As the coronavirus pandemic is increasing in 40 states across the natio, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday night told a press conference that “we now have people coming to New York fleeing the other states, because it’s the ‘safe state.’ So we have people coming here just for the purpose of fleeing the virus in their state.”
“Really, the only answer is: those other states have to get the virus under control,” the governor continued. “And the federal government has been incompetent on this situation, the federal government has been in denial on this situation, the federal government has pressured these other states to reopen recklessly – which they did.”
Governor Cuomo threatened to reverse bars and restaurant openings if overcrowding there continued, and minutes later, Mayor Bill de Blasio also threatened to shut down bars and restaurants if New Yorkers continued to stand in large crowds outside those establishments, in violation of social distancing regulations.
“I just want to make this clear: When we agreed to allow this part of our life to come back, it was not meant to be business as usual,” de Blasio said, adding, “No one wants to shut down bars and restaurants, but if they do not cooperate in our efforts to contain the coronavirus, they will be shut down.”
NY State, which used to be the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring, is now down to 157,032 (from 434,871), while other states are registering far higher figures: California has 282,682 active cases, Florida 316,879, and Texas 165,083.
The United States has close to 4 million confirmed coronavirus cases (3,961,580 as of Monday night), with 143,835 deaths.