Cuomo Thinks New York Will See More COVID-19 Restrictions
Gov. Andrew Cuomo believes the COVID-19 situation "is going to continue to deteriorate over the coming weeks," adding if COVID-19 isn't slowing you must "restrict activity."
On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an emergency summit COVID-19 meeting was scheduled for the six northeastern states, governors and their staffs.
"There's no political decision making, no ideological decision making. Look at the numbers, and if the numbers are increasing and if they're not slowing, then you have to restrict activity. Our actions today determine our positivity rate tomorrow, so follow the public health law - wear a mask and adhere to gathering limits, and localities need to do the enforcement," Cuomo said
Cuomo said he expects COVID-19 to get worse and when it does the leaders from the nearby states should be working together.
"We have been working with our surrounding states, and it's even more important than ever, especially since our surrounding states have higher infection rates than we do. We set a policy, but these state policies impact surrounding states. I made this point early on. We make a move with our bars, we close down our bars, but the New Jersey bars are open. So then you go to a New Jersey bar. New Jersey closes their bars, so then people come to New York to go to a bar," Cuomo said.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy tweeted that they are working together to beat back the second wave. Cuomo believes the meeting was productive, adding the group discussed policies as the states enter the next stage of coronavirus. As of this writing, no new restrictions were announced but on Friday, Cuomo hinted that more restrictions may come.
"I believe this situation is going to continue to deteriorate over the coming weeks. I think you'll see an increasing rise in the number of cases "We believe we're going to have to be taking additional steps," Cuomo said. "What's going to happen? Will we shut down and will we have more restrictions? What has worked for New York from day one is it's a pure consequence of science. We want to make sure that we can align policies as much as possible, or at least be aware of what the other states' policies are. The ideal is alignment."
Last week, Cuomo announced a number of new restrictions. All restaurants, bars and gyms must now close each night by 10 p.m. Cuomo also announced indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences will be limited to no more than 10 people.
On Thursday, Hudson Valley Post reported the region is recording COVID-19 numbers not seen since the spring. On Wednesday, New York State recorded the most COVID-19 infections in one day since April. Hospitalizations in the state are up 300 percent in just over two months.