On Sunday, during a daily COVID-19 press briefing, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was asked to address the groups of people protesting across the U.S., as well as President Trump’s recent tweets to “liberate” certain states.
“What’s at stake in terms of getting this decision wrong with reopening America?” a reporter asked. “You’ve got people in the streets in cities across the country saying coronavirus is a scam. You’ve got the president tweeting out to ‘liberate’ states. What’s your experience here in New York [has shown you], what would you say about that?”
Cuomo replied:
Anyone can say anything. God bless America, as my grandfather would say. God bless America, First Amendment, anyone can say anything. So yeah, anyone can say anything – it’s conspiracy theories, everybody has a theory, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, God rest his soul – anyone can have an opinion, not anyone can have their own facts … Facts are facts; opinions are opinions. So yeah, some people say coronavirus is a hoax. Yeah, God bless America.
600 people died two days ago; 500 people [yesterday]. Those are real deaths; that’s real, that’s a fact … 16,000 people in hospitals who test positive for coronavirus, that is a fact. I don’t care what you think or what your opinion is – that is a fact. So, you can’t say it’s a hoax because that is a fact, okay? So, that’s a fact, and I’ll leave that at that.
In recent days, large groups of protesters in several states including Michigan and Minnesota gathered together outside of a state building and a governor’s mansion in order to protest perceived overreach and heavy-handed tactics as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The protests also appear to be aimed at highlighting the economic needs that people have as millions have been forced to file for unemployment, and businesses have had to close for weeks as the virus burns through certain parts of the country.
On Friday, President Trump sent out the following tweets:
LIBERATE MICHIGAN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
LIBERATE MINNESOTA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
As for New York specifically, the numbers appear to be moving in the right direction. During the press briefing, Governor Cuomo noted that total hospitalizations have continued to roll downward, more broadly indicated in the three-day hospitalization rate average, which is also down.
The number of single-day intubations, which is a critical metric, is also trending downward.
Cuomo offered a word of caution, however, suggesting that the behavior of New Yorkers will be a determining factor in the walk back down.
“If the data holds, and if this trend holds, we are past the high point, and all indications at this point are that we are on the descent,” the governor stated. “Whether or not the descent continues depends on what we do.”
New COVID-19 hospitalizations per day are still high, with over 1,300 people testing positive and being hospitalized on Saturday, according to Cuomo. This number is down from the day before, and continuing on a downward trajectory, but the governor called the number a “reality check” in the face of all the more positive signs.
As for daily deaths, a lagging indicator, Saturday saw a new recent low of 507. While still staggering, the number has descended now for two days in a row, with 630 deaths on April 16 and 540 on April 17.