Cuomo Extends ‘New York Pause’ Until May 15, Details Face Covering Rule

On Thursday, during a daily COVID-19 press briefing, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the state’s shutdown until May 15.

After speaking about the hospitalization rates, ICU admission rates, and daily fatality numbers for COVID-19, and discussing at length the process through which the state must go in order to re-open the economy, Cuomo got into detail about transmission.

“They talk about the R0 [R naught] factor … that is the projected spread of the virus. If one person infects less than one other person, the disease is on the decline,” Cuomo said. “If one person basically infects one more person, the rate of spread is stable.”

The governor stated that the danger zone is when one person infects two or more people “because then the increase is just exponential, and that’s fire through dry grass.”

He continued, noting that the state will observe transmission trends as they slowly open up the economy in order to assess the impact of their actions.

“So you start to turn that valve, you start to bring people out of their homes, you start to reopen businesses, you see that number going up, turn the valve back right away,” the governor said. “And this is what we’re trying to deal with going forward – and again, nobody has been here before, so we’re trying to figure it out.”

After detailing viral spread statistics from other areas, Cuomo said that New York doesn’t have “a lot of wiggle room” as the state is allegedly sitting at an approximate 0.9 infection rate.

“We’re now at 0.9, we only have a margin of error of 0.9 to 1.2,” the governor said. “1.2 takes you back to the high projection rate … if you go to 1.2, you’re going to have a problem again. So you see how narrow the window is.”

Cuomo stated that he would prefer that the infection rate declined further, and that the “New York Pause … policies will be extended in coordination with other states to may 15th.”

The governor added that he doesn’t “want to project beyond that period” as one month is a lengthy amount of time in this particular situation.

“So, one month we’ll continue the close-down policies. What happens after then? I don’t know. We will see, depending on what the data shows,” Cuomo said.

As for mitigating the rate of infection, the governor expanded on his previous announcement pertaining to his executive order on face coverings:

As relatively simple and possibly annoying as it seems, wearing a mask is one of the best things that we can do. And I understand, I’m getting a lot of not happy phone calls off what I said yesterday about wearing a mask in public, but I’m sorry it makes people unhappy. I do not consider it a major burden, and it really is a simple measure that can save lives.

And yes, people say it’s a personal intrusion on them, but, again, remember, it’s not just about you, right? I have rights also, and my kids have rights, and your kids have rights, and you have a right for another person to take reasonable safeguards not to get infected. So, the masks work.

The governor noted that the mask order will “include public transportation systems, private transportation carriers, for-hire vehicles.”

“Any operator of a public system, an operator of a private carrier, and for-hire vehicles must wear a mask at all times,” he said. “If you get on a bus, you need to wear a mask. If you get in a train, you need to wear a mask. If you get into a private car service, Uber/Lyft, the operator needs to wear a mask … and you need to wear a mask on a private carrier.”

So, is this inconvenient? Yes, but you’re in a closed environment, by definition, you’re not socially distancing, by definition … This is a precaution for everyone that I think balances individual liberties with a social conscience.

Cuomo said that the order “goes into effect Friday 8:00 p.m.”

RELATED: Cuomo Executive Order: New Yorkers Must Wear ‘Mask’ Or Face Covering When Unable To ‘Maintain Social Distancing’