, ignoring social distancing and refusing to wear masks—and that alarms him.
“New Yorkers did the impossible,” he said, a frequent refrain. [But] We get complacent, we get cocky, we get a little arrogant,
“That is a real threat and it’s a threat I’m concerned about. You look at festivities over July 4th, you see gatherings that are not socially distanced…in Manhattan, Fire Island…and Upstate.”
Governor Cuomo called on President Donald Trump to acknowledge that COVID-19 is real, in increasing, and is a serious problem.
And he asked him—again—to wear a mask.
“Denying COVID is really advancing the COVID virus,” Governor Cuomo said. “Somehow COVID has become a political issue. We’re not the United States of Denial. We have never been a nation that excelled because we refused to admit the problem.
“If we do not, as a nation, acknowledge…the increase, it is going to continue.”
Governor Cuomo continued his call for local enforcement of his executive orders on masks, social distancing, and limiting gatherings, again stressing, “…if we don’t follow these behaviors, the numbers are going to go up. It’s that simple.”
Locally, mask-wearing has been spotty at best, something SEEC and the Business Reopening-Recovery Task hopes to address with the SchoCo Promise, a business safety and perk plan it’s launching today.
Pointing to the COVID curve in states like Texas, Arizona, and California, he said what happens there will come here—and no one wants to go back to the beginning and Phase 1 of shutdowns.
“We’ve been here. We’ve seen this,” he said. “It’s déjà vu all over again. That mountain plateaued because we did masks and social distancing and closed down and all those activities.”
Governor Cuomo also criticized President Trump’s charge that it’s only more tests that have led to more cases of COVID—something he pointed out doesn’t work with cancer, TB, or AIDS and doesn’t work with COVID.
“So, Mr. President. Don’t be a co-conspirator of COVID. Do one simple thing: acknowledge to the American people that COVID exists. It is a major problem. It’s going to continue until we admit it and each of us stands up to do our part.”