New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made his final daily coronavirus briefing Friday, saying that after 111 days his state had “done the impossible” in fighting the disease.
“In the beginning, this virus hit us hard,” Cuomo said in an Oval Office-style address that diverged from his usual briefing before reporters. “When this started, we had more cases per capita than any state in the country or any nation on the globe. But today, we have done a full 180 [-degree turn] – from worst to first.”
He said hospitalizations Thursday for the virus were at 1,284 – an all-time low. The state is at record-high testing levels – nearly 80,000 tests per day – and the infection rate is less than 1 percent. The death toll for the past week has remained below 32 per day, a dramatic drop from the high of nearly 800 people daily in the second week of April.
“By reducing the infection rate, we saved over 100,000 people from being hospitalized and possibly dying,” the governor said of models that had projected what would happen without restrictions and social distancing. “It is an unimaginable achievement. I’m so incredibly proud of what we all did together and as a community.”
Severe tolls
But the state of 19.5 million people still suffered immense human and financial tolls. Nearly 400,000 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 25,000 have died. Millions have lost their jobs, and many businesses have suffered and some may not survive the economic shutdown.
The state is currently in various phases of reopening its economy, based on how the virus has affected each of its 10 regions. More rural parts of the state, which experienced very low infection rates, began their four-phased reopening on May 15, but New York City, which had the highest infection rates, only began phase one on June 8 and will move to phase two Monday.
“We reopened the economy and saved lives, because it was never a choice between one or the other,” Cuomo said.
The governor’s morning briefings had become “must see” television for some 59 million people seeking guidance and comfort during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. They tuned in on cable television networks, not just in his state but across the U.S. and even internationally. President Donald Trump was known to watch – and occasionally tweet about them.
Cuomo used the daily platform to speak plainly, but also urgently, compelling New York residents to take the threat of the virus seriously and to implement strict stay-at-home restrictions and the suspension of nonessential businesses.
“We changed that trajectory,” Cuomo said in a three-minute video montage he narrated, and which was set to sentimental music, that aired after his remarks. “I didn’t even know it was possible at one time. It’s about what people decide to do. They have brought this infection rate down.”
Not a partisan issue
The Democratic governor also used his briefings to hit back at Republican politicians in Washington, who he felt treated New York unfairly, repeatedly counseling that it was not a “red state or a blue state” crisis, but a national one.
Cuomo also softened the grim daily update on infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths with humorous anecdotes about his family, including Sunday spaghetti and meatball lunches with his three daughters.
He famously offered parenting advice: "You can never say you don't like the boyfriend. I learned this lesson the hard way.” He teased his younger brother, journalist Chris Cuomo, who joined his briefing by video from the basement of his house, where he had been isolated from the rest of his family after contracting the coronavirus. And the governor even lamented midway through lockdown that his dog, Captain, was sick of him being home so much.
Cuomo, 62, is a second-generation New York governor, currently in his third term. His father, the late Mario Cuomo, also was a three-term governor from 1983 to 1994. Cuomo is divorced from Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of the slain presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. The governor repeatedly has denied that he has presidential ambitions of his own.
